Moving forward from Day 1

Day 1 of unemployment. You wake up, perhaps at 6:00 a.m. out of habit. You know full well you will not be sitting in your office come 8:30 a.m. Still, you grasp onto the thin strands of predictability and stability known as your morning routine. You stretch, put on a pot of coffee, start reading the headlines, and then it hits you: You're unemployed. Why are you awake right now?

Day 1 can carry with it an interesting blend of liberation and utter fear. Like death, if you've had time to prepare for it, the blow might not be so harsh. If it was sudden, you may still find yourself catching your breath and feeling bewildered. If you hated your job, this may be one of the most relaxing mornings you've had in a long time. If you loved your job and gave up everything to work for your company, it is safe to say that a blend of sadness, anger, and regret is dominating your emotions.

Here is the bad news: there is not a thing you can do about your job. You cannot undo the botched reports. You cannot put in overtime to catch up. You cannot convince your boss that the layoffs are a necessary sacrifice that should happen to everyone but you. There is no extra credit. No bribes. It's over.

So take a deep breath. Don't you feel better now? Probably not. You will not be working today. But here's the good news: you may very well have a job tomorrow! Unlikely? Yes, if you haven't been searching up until the point of your termination. But it is a possibility.

In my opinion, Day 1 is not the day to scramble onto monster.com and post your resume all over the internet. Day 1 is your game plan and recoup day. Step 1 is, of course, to apply for unemployment if you qualify (or even if you aren't really sure). Laws vary from state to state, so do a little google searching to see how to apply where you live. Step 2: call your family, mope for a few hours, watch your favorite movie, and do whatever it takes to get yourself into a positive frame of mind. Step 3: sit down with a sharp pencil and a pad and start mapping out your life. Where are you in your career now? Where did you see yourself going before you lost your job? Where do you want to be in 5, 10, and 15 years? Are you willing to relocate? You know what the questions are. It's time for you to start asking them.

All of this will help you prepare for Day 2. That's when you hit the ground running. But let's not worry about that right now.