Taking Time to Heal
By Maureen Anderson
Don't be so sure you can hide the pain of having been fired when you go out looking for other work. Advice from career consultant Christopher Gilliam of Boise, Idaho, who suggests that before you go job hunting, you come to terms with the reason you're in this position. "If you were fired or laid off," he says, "you're going to have some emotions to work through, and you need to work through them. I'm not saying you can't conduct a job search until you're completely healed, but I think you need to process at least some of what you're feeling if you're going to be successful."
Gilliam has made thousands of hiring decisions himself, he says, and hopes you'll consider the possibility you have that proverbial chip on your shoulder. "Many people think they're prepared to go job hunting once they've created a resume, but I disagree. A seasoned interviewer is difficult to deceive."
A lot of Gilliam's clients will say, "Well, I won't mention anything negative during the interview." Which he thinks misses the point. "As someone who's done a lot of interviewing," he says, "I can tell when there's something wrong. I may not know what it is, but I'll probably put you in the ‘no' pile based on that gut feeling."
You can't put off looking for a job forever, Gilliam admits, but you should give yourself permission to grieve the life you left behind. "At least be able to imagine a better life for yourself," he suggests, "before you go out looking for it. Getting to the point of acceptance is a great place to begin your job search."
