I was recently chatting with another career coach and when I told him that I’d been let go by a major outplacement firm after 15+ years of service, he commented that there was something particularly ironic about that. I agreed. After all,  my work consisted of meeting with people who had just been let go, and working with them through the search process. That would certainly make me prepared for what was coming, right? Wrong.

The full answer is I was somewhat prepared. I knew that as the company I worked for had acquired another company, job cuts were likely. My resume was in shape and I had spent a few months exploring some job leads. But here’s what hit me:

•         I didn’t like the way I was notified (impersonal and cold with no mention of what I’d done for the company)
• I was stunned that most of my colleagues kept silent even after I had sent out a short email about my upcoming departure
• I felt lost and devalued
• I missed being part of a team
• And I was blown away by how quickly my work was forgotten.

Another confession. When I was working and a client told me something like, “I just can’t believe how busy I am. I don’t know how I had time to work!” my thinking was:  you’ve lost your structure and have become  inefficient. But now that I’m on the job seeking side of the great divide, I find myself saying the same thing and I don’t think I’m disorganized or running in circles. What I do think is that my life has much more variety in it. Every day is different, and if I want to take a short break from my search and run my dog  in the nearby field, I can do it. If I want to have lunch with an elderly neighbor, I make it happen. And I’m volunteering once a week at the local hospital which is rewarding. I’m also allowing myself to live with much less stress which means I don’t have to race from one thing to another.

If you’re part of an organization and colleagues are let go, please reach out to them. Invite them for lunch or talk on the phone. It will make a huge difference. And if, like me, you’re one of the thousands who have been let go, remember you own your value which hasn’t changed, your true friends will stay in touch with you, and make sure to keep your networking active as it’s really encouraging to make new friends, too. And one last thing–get over your pride and be the one to reach out if you don’t hear from people. They’ll be glad you did, and so will you.