Losing your Job? Psychological, Spiritual and Practical Advice: Part 3

This article is the second in a three-part series from Kenny “The Monk” Moore. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

III – A Practical Lay of the Land

If you’ve lost your job or fear you might – and who doesn’t – here are some practical considerations:

1) Visit Your Local Proctologist

To paraphrase Hamlet: “Get thee to a proctologist!” The loss of your job or the realization that the rules of business have aggressively changed dredge up anger, frustration and resentment. If you keep it within, it’ll kill you. There’s a need to find a safe place where you can get it all out without damaging your employment prospects. It’s better to vent these noxious fumes with supportive family and friends than to bring them along to your next job interview. Support groups, professional associations and life coaches all play a helpful role in this regard. There’s something deeply human and therapeutic in getting all the crap out. We also feel a whole lot better. Manure, once it’s spread around, smells less offensive and actually helps things grow.

2) Get Mad

The early Church Father, St. John Chrysostom, once said: “Whosoever is not angry when there is cause for anger, sins.” We have a right to be in a rage over the behavior of some of our corporate and political leaders. They’ve taken advantage of the system, lined their own pockets with profits and sold the rest of us down river. Venting our anger has the potential of countering our lethargy and forcing us to take some positive actions, for our sake and the sake of others. You might also make it lucrative: consider becoming a whistleblower or take up card counting to beat the pants off the house. Why not do stand-up comedy? You won’t even need to develop new material. There was probably more than enough insanity going on at your last company to keep people laughing for years. I’d pay money to hear someone speak truthfully about how business says that employees are their most valuable asset while kicking them out the door. You could do a whole routine on the silliness of work-life balance. How about performance appraisal? I’m giggling already.

3) Imitate MADD

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has given us an effective model for channeling the power and creativity of rage. These women have taken their pain and changed the world for the better. If you drink and get behind the wheel of a car and kill someone, they’re going to make sure you go to jail. Politicians who support them have been elected; those opposed have been defeated. They’ve taken their anger, banded together, created a movement and changed the rules. Anger is one of the more creative emotions we have. Instead of becoming a victim in the face of marketplace injustice, use resentment to drive progress. Been discriminated against because of your age, race or gender? Go work for the competition. Bring a few disgruntled workers along with you. Cherry pick your old company’s markets, find a profitable niche and eat your former employer’s lunch.

4) Embrace Vendor-Mindedness

Think of yourself as a vendor. Even if you still have a job, you no longer work for a company. You work for yourself. If a company’s got to choose between funding the executive Bonus Plan or dropping 20% of their workers, you already know which way the decision’s going. The Gen-Xers had it right all along: become self-sufficient because we are all dispensable. View yourself as a vendor with talents and services to offer. If you have something that meets a company’s need, you’ll get some work. If other vendors can do it better, faster or cheaper, the client will go there. It’s transactional, and based on one’s value-adding capability. You’re also now responsible for being your own Sales and Marketing departments. The rigors of remaining competent, competitive and knowledgeable reside with you, where they belong. The age of a secure corporate job is over and it’s probably better that way.

5) Keep Your Résumé Brief

Résumés are used to eliminate you from the employment process. The less you reveal, the better. Think of a burlesque show: if all the cloths come off in the First Act, nobody stays around till the end. In today’s market, there are hundreds of résumés for each job opening. The boss tells the secretary: “Go through that pile and eliminate anyone with less than 15 years experience.” If your résumé has you with 10 years, you’ve excluded yourself and won’t get called. The sole purpose of the résumé is not to get the job; it’s to get the interview. Your résumé should be a high level one-pager. It should pique their interest, offer some allure, be revealing, but not with any great detail. When in doubt, think “Burlesque Queen.” Always show less than more up front, forcing them to call and interview you in person.

6 – Become an “Educator”

Not a teacher, an educator. The word comes from the ancient Greek, maieutikai – literally, “to catch what comes forth.” It’s the same word they used to describe the work of midwifery. I once read an interview with an old midwife where the reporter asked “How many babies have you delivered?” “None,” the woman said. “I don’t deliver babies; mothers do.  I catch ’em!” Like Holden Caulfield of old, we are all invited to be “catchers.” First, for ourselves. I have an obligation to birth myself anew in this changing world of work. While it’s a little scary, it’s also a creative, generative and exciting experience. Second, we have an obligation to help birth others. Many feel isolated, abandoned, wounded. We need to reach out and catch these folks as well. It’s our personal commitment to the world. J.D. Salinger will rest a lot better knowing you’re out there saving lives.

A Crisis in Authority

Our leaders have let us down. Not just the business elite, but political, religious and educational ones as well. Many are no longer credible. But a few remain trustworthy. How might we decide where to cast our lot? Here’s a hint.

“Authority” has the same origin as “author.” Authors go deep within themselves to find the Truth. And when they unearth it, they bring it out and write about it. And in revealing their Truth, they write with “authority.” It is powerful, compelling and credible. When we hear peoples’ Truth, we are moved to action and want to support and follow them. Their power is independent of income, race, gender or position. It flows from the person alone. When Jesus was preaching in the temple, the religious leaders queried: “By what authority do you say these things?” He quipped: “By my own authority.” When confronted with the power of the individual, they were dumbfounded and backed off.

When authors plummet their own Truth and reveal it, it is really true only for themselves. However, there is an aspect of Truth that is universal. In hearing others speak theirs, a part of me says: “Yes! That’s true for me as well.” It resonates deeply. The monks used to say that the soul rejoices when it hears truths it already knows. The “individual” aspect of Truth also resonates with its “universality.”

During these uncertain times, if you come across folks who have found their own Truth and are brave enough to go public with it – support them. These are the trustworthy leaders who speak from a position of authority. We are well served joining forces with them. It’s the only hope for meaningful change that we have.

To view this three-part series in its entirety and learn more about Kenny Moore, you may download the white paper here.

About Kenny “The Monk” Moore

Kenny Moore (www.kennythemonk.com) is co-author of The CEO and the Monk: One Company’s Journey to Profit and Purpose (John Wiley and Sons), rated as one of the top ten best selling business books on Amazon.com.