The biggest challenge a person faces after being downsized is the wide range of emotions that follow. Over the past 15 years, I’ve observed many individuals deal with this unfortunate circumstance, and I wanted to share what I’ve seen others do to cope. I genuinely hope this helps you or someone you care about.

When someone is downsized, they typically go through emotional stages that are similar to grieving - from shock to anger to depression to acceptance.

STAY BUSY

When one is going through grief, most well-intentioned people will encourage them to stay busy. And I would encourage the same thing for those who have been downsized. But what should you stay busy doing?

WHAT NOT TO STAY BUSY DOING

First, let’s talk about what NOT to stay busy doing. The natural reaction to being downsized is to immediately start applying to jobs. As we discussed in the last video, fight that urge. In the weeks to come, avoid spending too much time skewering the job boards. That may seem counter intuitive, so here is why I say that.

HOW MUCH TIME TO SPEND ON JOB BOARDS

Jobs don’t open that frequently, so if you looked on the job boards every Monday and Friday, you would see that very little has changed if anything at all.&