Resilience during a Recession

The onslaught of dire economic news is depressing, to say the least. For those who are still employed, the talk of layoffs and furlough loom in every cubicle and breakroom. For those job searching, the wait for that interview or job offer gets longer and longer.

News about suicides and deaths related to the financial situation do not help. My sister-in-law and I have tried to figure out what goes on in the minds of those involved in such shootings. It is difficult to imagine what a dark place it must be to be able to consider taking away your life, as well as your family's.

One quality that we all can use and develop right now is resilience. Yes, it can be learned.
It was hammered into my head while I attended Catholic school years ago and only now do I realize its value.

Resilience enables you to look at failure and realize it is not the end of the world.

Resilience allows you to see your hand in your setbacks and the strengths that will get you through difficult times.

Resilience helped me at the time I was job searching and I kept receiving "Thank you for your interest" letters. For months I kept a stack going, only realizing one day that the stack was just a mountain of hopes dashed. That day, the stack met the shredder.

Resilience helped me as a new teacher, trying to learn classroom management, write lesson plans, and meet performance goals. Ask any teacher, and they will tell you the early years are tough. You face a lot of self-doubt and fear. You wonder whether you have the right to be up there, whether you have integrity. You want to live up to all your favorite teachers, to your concept of an ideal teacher. Having gone through my time teaching, I look back with fondness knowing that not only did I survive, I actually did well.

If you're still employed, be grateful and hang in there. Improve your chops, volunteer for projects and sign up for training. Avoid the crowd that talks about layoffs, etc. Really, will all the talk do anything? Instead, try to make yourself more valuable to your organization. Try to come up with a Plan B. Start saving your money and build your emergency fund that can tide you over in case of a layoff. Those Unemployment Insurance Benefits are not much, let me tell you.

If you're job searching, take a step back. Realize that the game has changed. Take a second look at your resume. Have a friend look at it. How are you marketing yourself? Look back to your achievements and reflect on how you can differentiate yourself from the crowd. Re-evaluate your elevator speech, your demeanor, interview dress and answers to interview questions. Talk to a trusted friend who will not sugarcoat matters. Accept their feedback with humility.

I don't know when this recession will end, and with all the pundits disagreeing about when it will all end, I don't really care. I just want to be ready for what we have now, and for the time things will start looking up. And it is resilience that will keep you and me in there long enough to see the good times come back.