When you experience a sudden, unexpected loss, it can feel as though a crisis has hit. As a mental health therapist, I am relatively well versed in how to work with clients to persevere and succeed in times of stress. It can be common for people to go through shock when losing a job or facing a career transition. With the changing state of the economy and higher education, major shifts are taking place in academia. While many of these shifts are positive, forward thinking, and opportunistic, the consequences of these changes may result in profound loss and confusion.
I experienced this in January 2017, when all students in my department received an email stating the university was closing my academic program and department. The email cited economic reasons and the changed reality of the field as to why the department’s continued operation was no longer viable. I had no idea what was next. I was in my second year of coursework as a PhD student, after having moved halfway across the country to purse the degree. The closure announcement left me in a space of not-knowing. Would I move back to the Midwest and live in my parent’s basement? Pursue a PhD elsewhere? Be able to finish the degree within the new constraints of the not-yet-finished teach-out plan? Coming to a place of decision and certainty was a process. The following offers practical tips to working through the unexpected with resiliency and strength, such as the loss of a job, restructuring of positions, or other unplanned career transitions.
Allow yourself to feel. When you lose something you find value and meaning in, such as a career or an intellectual home, it is appropriate to take time to understand, feel, and work through your emotional reactions. Depending on the loss, you may even need to grieve. Using your social supports can be a particularly powerful way to express and experience your reactions. What’s going on with you? How emotionally stable do you feel? What can you do to express this in a healthy way?
Take time to look at priorities and values. The unexpected can offer a great opportunity to step back and re-evaluate what matters. Maybe your priorities have changed since you first entered the field. Maybe you can use the shift to refocus on your family or personal health. Maybe this can be a chance to explore and develop skills that you haven’t had the chance to refine. Or maybe you find that your current position aligned with your priorities and values, which allows you to have a clear idea of what you want for your next position. What is important to you? What is negotiable versus what is not? Do you have specific things that you need or want?
Identify the areas you can control — and the ones you can’t. Sometimes when you get caught by surprise, you focus primarily on what you can’t change but wish you could. The reality of most situations is that there are things you can change and things you can’t. Knowing where you have freedom or flexibility as well as knowing what constraints you have can help you feel more balanced, aware, and in control. Can you change geographic locations? How much time do you have to transition? What choices do you have?
Make decisions based on both long-term and short-term factors. It can be easy in a crisis to make decisions based on what you want and need right now. However, if you have the luxury, it is best to keep in focus both short and long-term plans. Acting from a proactive place after taking time to reflect, rather than a reactive place, can go a long way. A good piece of advice I once heard was to sleep on any major decision before making a commitment. What do you need three weeks from now? Three months? What do you want three years from now?
Play to your strengths. Remembering, identifying, and focusing on what you do well can help you feel empowered. What have you done in the past when you’ve faced the unexpected? Where do you find yourself feeling comfortable and competent? How can you market yourself in the face of this loss?
Transitions can be a struggle, particularly ones you weren’t planning on. Acknowledge that it may make time to process and seek to find potential new opportunities. While it can be challenging, be open to the new possibilities and prospects. You never know what might come up.