Shoring up after job loss

But you should find means of coping with the situation remembering that a job loss should not define your future. In March 2020, Mr Moses Buhanga suddenly lost his job as the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to scale down their operations.

“I almost lost my mind when it hit me that my source of income with all the benefits it had was no more,” Mr Buhanga narrates. To some people, losing a job is not only a loss of a source of income, but also a loss of social capital, status, and many other benefits that come with employment.

For Mr Buhunga’s case, office politics was all it took for his exit. “I lost my job because my assistant who signed on my loan request from a bank denied her actions,” he says.

“Much as it happened at the start of Covid-19 in Uganda, the reason for my exit was not Covid related,” Mr Buhanga adds. Mr Buhanga, 35 years, is an accountant who lived a life of what many employed professionals enjoy today. He survived solely on his salary.

On top of the lavish life,   he did not have an investment outside his “juicy” job which took care of all his needs. “I often changed cars because of the big paycheque I was assured of every month,” he says.

Worst of all, neither does he (Mr Buhanga) nor does the wife have a side investment now. “I have survived all this while, on handouts to feed my family, and i am currently staying with a friend,” he says.

Bouncing back

While the stress of losing a job can seem overwhelming, there are many things you can do to take control of the situation and find a renewed sense of purpose.

Both life coaches, Mr Ronald Mayanja Omugalanda, the executive director of Ability Explored, and Ms Joan Mugenzi, an employment transition coach with Imagine Me Africa contend that the first thing to do on receiving the news of exit from a company is to accept the reality, to enable you to make sober decisions thereafter.

“Many people attach a lot of emotions to their jobs because it is what they do on a daily basis forgetting that it can go away any time,” Mr Mayanja says.

“For you to bounce back to normal life after a job loss, you must understand and appreciate that what happened has happened and that you are not alone, neither are you the first nor last. So you need to pick yourself up very fast,” Ms Mugenzi adds.

Mr Buhanga is still job hunting but has not yet landed an opportunity as many potential employers say he is ‘’overqualified.”

According to Ms Mugenzi, sometimes this is caused by the poor presentation of your curriculum vitae (CV) that puts off employers.

“You need to update your CV regularly and make it marketable. There are CVs you look at and basically, it is telling you nothing whereby even if I am an employer, I may hesitate to consider you,” she says.

She adds: “People are interested to know, can you demonstrate your results and what you are ready to offer by providing evidence .”

The other thing that you need not miss out is the reliance on social capital. This is highly recommended by both experts.

For example, social media has eased and provided opportunities to many because of the way they brand themselves.

Skills

Being restructuring in your organisation  does not mean that your skills are irrelevant.

You need to start crafting the game plan.

Mr Ronald Mayanja Omugalanda, the executive director of Ability Explored adds: “You need to ask yourself, where do I start from by assessing who you are, and the capital you have to either  join another organisation or start your business because it is important to start-up an investment no matter how small.”