The internet is full of advice. Some of its good, some of its bad, most is contradictory and a lot it useless. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of advice to the recently terminated.
The useless advice runs the gamut from minimizing the impact, to making unrealistic expectations, to being completely out of touch with the reality of losing one’s livelihood.
Read on for some great examples of useless advice. If you have your own useless advice, Post it. I’d love to hear it!
The Just-Get-Over-It Approach
“If you’re laid off, you’ll need to overcome the initial shock and demoralization and move on quickly and confidently.”
Uh, yeah, that’s helpful. Losing a job can be utterly devastating. It ranks right up there with death of a loved one and divorce as being one of the most stressful events in life. So how helpful is it to tell someone that has just lost a family member to “get over the initial shock and move on quickly.” This type of admonishments can make you feel there’s something wrong if you’re having difficulty regaining your confidence or moving forward. There isn’t. It’s normal. And the only way over it is through it.
The Laughingly Unrealistic
“Do things that will get you to be recognized as a world leader in the field you want to be in.“
No problem here. You simply go from complete obscurity to a recognized leader in your field. How? Easy. Join LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, start a blog and attract thousands of followers. One of those followers will see you for the expert you are and offer you a job so you can abandon LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and your blog. Right.
The Glaringly Obvious
“Review your financial situation. If your unemployment goes beyond a month or two, you may need to make some lifestyle adjustments.”
It’s hard to imagine that there’s an individual who’s been laid off or fired who hasn’t instantly seen their financial life flash before their eyes. It’s equally hard to imagine that some lifestyle adjustments are not in order. It’s simply common sense.
The Out-of-Touch
“If your feelings of anger, sadness or helplessness persist beyond a few weeks, consider getting short-term therapy for depression.”
The thing about prolonged unemployment is that things often don’t progress in a straight line. Until things right themselves – which usually means finding a job and feeling secure about income again – it’s natural to experience bouts of anger, sadness and helplessness. To suggest that these feelings persisting beyond a few weeks is abnormal is unhelpful.
The Wishful Thinking
“Now is the best time to pick up a hobby you’ve always wanted to do but never had time for.
Who wrote this really?
More from the Pick-Yourself-Up-by-the-Bootstraps Useless Bucket
“Don’t let your layoff get you down. Be sure to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. Stick to a regular exercise program. You need to look sharp when you go to job interviews.”
Worried about paying the rent, putting food on the table, college tuition? No problem, go out for a jog. Statements like these show a staggering lack of understanding of the emotional pain inherent in losing a job.
The Too-Little-Too-Late
“Take a few minutes to connect with everyone before you leave the premises. Get everyone’s contact information and future plans. You never know if you might need them.”
Here, the author is hoping that in the immediate minutes following the news that your livelihood has been destroyed, you’re going to have the presence of mind to methodically build your rolodex as security is ushering you out the door.
The Golden Opportunity
“This is the time that you can spend Organizing Your Life! Today is the day to start!”
I’d like to slap silly whoever wrote this, especially for the exclamation marks!
Thanks to
Tom Hogan – Level 1 Resources
We provide Accounting and Finance talent to Companies throughout CT, Westchester County and NYC area
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