by Garry Spotts

Created on: August 08, 2009

Job loss is devastating in good economic times. In challenging economic times, it is potentially catastrophic. People are nervous about losing their jobs. The U.S. Labor Department reports that 6.8 million jobs have been lost since January 2008 with no end in sight. It is clear that these numbers represent bad news for all Americans.

The "Good" News

The good news is the loss of your job does not mean the loss of your ability to produce an income. Why, because every dollar that flowed freely before January 2008 is still in the economy. The problem is that they are locked in people's pocket rather than circulating. In a down economy, the mood changes among consumers and we sit on our hands, taking our money out of circulation.

I do not pretend to be an economist, if this seems to be an oversimplification of our current economic state. As a micro-enterprise business owner and consultant for over 16 years, I can offer a few following tips for keeping your balance and managing stress in uncertain times.

Five Quick Tips For Keeping Your Balance During Instability

Tip # 1.) Take a deep breath, stay calm, and keep your head in the game. Panic is your worst enemy in moments of extreme stress. It is time to take care of your business with your former employer. Get the details about severance, future employment prospects with the company and who to maintain contact with for that information.

Before you leave identify and ask a key person to write you a letter of recommendation. Ask that the letter include a statement about their desire to keep you as an invaluable employee, but that economics would not allow it.

The letter serves two purposes; first, to create a positive employment history paper trail for presentation to prospective employers as you begin your search. Second, the letter reassures you that the loss of the job was recession related and that you were an asset to the company. The letter reinforces for you that the lost job was not personal and not a personal failure.

Tip # 2.) When confronting the prospect or the reality of job loss it is time to take action and go on the offensive. You have heard it said, "The best defense is a good offense." The same strategy applies when facing the loss of your livelihood.

It is time to get lean and convert any liquid assets to ready cash to help you weather the potential or real storm.

First, identify anything of value that you own, which you have not used in the past 6 - 9 months. That item

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