Master of Your Fate

“It’s not whether or not you get knocked down. It’s whether or not you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi

Losing your job at any age can be devastating. This is especially true when you’re over the age of 50. It’s like a hard punch in the gut. It’s hard. It’s painful. And, it’s usually unexpected.

It causes you to doubt your own self worth, your own competency, your own capabilities. You start to wonder if you’ll ever find a job again. Will you ever work at a job that is somewhat comparable to your old job, in skills, in pay, in responsibility.

It’s easy to lose confidence as well as ambition and – most of all – a belief in yourself.

No matter how devastated you may feel, you really need to keep one thing at the forefront of your mind: you are still the master of your own fate. If you genuinely believe that you can be productive and bring benefits to a new employer, you’ll find that new job.

OK. Let’s be real. You may not be able to secure the same level of pay and/or benefits that you were receiving at your last position. That’s just a fact of life in today’s workforce. It’s not likely any reflection on you, but just the realities of today’s job market.

That said, it also doesn’t mean that you have to settle on being a big-box greeter, or a burger flipper, or worse.

Like the headline says, you ARE the master of your own fate. You’re the one who’s going update your resume to fit today’s job market and make it compatible with the many ATS (automated tracking systems) tools that are out there. You’re the one who will be scheduling the informational interviews and attending the many networking events that populate today’s landscape. And more.

To pick up on what Coach Lombardi said, even though you’ve been knocked down, you’re still the one who will decide if you’re going to get back up again.