Anyone who has had the misfortune of being retrenched or part of a failed startup will understand that there are five stages of grief. 

Instead of going through this stage of grief, let me rather focus on six actionable and tangible steps which you can follow to help you recover from this failure.

Firstly, understand that the situation you find yourself in is not unique. A little bit of health perspective goes a long way. 

Don’t live in the past of ‘what ifs’ and personal blame. Rather choose to live in the present of ‘what needs to be done now’ to get to where you want to get to. In most cases there is a silver-lining of your new freedom, explore and enjoy it. 

This might be the motivation you needed for starting that start-up business you have been telling your friends about passionately for so long. 

Much like a book, your situation is the end of a chapter and you need to start writing your next chapter. 

Secondly, Mindset, Mindset, Mindset. It’s vital that you protect your positive mindset and ensure that no negativity or self-doubt creeps in. 

It is only natural for you to stew over this sense of loss, but this is feeding the ego which may have been the reason why you find yourself in your current situation. 

It’s OK to marinate in your own self-pity juices, but only for a maximum of one day. 

Thereafter you need to get back into a healthy routine which includes personal hygiene, dressing as you would if you were going to the office, exercise, meditation, sleeping, eating and drinking right. Start and end your day at set times. Align these times with when you are most productive and when the hiring or buying world is awake. 

It’s important that you continue this positive working discipline to ensure that you attack your new reality and challenge as you would any new project.

Keeping busy will ensure that your mind does not sink in a negative downward spiral loop. It will if it is left idle and alone.

Thirdly, it’s important to identify the skills that you have that are relevant to the current market or industry in which you operate. 

For instance, if you work in sales, you are at an advantage over someone who has no sales skills. Generally, sales skills are in short supply. If you have worked in a tech startup and understand the entrepreneurial and tech landscape, this is also a vital skill to have. It will give you an advantage when applying to your next company.

If you have operated in an industry which has been severely disrupted such as travel and hospitality during COVID-19, you can convert this negative experience into a positive by demonstrating the resilience which you had built up during this period.

Failing and successfully picking yourself up during this period will be a ‘badge of honour’ in the upcoming years. Your answer to the question “How did you survive the pandemic?” will be a valuable one to assess your character.

Fourthly, understand that you are not alone. It’s vital that you connect with your network. As the saying goes “Your network is your net worth.” 

A practical way in which to do this is to open up your phone, open up your most popular messaging application, scroll all the way down to the end of your conversations, and re-engage with all those individuals with whom you had previously connected. 

Send a personal message to the individual along the lines of “Hey Linda, I trust you are well. It’s been ages since we last connected. I just wanted to reconnect and see what you are up to. No need to reply if you’re busy, but I wanted to update you on where I’m at currently. Stay safe. Best, Olivia”

Also ask for new referrals from each new engagement, this will ensure you build up a deeper network. 

If you are a visual person, map this on a blank page and place it above your desk or create a spreadsheet if you are a numbers person. 

Fifthly, use a CRM platform like HubSpot, Pipedrive or Zoho to capture and track these employment or project opportunities. 

Your first step is a marketing one. You need to create leads in the market by researching those companies or opportunities which attract you. 

Your next step is to generate leads by putting yourself out there in front of these leads. 

Your final step is a sales step. You must convert these leads into job opportunities.

Focus on the 20% people that generate 80% of the positive results. Fish where the Fish are.

Sixthly, Add Value.

Your natural inclination is to write a CV or proposal and to send it to the online job or work posts which you find interesting. However, every other applicant will do exactly the same thing. You should rather think how you could stand out from the crowd by using different channels instead of the traditional recruitment and procurement channels. 

Over the years I have pitched myself and companies using a myriad of campaigns from CV’s in the design of magazine covers to direct marketing drops on the desk of CEO’s. I have used leather bound, embossed proposals and sets of Russian dolls. 

Much like in sales, it takes on 4 to 8 people to influence a successful sale. It also takes 8 to 16 follow-ups to successfully close a cold sale. The same is true for selling yourself.

As in most things in life, the best houses, business opportunities, partners and job opportunities are successfully found through closed network referrals. 

Therefore, look within your connection network for people that work with or for the company that you are targeting for a job or project. 

Character references from these people are key in getting introductions and ultimate job success. 

In Summary:

1.    New Chapter, New Opportunities.

2.    Protect Mindset, Hard work and Discipline. 

3.    Skill and Experience stock take and align to future opportunities. 

4.    Re-engage your network and build new referrals.

5.    Track your sales and marketing activity and successes in a CRM 

6.    Add value and be creative to get noticed.  

What are you waiting for?