3 Ways to Support Loved Ones Through Job Loss or Career Change

Kaitlyn Clare Mason offers hope and encouragement for those in the midst of a career transition.

This is a crazy year -- for everyone. And for my family it's no different. Except that we chose to make this a crazy year before any of the COVID stuff happened. We listed our home for sale at the end of last year, moved in January hundreds of miles away, changed careers, bought land, started a farm, started building a house -- all of this before May, mind you.

And then, the shutdown. While our plans weren't totally thwarted, many families have had to completely shift gears. If you or a loved one is going through a career transition, whether you initiated that transition yourself or not, you're in good company here.

It's no coincidence that I started an online magazine called The Choose to Trust Club during my family's transition year. Change is just plain hard sometimes. And now, perhaps more than ever before, we need to continually be choosing trust in our lives.

So, to help you move from worry to peace, we’re releasing a new issue of The Choose to Trust Club every month. If you’d like to receive this free, downloadable magazine, you can sign up and read past issues at kaitlynclaremason.com/club.

Let us know if you’d like to write for us, too! We’d love to share your story of a time when you chose trust instead of letting fear and anxiety have the final say.

What follows below is an excerpt from this month’s issue is on “Navigating Job Loss & Career Change.” If you or a loved one could use a little hope & encouragement in the midst of a career transition, you won't want to miss this issue. 

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Consider ways to lovingly guide your loved one to place his or her trust in healthy places. #catholicmom

Navigating job loss or a career change is no cakewalk. Tensions are often high, many decisions need to be made, often quickly, and life doesn't often afford time for those lengthy conversations you'd probably like to have with your loved ones. Here are a few things you can do to help your loved ones during transition:

1 - Give them permission to dream without limits

Yes, reality is a real thing. Gravity exists. So do mortgages and phone bills.

But, by giving your loved ones permission to dream without limits, especially during what can be a stressful transition, you'll be giving them freedom to think and make decisions on their own. And this kind of healthy freedom is exactly what fosters trust within relationships.

There will come a time when dreams must be weighed against the reality of your present situation.

In the meantime, dreaming is an important step. Don't gloss over it. Take time to dream, make a plan, and then act.

2 - Bring up the concept of trust

In what, and in whom, is your loved one currently choosing to place their trust? Are they surrounded by a loving spouse and family? Are they trusting that God will handle everything & guide their decisions? Or, are they trusting in rocky relationships or situations that may be dangerous to their emotional, physical, and spiritual health?

Career transitions are often very difficult and present many new and often unforeseen challenges to individuals and families.

Consider ways in which you might be able to lovingly guide your loved one to place his or her trust in healthy places. Perhaps you could share stories about your own experiences, both good and bad, of placing your trust in God or in other friends & family members.

3 - Be there to listen

Encourage your loved one to share what's on his or her heart. Are there any particular things he or she is fearing at this time, and if so, are there any ways in which you might be able to help lessen those fears? Are there any particular burdens your loved one is carrying that you might be able to lessen? Let them know you care by giving them space to talk. And be there to listen & to lovingly guide or offer advice (when you're asked). So, ask questions, listen, and gently guide as you're able.

And to everyone in the midst of a transition this year, keep choosing trust!

Copyright 2020 Kaitlyn Clare Mason
Image created by the author in Canva.com using free elements.