Book shelf: Easing the shock of job loss

A new book on the self-help scene offers some practical advice on how workers can cope with job loss, and steps they can take toward re-employment.

"Blindsided: Surviving Career Meltdown," may be a resource of note to Michigan workers in transition, their friends, families and organizations that seek to support them. It offers methods designed to minimize destructive and non-productive behavior of unemployment and provides constructive exercises for those who have lost their jobs.

Author Roger E. Hawkins, Ph.D., an industrial organizational psychologist with more than 30 years of experience in the field, compares the aftermath of termination to the physical pain of those needing emergency medical treatment. He says employees who confront sudden job loss must face consequences more damaging than just the loss of income. His workbook, he explains, "provides processes to help people deal with the psychological trauma of sudden unemployment, while guiding them through the steps of an intense career search in today's terrible economy."

The book's six parts include sections on self-assessment, resume preparation, identifying career objectives, how and where to search for jobs, interviewing and record keeping. It is available from Amazon.com as well as retail locations.