[crystal eyes]

I would like to take a second to introduce myself. I am Crystal Eyes and having been terminated recently from my job of five years I have lost confidence in myself and more importantly to me, I have lost my faith in others. I can use some help woth self esteem building and would appreciate any comments or tips anyone may have!

[unaluna]

Hi crystal eyes. I am sorry you have suffered these losses. This is a great place to get support. I hope you will feel welcome here and find help here.

[montospecks]

Learn something new! For me, having gained a new skill is a big confidence booster I feel proud and accomplished for pushing myself successfully and something to show for it.

For you, maybe something relevant to your career would give you a boost and beneficial for any new job opportunities. Try it out, and lemme know if it helps! Or post what you've found helps!

Welcome Crystal Eyes. I am in teh same situation as you sort of. I have worked in a certain industry for 25+ years, and am trying to move up. Where I used to be hired at almost anything I applied, now I am being overlooked for the younger crowd. I have gone back to school 7 times for new trades or degrees, and yet I have no practical experience in them. I am on employment insurance right now and I totally understand how you feel about loss of self esteem. I know Have skills...but can't say specifically which ones or how to aply them to the fields I want. I understand how discouraging it can be. receiving rejection after rejection, or no call at all.

Economic times are hard too. There are so many other people who can feel your pain so your are not alone. I have gone to a career counsellor and a regular mental health counsellor. The career counsellor to specifically help me with my employment questions and job search. The other counsellor to help me with self esteem. Do you know what helped me put things into perspective? I have applied for about 9 jobs and no call backs....I chatted online here with a person who applied to 200 jobs and only got 10 callbacks. I can learn from her about not giving up so early. The next tip would be to go like you already have it. That has been difficult for me, but I have already seen evidence that attitude is everything.

I wish you all the best and...I know that this sounds...old fashioned...keep your chin up! We can all help eachother through this. Hugs and support.