When your employment ends - Coping with job loss and moving forward.
Losing a job can be a deeply challenging experience. Whether the end of your employment came unexpectedly or followed a difficult period at work, it can affect much more than your income. For nurses, midwives and students, our professional role can be closely connected to our sense of identity, competence and purpose, making the loss of a position particularly difficult.
You may find yourself questioning your abilities, replaying workplace events or worrying about what comes next. Feelings of grief, anger, embarrassment, disappointment, relief, anxiety or self-doubt can all occur.
While losing a role can feel very personal, the end of a job does not define your worth, your professional identity or your future.
❤️ Give yourself time to process what has happened
There can be pressure to immediately “bounce back”, start applying for jobs and put the experience behind you. In reality, it is normal to need some time to process what has happened.
Losing employment can involve many of the same responses we experience with other significant losses. Your routine may suddenly change, relationships with colleagues can disappear, and plans you had for your career may feel uncertain.
Try to acknowledge what you are feeling without making permanent conclusions about yourself or your future during a difficult period.
Consider how you would respond to a colleague or friend going through the same experience. Try offering yourself that same patience and compassion.
🧠 Be careful not to make the job loss about your worth
After a termination, redundancy or unsuccessful probationary period, it can be easy to think:
“I wasn't good enough.”
“I've failed.”
“Everyone will think I'm incompetent.”
“What if I can't get another job?”
These thoughts can feel convincing when confidence has been shaken, but the circumstances surrounding employment ending are often complex.
Workplace culture, organisational change, restructuring, communication difficulties, leadership issues, interpersonal relationships, differing expectations or simply a poor fit between a person and a particular workplace can all play a part.
Instead of asking “What's wrong with me?”, consider asking:
“What can I learn from this experience, and what would I like to do differently moving forward?”
🔍 Reflect without blaming yourself
Once some of the initial emotion has settled, reflection can help turn a difficult experience into something useful.
You might consider:
- What aspects of the role suited my strengths?
- What parts of the role did I find particularly challenging?
- Were there early signs that the workplace or culture wasn't the right fit for me?
- Was feedback communicated clearly and did I have an opportunity to respond to it?
- Are there clinical, communication, organisational or interpersonal skills I would like to strengthen?
- What support would help me succeed in my next position?
- What type of workplace is most likely to bring out my best?
Reflection doesn't mean accepting responsibility for everything that occurred. It means identifying what is within your control and using that knowledge to help guide your next steps.
🌱 Rebuilding confidence
A difficult workplace experience can significantly affect professional confidence, particularly if you have received criticism or questioned your competence.
Remember that one workplace experience is only one part of your professional story.
Reconnect with the things that remind you of your capabilities. Consider previous positive feedback, successful clinical experiences, qualifications you have achieved, challenges you have overcome and the relationships you have built throughout your career.
Talking with trusted colleagues, mentors or professional supports can also help you gain perspective.
📝 Focus on what you can control
Periods of uncertainty can quickly become overwhelming. Practical action can help restore a sense of direction and control.
When you feel ready, consider updating your résumé, contacting referees, reconnecting with professional networks and exploring employment opportunities. You might also review your finances and establish a realistic plan for the period between jobs.
Maintain some structure in your day. Regular sleep, physical activity, nutritious meals, social connection and activities outside of work can all help support wellbeing.
You don't need to solve everything at once. Small, achievable steps can gradually rebuild momentum and confidence.
🤝 Seek support when you need it
Job loss can sometimes trigger significant anxiety, low mood, sleep difficulties or feelings of hopelessness. This can be particularly challenging when employment difficulties have followed workplace conflict, bullying, performance management or another distressing professional experience.
You don't have to manage this alone.
Talk with people you trust and consider seeking professional support if you are finding it difficult to cope. Your GP can also help you assess how you are managing and discuss appropriate supports.
For nurses, midwives and students in Victoria, the Nursing and Midwifery Health Program Victoria (NMHPV) provides free, confidential and independent support. Speaking with someone who understands the particular pressures of nursing and midwifery can help you process what has happened, regain perspective and think about what comes next.
🌤️ Moving forward
The loss of a job may close one chapter of your professional life, but it does not determine the next one.
With time, reflection and the right support, a difficult employment experience can provide greater clarity about the kind of nurse or midwife you want to be, the environment in which you work best and what you need from your next workplace.
Your career is bigger than one role, one workplace and one difficult experience.