LVE Q1: Do youoften meet professionals who suddenly lost their job and are now seekingemployment?

Jihane Labib:
Yes. Being suddenly forced to leave a job is a painful and emotionallydifficult experience. I regularly meet individuals—both men and women, oftenover 35 or 40—who are trying to make sense of what happened and figureout how to move forward. Many come looking for guidance, healing, and afresh start.

LVE Q2: How dothey experience this unemployment period? Do they bounce back quickly?

Jihane Labib:
People react differently to job loss:

• Some seek     support and actively choose to rebuild     and relaunch their career
• Some feel     like victims, blaming     the employer and remaining stuck in that narrative
• Some react     with anger, projecting their pain     outward and resisting change

In today’s market, it can take an average of 6 months to find anew position—even if you're currently employed. For those unexpectedly laidoff, it’s even harder, because they weren’t mentally or practicallyprepared.

This includes:

• Reworking     their CV to meet market demand
• Reassessing     their career goals
• Clarifying     the roles they’re actually targeting

Unemployment is often one of the most emotionally and financiallydraining periods of someone’s life. And the way it’s experienced dependsnot just on age, but on a person’s emotional maturity and resilience.I’ve worked with senior professionals who were deeply shaken by the experience.

LVE Q3: No oneis immune to a sudden layoff. How can someone start over while stayingpositive?

Jihane Labib:
Absolutely—no one is safe from sudden dismissal anymore, especially intoday's global economic landscape.

When it happens, the person goes through what we call the griefprocess, as first described by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. I wroteabout this in my 2013 article for La Vie Économique.

Losing a job, whether through layoff or negotiated departure,triggers emotional stages like:

• Denial
• Anger
• Sadness
• Bargaining
• Acceptance

Working with a professional coach helps individuals:

• Understand     which phase they’re in
• Step back     and see their situation with perspective
• Process     emotions
• Regain     self-confidence
• Start     building a new path forward

LVE Q4: Isthis the right time to work on improving one’s job search tools?

Jihane Labib:
Let’s be clear: a coach doesn’t give advice.
A coach helps the coachee find the best personalized solution,based on their:

• Resources
• Motivations
• Determination

After coaching sessions with executives who’ve experienced layoffs, I’veseen real transformation.

Often, fear and anxiety are replaced by vision and action. Manygo on to launch new ventures or reimagine their career trajectory inways they’d never considered before.

One testimonial sticks with me:

“I’m grateful it happened—because I would have never had the courage toleave. Thanks to coaching, I launched my own business and discovered a versionof myself I didn’t know existed. Thank you for believing in me and unlocking mypotential.”

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