One of the most negative experiences anyone may have is the loss of job. The most important thing to do if you find yourself unemployed is to stop blaming yourself and analizing the reasons why it was YOU. Sometimes these thoughts are driving you nuts and all you want to do is to feel so sorry for yourself. Yes, it's tough. Remember, that it is NOT your fault. Thousands of people lose their jobs every day, and among them are very hard-working, honest, creative personalities. Instead of analizing the reasons why me, just accept the fact and move on. Depending on your personality, try to cope with the problem in the most gentle manner; in other words be good to yourself. If you are the kind of person that needs to let things out-do let them out: cry, scream when noone sees or hears you, but it shouldn't last more than a couple of days. After that make a plan of actions for finding a new job. Remember, that you deserve a good job, and be patient about it, unless your circumstances don't allow you to be patient and you need to pay your bills right away. If it's the case, grab the first job available which would keep you going, and look for another, the better one. You may find it difficult to decide what to do with your free time, which all of a sudden became so abundant. My advice to you will be the following: don't spend it all on the job search. I'd spend only 30-40% of all the time looking for a job. The rest of it is to take advantage of and to treat yourself nicely: to excercise, read your favorite book or magazine you've always wanted but didn't have time for, and whatever you can think of (just be creative). The reason why all your time shouldn't be spent on the job search is because there will be a lot of unsuccessful contacts through the phone or even through personal interviews, and the more people you ask about position for yourself, the more disappointments you'll come across (it doesn't mean that you should not do anything at all and people will find you). If you live in America, you may understand what I am talking about.
The potential employers give false promises, compliment you during the interview, tell you they will be in touch, and you never hear from them. It's amazing how comfortable they feel about lying and misleading people in their job search.
Therefore, don't get discouraged and think about them (unsuccessful interviews) as an essential part of you search. Remember, nothing lasts forever: there will be the light at the end of the tunnel. Your unemployment will end one day, very likely when you don't expect it. Don't put too much hope on the very promising contacts. Even if someone tells you he will hire you, be prepared for the nasty surprize. Once a school's principal sent me a contract through the mail after the interview and salary discussion; three weeks later he called and said he terminated the contract because my references were not good. I know that he didn't call anyone and simply found another teacher for a lower salary. Another important thing is not to reject even the smallest chances to get the job you want; you never know. I lost my jobs four times,
and all "great interviews" led me nowhere but frustration and disappointment. When I was making contacts with a thought "This must be a waste of time, I just need to make sure I am doing my best", people would just hire me without complimenting my "experience and intelligence". To make a long story short, think positive and don't stop respecting yourself because of losing the job. Years from now you may think that losing this jobt was the best thing that ever happened to you. Things change. Very often they change for the better.