What are some tips for handling the layoff itself?

Here are five ways to bring out the best in yourself:
1. Apply the three "D's" daily.
Although many jobs aren't glamorous or don't pay well, you can add dignity and meaning to them by applying the three "D's": diligence, dependability and discipline.
2. Practice persistence.
Whether in business or in life, persistence is the force leading to survival and success.
3. Support others when they're down.
Reaching out to individuals facing construction personal or professional problems greatly improves your own chances of success
4. Turn the thinking dial and become more optimistic.
When people give up and feel that they aren't going to make it, it's usually a self-fulfilling prophecy.
5. Tell yourself often, "If it's going to be, it's up to me!"
Make the choice to believe in yourself.
Lastly, if you take a construction personal or professional tumble and feel like a failure, bolster your self-esteem with this powerful truth from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."