One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their job has been eliminated. It is seldom easy to do and often painful for the person who is hearing the news.

Just recently, I was involved in communicating a large layoff to employees at a Fortune 500 company. I sat with one woman after she had heard the news to tell her about the career transition services she could take advantage of. The woman was in shock and not ready to hear about transition services for her self. She said out loud several times, "How am I going to tell my kids this?"

When I asked her why she would not want to tell her kids, she said that her teenage son had been having a hard year in school and she did not want to upset him. She asked my advice.

Recently, my mother-in-law died. Losing a loved one and losing a job have similarities. Both involve losing something you love. Both involve change. I thought back to how my husband and I told our children that their grandmother had died. I remembered that we told them the truth, answered their questions and assured them that we would stay a strong family.

If you lose your job, here are some pointers for how to tell your children.