I’VE BEEN FIRED… NOW WHAT?

Okay, you’ve just been canned, given the boot, let go, sent packing, terminated, or whatever descriptive you may choose to use. We know that getting fired from your job aint a nice experience… yep; we said “aint.” With the economy taking a spiraling nose dive and gas prices soaring towards the inner galactic galaxies and beyond, the last thing anyone can stomach would be receiving the old ax from their job. According to Business Week the average employee has a one-in-three chance of getting fired. In order to supplement income, a number of families are finding themselves searching for a second job just to stay afloat, and even those are hard to come by. Nevertheless, the main question to your demise would be “what do I do now?” We’ve taken the time to construct a nice little repair kit to help you dust yourself off and go back at it again.

 

 

Basically, the recovering from the loss of your job comes with a five step process.

The first step would be to Deal with it, sound harsh? Maybe so, but there are many ways to “deal with it”. The most important thing is to get through the denial phase. Accept that you’ve been fired and that only you can get yourself back on your career path. So, go ahead; feel sorry for yourself for one day of two. Take some time to calm down and regroup. But just make sure your next course of action is to go back to the drawing board and start making some major career plans. I’m not going to feed you the old “whenever a door closes another one opens” speech, but the fact is, you’ve gotta make things happen for yourself only YOU can hold yourself back. It sounds corny, but making up your mind to finding a better job is the first step to doing just that.

 

Damage Control

 

Let’s not get into the circumstances of your termination- the fact remains that you must try to sell yourself to another company. Before you begin your job hunt, you need to take some steps to minimize the effect getting fired has on your job search. Legally, when other jobs call your former place of employment, your former boss is only allowed to give the position you held and to confirm the dates of your employment with the company. The only way your former boss can comment about you is if you place them as a personal reference. You don’t have to volunteer on your resume that you were fired from your last job, make no reference to it on your cover letter either. There will be an opportunity to discuss it later, it’s not your obligation to bring it up ( just don’t lie about it if asked).

 

Plan of Action

Get another job…this is simple… well considering the economic condition, it’s actually not- but try very, very hard to get another job! A complete guide on job hunting is for another article. For our purposes, I’ll simply tell you to get busy with your best job-hunting techniques-networking, resume scattering, door to door, or whatever. Just put together a plan and make it happen and work from there.

 

Damage control – Reprise

Alright, you’ve have an interview coming up. Now what? Again, you don’t ever have to volunteer that you we’re “involuntarily terminated”. If the interviewer does ask, with as much graciousness as you can muster, explain why you were fired and try to make it sound like it was the right decision. Make sure you explain that being fired is an opportunity to explore jobs that better suit you. Arrive prepared to explain exactly why the job you’re seeking is just such an opportunity.

 Tip: Never, under any circumstances say anything negative about your former place of employment. This is vital. If you go on and on about how whack your old boss was and how the job really sucked, you will look insanely unprofessional.

 

Now, lets review what we’ve learned 

 

 1)       Accept that you have been fired, and work through it emotionally

2)       Have a real plan for your job search and stick with it

3)       Don’t volunteer that you were fired, but never deny it

4)       Never be negative when talking about your previous employer, be gracious and positive when explaining why you lost your job.

 

Doing these things will not guarantee you another job right away, but you’ll present yourself in the best light in your quest for new employment. Good luck and go get’em!

 

 Some familiar celebrities that got the old ax before they made it big.

 

1) Mogul Russell Simmons was fired from his job in highschool at Orange Julius

2) Multi-platinum rapper Snoop was fired from his first job as a grocery bagger.

3) Mariah Carey was given the boot from a job as a hat checker.