Most of us have seen The Apprentice and have heard Donald Trump utter those dreaded words, "your fired." Unfortunately, some of us have actually heard these horrible words in real life. Sometimes, it's hard to know what to do when fired. Should you go back to school? Is it time to switch careers? Do you jump back into your old field? Taking some time to really understand what prompted the loss of your job will help you avoid getting fired again in the future.
What to Do When You Get Fired
The first thing you need to do when you get fired is to figure out what went wrong. If it was due to an error on your part, then you need to learn from it and become a better person as well as potential employee in the future. But what if your job loss occurred due to no fault of your own? There are also those times when it's a wrongful termination. In this case, there are legal steps you can take. The best course of action is to contact the Department of Labor. They have information on the laws governing employment and can tell you if you have a valid claim or not. If you do, they will tell you where you can file your claim.
There are also those situations where termination is no fault of yours or the employer. In this economy, many companies are downsizing and will let some employees go. Sometimes, the person with the least seniority will be let go, or the person whose job is being phased out. So what do you do when you get fired because of downsizing? In the case of being laid off, don't take it personally, which can be hard to do. We have a tendency to feel sorry for ourselves and be angry at the whole situation. After all, no one wants to be a fired employee. We can even go into a form of depression over the whole thing if we're not careful.
One way to avoid feeling like a failure after being laid off is to ask your former boss for a letter of recommendation that clearly states that you weren't let go from this job by any fault of your own. This will help take care of the stigma of job loss when looking for other employment. Reading your boss's words of praise can also help you come to terms with your job loss. You'll realize that you really were a valuable employee; the company just couldn't afford to keep you.
As you look for a new job, be honest in interviews with potential employers, but don't be angry about the situation. Put no fault on your previous employer. After all, the person you are talking to could end up being your employer. Complaints or whining about your former job would leave them to wonder what kind of employee you would make. Always try to remain positive when talking to potential employers. If the firing wasn't any of your doing, which is the case with most of us, make sure to put emphasis on this.
As hard as it is to know what to do when fired, the time between jobs can be a period to take stock of who you are. Maybe it's time to think about taking your career in another direction. Some people swear that things happen for a reason. As hard as being fired may be, think of it as being told that it's time to move on to something else--perhaps something better.
Posted in: Career