10 Things To Do When You’re Fired
What to do if you’ve been fired? Where do you go from here? Getting fired is everyone’s worst work nightmare. Some slackers and crooks deserve to have their employment terminated, but many people lose their jobs for much more arbitrary reasons. If you find yourself facing this dreaded event, you need to keep your wits about you. The two things that you probably want to do – run out the door or start screaming – are absolutely the worst choices.
Here’s a step by step list of what you need to know when you have been fired from your job.
1. Understand why you’ve been fired.
One of the most important steps for finding the next job is understanding what went wrong in your last one. Oftentimes, people lose their jobs because they just weren’t a good fit for them. Most importantly, people need to “own the failure” by understanding what they personally did wrong and not blaming others for what happened.
2. Don’t do anything rash or bitter.
As satisfying as it might be to send former co-workers or client lists an email about everything that’s wrong with that company, don’t do it. You need to protect your reputation now more than ever, and a bitter, hostile exit will make that impossible.
3. Ask for a second chance
Recognize that you can negotiate many things, even if you’re being let go. Managers often feel guilty about firing people. So if you haven’t done anything really horrid, you may find that management will help you in various ways in order to reduce their feelings of guilt.
4. File for unemployment benefits as soon as you can.
Depending on the circumstances of your dismissal and what state you live in, you could be eligible for unemployment benefits that could help you pay the bills while you’re looking for the next gig. Check with your state’s labor department to find out whether you qualify.
5. Don’t just look for any job; look for the right job.
Once you know what you’re good at, you can start thinking about what kind of job you’d like to have next. Pinpointing specific jobs and companies that seem like a good fit and honing in on them. Rather than sending out a blast of applications to any open position you think you might be qualified for, you should use LinkedIn and your own personal social network to find people employed in positions of power at the companies you want to work for.
6. Don’t be ashamed of being fired
Once you’re at the stage where you’re going on job interviews, it’s important to come up with a game plan for how you’re going to address your gap in employment when it ultimately comes up. Be proactive about addressing the elephant in the room . While you probably shouldn’t bring up being fired the moment you walk in the door, there will likely be a chance to discuss it sometime in your initial interview.
7. Remain respectful and professional.
Even if you hate these jerks, you do not want to burn any bridges. These are the people who are likely to be talking to future potential employers. Ask for extra time if you need or want it. You may not get it, but you won’t lose anything by asking.
8. Do not insult your former boss or your former employer.
No employer likes to wonder if you will talking about them that way in the future. Also, don’t be angry. Feeling angry after being fired is normal. However, you need to leave that anger at home and not bring it to the interview with you.
9. Move On and be positive
As hard as it may be, and it is hard, you need to get over getting fired and move on. You need to be able to convince employers that, regardless of what happened in the past, you are a strong candidate for the position and can do the job. Focusing on the skills and experience you have, rather than the firing, will help sell you to the employer and will help you get the job.
10. Don’t Burn Bridges
Although you’re not leaving the company under the best circumstances, how you leave can affect your success down the line. After being fired, it’s not uncommon to feel anger toward the company and certain employees. Remember, you are not the only one.
