I Just Got Fired: What's Next?

“Getting fired for having integrity or being a thought-leader is probably the best thing that can ever happen to someone because it frees you to move into the next opportunity when you may never have been willing to jump ship on your own.” – Heather Manley

To get fired is a set expression and it means that you lose your job, you are dismissed from your responsibilities.

Losing your job is not the end of the world; hence one should not curl up and die or stay in bed depressed, as a new door always opens up when one door closes. You only need to look very well in order to see the next open door which has been waiting for you to discover.

People get fired for different reasons, and sometimes it could be for no fault of theirs. Currently, in Nigeria, organizations are laying off people due to the economic recession the country is facing. In some cases, organizations close down completely, laying off both performers and non-performers. People also get fired for not delivering on their responsibilities and meeting set targets and objectives. People get fired when they fall out with their bosses. People get fired when there is a new boss who just joined the organization and he/she wants to pick his/her own team. Whatever might be the reason for being fired, one thing that should come to mind is that ‘this is not the end of the road of life.’

When one looses their job, the first thing that needs to be properly managed in order to survive is their emotions. How this emotion is managed could make or mar the person involved. The shock of the experience and fear of the unknown and uncertainty of the future could lead to depression and brain block. This is the moment to see the positive side of the experience, and not dwell so much on the loss. The tendency for one to be ashamed of the experience is also very high, as some of the remaining employees will take it upon themselves to tell you “sorry”.  If you allow the “sorry” message to stick, it would weigh you down; hence, you need to respond by saying that you are not the first person to experience being fired. Let them know that your focus now is on your next steps and not worrying over spilled milk, and would be glad if they can support you in focusing for the future.

As soon as you have sorted out your emotions, it is now time to start over with your plans for the future. I would recommend you sitting down with a book to analyze what might have led to your being fired. The purpose of this exercise is to guard against such in future. This meditation and planning moment is when you need to re-evaluate yourself and experience, and then decide your next line of action. Do you want to seek another job or better still venture into a line of business? If your decision is to venture into a line of business, then you need to engage in some serious research to find out how to set up the business and also succeed in it. However, if you need to seek another job, you should review the gaps identified from your analysis of why you were fired in the first place.

Knowing these gaps will enable you develop plans and actions to remedy them. Make note of the good and negative lessons learned from your lost job in order to frame how you would tackle similar situations in your new job. When you attend interviews, be sure to expect to answer the question, why you left your last job. Let your answer be true, short and as positive as possible.  Don’t go into very long stories of why you left. Find the positives in the negatives. Don’t make the reason of why you were fired about you or your performance, but about the job or the department you worked for.

This is an opportunity for you to rebrand and position yourself for greater challenges in the job market. Get a mentor, coach or a friend to assist you with outlining your past achievements, which will be used to rework your Resume, and update your LinkedIN profile in order to make it attractive to Recruiters.

As soon as your personal marketing tool(s) are ready, the next thing is for you to analyze your network and reach out to contacts that can assist in getting another job.  While waiting to be invited for an interview for another job, you can start working on developing new skill(s) or improving on skills that you lack based on your previous gap analysis. There are several free as well as online tools to enable you acquire relevant skills for your future job. You could also volunteer for organizations and companies to acquire relevant skills.

Analyze your savings (if any) and your expense. This is the time to delay some expenses and renegotiate any debts pending when you get a new job or means of income. Consider a part time job or vocation in order to keep busy while waiting for the desired job.

“Getting fired is never as horrible as it seems at first, especially if you use the time to pursue a new chapter in your career.” – Derene Brox.

I look forward to reading your comments, and/or answering any question(s) you might have on this issue.

About the Author
Emmanuel Michael, SPHRi?, HRPL, MCIPM, MITD is a seasoned and highly sought after strategic human resources professional with over 20 years management experience of which 13 has been in human resources management practice. A regular contributor on current HR issues and trends on social media and his personal blog - www.enmichael.ng

Follow him on Twitter @enmichael and join the weekly conversation - #HRwithEM on Saturdays at 4pm WAT as he reviews burning HR issues.