You Just Got Fired. Now What?
“The experience of being fired from a job is high on the list of stressful life events that can happen to anyone over the course of their employment,” says Dr. Melodie Schaefer, executive director of The Chicago School, Southern California Counseling Centers.
So how do you manage the stress of being fired and get on the road to your next job? Here are some steps.
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.
“It can be awkward for colleagues to say goodbye to a fired employee, so don’t bother going from cubicle to cubicle to announce your departure,” says Jeffery Cohen, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Recession-Proof Careers. “Simply call your closest friends at work that evening to explain the news. They’ll understand your desire to be discreet, given the circumstances.”
After being fired, it’s not uncommon to feel anger toward the company and certain employees.
“Never bad-mouth a former employee or employer online, offline or via social media,” Cohen says. “You never know when you’ll need a reference. That small sense of satisfaction from dissing a former company will ultimately be outweighed if it costs you a future job.”
Manage Your Emotions
While you may feel that your future is uncertain, it’s important to realize that getting fired is not the end of your career.
But keeping your emotions in check can be hard, which is why Schaefer recommends good self-care by exercising and journaling to relieve stress after being fired.
One aspect of getting fired that can weigh heavily on your mind is how to relay the bad news to your friends and family, for fear of their reactions and judgments. Schaefer says that remaining forward-thinking is vital when talking about your termination.
“Say, ‘I’d rather not have to dwell on the past and would really appreciate your input in helping me think about my next steps, now that I have a chance to consider making a change,’” she advises.
Pick Your Battles
While it’s common to feel anger toward your former employer, taking legal action is viable only in certain cases.
Paul Lopez, an employment attorney with the firm Tripp Scott, says he regularly receives calls from people seeking legal advice after being fired.
“A lot of people are fired simply because they didn’t get along with their boss, and you can’t sue a company because your boss was a jerk,” says Lopez.
However, there are circumstances that warrant legal action — such civil-rights violations.
“No one can be fired because of their sex, race, age, disability or national origin,” says Lopez. “If there’s a manager who has a prejudice against someone in those protected classes and fires them — that’s actionable.”
Dennis Nason, CEO of Nason & Nason, an executive recruitment firm, adds, “If you’re thinking about suing your previous employer, unless you have a very strong case, it’s not going to get you anywhere. My advice is to move on.”
Start Over
Once you’ve allowed some time to mend emotionally and have gotten over the anger of being fired, it’s time to set sail on a new course.
“Make a bad time a good opportunity,” says Nason. “Ask yourself if you were in the right position, or if you need to rethink your career.”
Career coach Ann Mehl suggests finding a coach or a friend to help you outline your past accomplishments and rebrand yourself in the job market.
“Stress what you learned from the past experience and frame your answers so that you let interviewers know that you see this new opportunity as a means to achieving your ultimate career objectives,” says Mehl.
When you go in for interviews, have a good grasp on the facts about why you were fired, advises Nason. When asked why you left your last job, your answer should be true, concise and as positive as possible.
“Don’t lead your resume, cover letter or interviews with bad news,” says Nason. “They’ll get around to asking why you left your last job. Tell the truth in a brief 10 to 20 seconds.”
The key in interviews to explaining why you got fired is to make it not about you, says Cohen. “Anything from ‘the new boss wanted to bring in his own team’ to ‘the entire department was downsized’ is better than admitting you lost your job due to your own performance.”
Remember that getting fired is never as horrible as it seems at first, especially if you use the time to pursue a chapter in your career.
By Denene Brox, for Yahoo! HotJobsSample Interview Thank-You Letter
Do you know that most applicants don’t send a post-interview thank-you letter? Even if you think an offer is in the bag, you can always improve your chances of getting the job if you send a thank-you letter. Your letter should reiterate your core strengths and emphasize the value you offer. You can even squelch any concerns the employer raised about your qualifications and add important information you didn’t get to discuss in the interview.
Check out this sample thank-you letter:
John Smith
14 Elm St. | Sometown, CA 55555 | 555-555-5555 | john@somedomain.com
April 18, 2011
Ms. Amy Lin
Manager
ABC Company
1 Corporate Way
Sometown, CA 55555
Dear Ms. Lin:
Thank you for meeting with me this morning to discuss the executive assistant position. I enjoyed our conversation, and I am very excited about the possibility of joining your team.
I know what it takes to run a busy and successful insurance office. In my last position as an administrative assistant for XYZ Company, I helped manage all aspects of the operation, handling tasks such as bookkeeping, customer service, claims processing, report preparation and ongoing communications with the district manager.
You mentioned that you need an assistant who has strong “people” skills, and this is an area in which I excel. At XYZ Company, I helped the manager build a loyal client base by consistently providing excellent service. My last supervisor said, “John is one of the hardest-working employees I have known. His friendly and professional customer-service skills helped the firm achieve a 20 percent revenue increase last year, and I couldn’t have done it without him.”
I don’t see the executive assistant role as a punch-the-clock, 9-to-5 job; I will be your “right hand” — helping you manage the day-to-day operations, volunteering for special projects, and ensuring the company is positioned for growth and increased profitability.
Again, thank you for considering me for this exciting opportunity. As you requested, I’m enclosing a list of professional references. Please feel free to call me if you need additional information, have any questions or would like to offer me the job! Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
John Smith
Enclosure: List of References
By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert
10 Cool Jobs and What They Pay
What’s the coolest job ever? One that allows you to express your personality while doing something you love and getting paid for it (otherwise, it’s a hobby).
That’s the conclusion reached by David Rosen author of What’s That Job and How the Hell Do I Get It?: The Inside Scoop on More Than 50 Cool Jobs from People Who Actually Have Them.
Rosen believes “coolness” is subjective. Everyone interviewed in his book thought they had a cool job, but that doesn’t mean they wanted any of the other 49 jobs he wrote about. “The mediators were fascinated by solving disputes and helping people get along. Designing jewelry would seem trite to them,” Rosen says. “Physical therapists love that their jobs end and there’s no homework, but some of the coolest jobs are jobs you’re never really not doing.”
Still, some jobs just seem inherently cool — the kind of jobs you dream about on days when you want to knock down your cubicle walls and run screaming from the office. With that in mind, here’s a list of 10 really cool jobs, links for finding them on Monster and, just to keep the reality meter running, a glimpse at what they pay.
1. Cowboy
If you dream of living the rural life as a cowboy, consider a position as a rancher or farm manager. You can expect to earn between $25,000 and $35,000, says Brady Lynch, an agricultural search consultant for MRINetwork Management Recruiters of Sioux Falls LLP. “A lot of times [benefits] will include other things like housing, a vehicle and even beef or chickens,” he adds.
2. Actor or Singer
Most actors have second jobs, and they often end up as waitresses, teachers and administrative assistants. About 50,000 Americans work as actors, earning a median income of $11.61 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Singers and musicians do better, earning an average of $19.73, but in both fields, the work is so erratic that the BLS can’t calculate reliable annual earnings data.
3. Brewmaster
It’s every college guy’s dream and a reality for about 4,000 members of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling. Study to become a brewer at The Siebel Institute or the University of California at Davis. The typical brewmaster salary ranges from $25,000 at a local brew pub to more than $100,000 at a larger national brewery, says a source at a national brewers trade association.
4. Professional Golfer
You need nerves of steel and a love of travel to survive as a professional golfer. Average yearly winnings in the Ladies Professional Golf Association were $230,117 in 2010. With 161 ladies on the money list, top-ranked Na Yeon Choi earned more than $1.8 million, while 161st-ranked Jackie Gallagher-Smith earned just $1,786. If you want to stay in one place, work as a golf pro and earn a median salary of $57,141, according to Monster’s Salary Wizard.
5. Cruise Director
Cruise directors are the multitaskers of the seas. At American Cruise Lines (ACL), the cruise director organizes and goes on shore excursions, manages guest speakers, schedules entertainment, does concierge duty and then circulates in the dining room to pitch the next day’s events, says Joe Pascarella, ACL assistant manager for operations. Hospitality recruiter Renard International in Toronto says the average salary for a cruise director is $45,000 to $50,000. If you have bank teller or retail experience, consider signing on as a casino cashier or for a job in an on-board retail shop.
6. Personal Trainer
The vast majority of the 235,000 personal trainers and fitness instructors aren’t selling their DVDs at Wal-Mart; they’re working in health clubs, where they earn an average salary of $35,920, according to the BLS.
7. Academy Awards Ballot Counter
For the past 72 years, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Entertainment and Media practice has been counting the ballots cast for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual Academy Awards. The two partners who run the 10-day ballot-counting team get to sit backstage and pass out the envelopes with the winners’ names inside. Inside Public Accounting says the average compensation for an accounting partner was $452,744 as of mid-2009. Since your odds of becoming one of the two partners handling the task are as remote as your odds of winning an Academy Award, consider an alternative: working as an accountant in the entertainment industry.
8. Broadcast Sports Reporter
What’s not to like about a job where you watch sports, talk sports and interview athletes? The paycheck may not be as large as you’d imagine. The mean salary for the approximately 9,300 US broadcast journalists is $53,590 while the 40,000 or so people working as print reporters earn a median salary of $38,420.
9. Firefighter
There’s a lot of work out there in firefighting but the competition is fierce, so you’ll need mechanical aptitude, physical fitness, and a bit of firefighting or emergency responder education to win a paid position. The good news is that if you can land this job, opportunity will abound. The BLS projects the industry will grow 19 percent between 2008 and 2018, to 427,600 jobs. The median salary for firefighters is $45,250. Make chief, and you could about double that salary.
10. Flight Attendant
Free flights are the best perk offered to flight attendants. Attendants’ salaries start at around $16,191 a year, according to the Association of Flight Attendants. But salary goes up as you stay on the job, and the median salary for the 98,700 US flight attendants is $37,740, according to the BLS. Some airlines have minimum and maximum height requirements, and you can’t be too large to walk down the aisle facing forward. Speaking a second language will make you more appealing to international airlines.
By Dona DeZube, Monster Finance Careers ExpertOutside of Healthcare, Which Jobs Are Growing?
When experts talk about fast-growing industries with lots of jobs, healthcare is often mentioned. In fact, approximately 28 percent of all new jobs will be created in this industry through 2018, according to the US Department of Labor — this translates to 3.2 million new healthcare positions.
But where else are jobs growing within the US economy? Many people switching careers or assessing their education and training options aren’t interested in healthcare. Are there other rewarding, rapidly growing jobs that may be a better fit for them?
According to the latest edition of 100 Fastest-Growing Careers, there are many. In the book, author Michael Farr identifies and discusses the 100 occupations with the highest growth projections through the year 2018, based on information from the US Department of Labor.
“Rapidly growing jobs will often be more attractive career options than jobs that are not growing quickly,” Farr says. “Often, these jobs offer better-than-average opportunities for employment and job security. For this reason, you should pay attention to jobs that are projected to grow quickly.”
Below are some of the fastest-growing occupations, outside of healthcare, featured in 100 Fastest-Growing Careers:
- Teachers: Self-Enrichment Education: Growth through 2018: 32 percent
- Computer Network, Systems and Database Administrators: Growth through 2018: 30 percent
- Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers: Growth through 2018: 28 percent
- Market and Survey Researchers: Growth through 2018: 28 percent
- Accountants and Auditors: Growth through 2018: 22 percent
- Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Managers and Specialists: Growth through 2018: 22 percent
- Computer Software Engineers and Computer Programmers: Growth through 2018: 21 percent
- Barbers, Cosmetologists and Other Personal Appearance Workers: Growth through 2018: 20 percent
- Construction Laborers: Growth through 2018: 20 percent
- Customer Service Representatives: Growth through 2018: 18 percent
10 Tips to Boost Your Interview Skills
Even the smartest and most qualified job seekers need to prepare for job interviews. Why, you ask? Interviewing is a learned skill, and there are no second chances to make a great first impression. So study these 10 strategies to enhance your interview skills.
Practice Good Nonverbal Communication
It’s about demonstrating confidence: standing straight, making eye contact and connecting with a good, firm handshake. That first nonverbal impression can be a great beginning — or quick ending — to your interview.
Dress for the Job or Company
Today’s casual dress codes do not give you permission to dress as “they” do when you interview. It is important to look professional and well-groomed. Whether you wear a suit or something less formal depends on the company culture and the position you are seeking. If possible, call to find out about the company dress code before the interview.
Listen
From the very beginning of the interview, your interviewer is giving you information, either directly or indirectly. If you are not hearing it, you are missing a major opportunity. Good communication skills include listening and letting the person know you heard what was said. Observe your interviewer, and match that style and pace.
Don’t Talk Too Much
Telling the interviewer more than he needs to know could be a fatal mistake. When you have not prepared ahead of time, you may ramble when answering interview questions, sometimes talking yourself right out of the job. Prepare for the interview by reading through the job posting, matching your skills with the position’s requirements and relating only that information.
Don’t Be Too Familiar
The interview is a professional meeting to talk business. This is not about making a new friend. Your level of familiarity should mimic the interviewer’s demeanor. It is important to bring energy and enthusiasm to the interview and to ask questions, but do not overstep your place as a candidate looking for a job.
Use Appropriate Language
It’s a given that you should use professional language during the interview. Be aware of any inappropriate slang words or references to age, race, religion, politics or sexual orientation — these topics could send you out the door very quickly.
Don’t Be Cocky
Attitude plays a key role in your interview success. There is a fine balance between confidence, professionalism and modesty. Even if you’re putting on a performance to demonstrate your ability, overconfidence is as bad, if not worse, as being too reserved.
Take Care to Answer the Questions
When an interviewer asks for an example of a time when you did something, he is seeking a sample of your past behavior. If you fail to relate a specific example, you not only don’t answer the question, but you also miss an opportunity to prove your ability and talk about your skills.
Ask Questions
When asked if they have any questions, most candidates answer, “No.” Wrong answer. Part of knowing how to interview is being ready to ask questions to demonstrate an interest in what goes on in the company. Asking questions also gives you the opportunity to find out if this is the right place for you. The best questions come from listening to what you’re asked during the interview and asking for additional information.
Don’t Appear Desperate
When you interview with the “please, please hire me” approach, you appear desperate and less confident. Maintain the three C’s during the interview: cool, calm and confident. You know you can do the job; make sure the interviewer believes you can, too.
By Carole Martin, Monster Contributing Writer