How Being Fired Got Me Fired Up, Bouncing Back After Getting Fired

June 24, 2023 By archelys3@gmail.com 0

How to Deal with Getting Fired for No Reason, 8 Steps to Bouncing Back After Getting Fired

At 18 I owned my first business. At 25 I was a director of a company. Soon after that I knew that I was called to be an Entrepreneur.

In my early thirties I cut my teeth on multi-level marketing. But at one point along the way I ventured back, for just a brief period, into the workforce as an employee. I was still battling with a lack of self confidence to once and for all launch out on my own in business.

**How Being Fired Got Me Fired Up, Bouncing Back After Getting Fired**

I performed so well for the company that employed me – as I was being paid on commission – that head office called me one day and complained that they had to pay me too much.

I could never understand that call, but had a manager who seemed at times to be threatened by my performance. The day finally arrived when he rewarded me for my efforts by firing me.

D (Decision) – Day

That very day I gathered my family around me and declared that ‘Never again am I going to allow another man to determine my destiny. I will be in business for myself for the rest of my days.’

My father was not a businessman. My grandfather was not a businessman. But I knew for a fact that I was to be a businessman. And so that is what I have been for more than 20 years.

I started with a cleaning business ably aided by my young children and my wife as we distributed leaflets into letterboxes around our local area.

In a very short time I was earning more from my business than I had ever earned working for another man.

Since then I have also owned and operated businesses in the publishing, web design and hair salon industries.

In addition my blog is now read by people from 132 nations with its greatest readership being in America, India and the UK. I coach other business owners. I have self-published three best selling books in Australia and the UK, and I also speak professionally.

Currently I am building a separate database alongside my Archely Blog to whom I will offer an online course that will help my readers become all that they have been created to become.

One of my crowning achievements has been to assist my two eldest children launch their own profitable national and international online business, and my youngest daughter is now in business training in the hair salon industry.

10 Things Not To Say or Do If You’re Fired

Don’t Storm off Without Saving Important Documents
Don’t Discuss Severance Without Taking Some Time to Process
Don’t Refuse to Help With the Transition
Don’t Dismiss the Chance to Resign
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For a Recommendation
Don’t Disparage Your Supervisor or Co-Workers
Don’t Miss the Chance to Ask Why
Don’t Leave Without Exploring Other Jobs at the Company
Don’t Broadcast Your Firing Right Away
Most Importantly, Don’t Lose Faith in Yourself(1)

V (Victory) – Day

I look back at that momentous day when I was fired and all I can say to those who fired me is this – THANK YOU!

They shook me out of my complacency and forced me to once and for all fulfill my destiny as an entrepreneur and as a business owner.

Even now I think I’m just getting started. I feel very much like a late bloomer, but having talked to my creator about living to 104, I still have plenty of years ahead to do what I need to do in both business and in life.

Read:

My Advice To Budding Entrepreneurs

Make it a priority to learn the sales process. One of the most powerful things I learnt that turned me into an excellent salesman was that I found out what my client’s problem was, through the art of questioning and listening, and then simply helped them solve it.
Follow your passion and launch into business.
Money is never the issue. It’s whether you have the guts to give it a go.
Hire a business coach or a mentor for at least 12 months to build and teach you – and ask the hard questions that most of us fail to ask ourselves.
Never stop learning.

8 Steps to Bouncing Back After Getting Fired

Getting fired is the worst! Even if you were struggling in your position or were increasingly unhappy, losing your job sudddenly can feel like failure personified. And the process of involuntarily being forced to leave your position can swirl you into a blizzard of emotion: embarrassment, shame, worthlessness, self-pity, and depression.

Your identity is deeply embedded with what you do. So it’s not surprising that getting terminated is one of life’s most stressful and devastating events. This is not an easy thing to bounce back from, but bounce back you must if you want to move on and have a successful career. Because no one’s going to hire someone who’s feeling sorry for him- or herself.

Here’s how you can get your head back in the game:

Grieve

If there was ever a time to veg out and relax, this is it. It’s hard to job search if you’re filled with self-judgment, anger, or shame over being fired. Give yourself time to grieve the loss in its entirety—the daily routine that was familiar and comfortable, the interactions with former colleagues, and the sense of purpose or worth that your work gave you—even if it wasn’t your dream job. It’s a lot to take in.

Permit yourself to process the complicated emotions. Maybe even allow yourself some time to sulk and feel sorry for yourself. Go ahead and let it out. You are hereby granted permission to get into sweats and be the antithesis of productive.

But only for a limited time. After a couple of days, you’ve got to face the outside world again.

Don’t Compare and Despair

It’s probably not an ideal time to be swiping through the “best-of” reels of everyone else’s life. Feeling envious or comparing yourself to all the gainfully employed, seemingly happy people in your Facebook feed won’t help you bounce back. In fact, if you compare your situation (arguably one of your lowest moments) to everyone else’s, you risk falling into deep despair, and that’s no way to move on and forward with your career.

Take a social media breather for a while. Stop thinking about what everyone else is doing, and just focus on you.

Reframe the Situation

Thought it may seem impossible, one way to bounce back is to reframe your experience. Turn your job loss into an opportunity.

Read as many stories as you can stand about people who lost their job and overcame rejection. Articles like this one, this one, this one, and this one are a good start.

You’ll quickly see that being terminated doesn’t define you, your capabilities, or your future career any more than it did anyone else. In it’s simplest form, getting terminated is a data point you can use to make better decisions ahead. Fair warning: You might even find yourself feeling excited about what lies ahead.

Understand What Went Wrong

Being fired for performance (even if you weren’t made privy to the precise problems in your exit conversation) means you probably have some things to work on. The question is, how aware are you of your shortcomings? Do your best to identify them and avoid carrying them over to what lies ahead.

Start by re-reading all your employer reviews. Make note of the things you were praised for doing—you’ll want to take those with you to your next role. Consider too the development suggestions. What are they telling you? How could you have improved your performance?

Have Difficult Conversations

Reach out to trustworthy former colleagues and request honest feedback. Ask them about both your strengths and your weaknesses. Identify emerging themes or patterns after you’ve spoken with a few people. Recognize and acknowledge the issues that surface from this valuable and candid feedback.

When they share their thoughts, listen. Don’t argue, debate, or contradict. Don’t defend yourself or blame someone else. Simply pay attention. Although this is a challenging exercise, it will serve you, and your career, well.

Make a Corrective Action Plan

Once you get feedback from your peers, figure out what you can do to improve performance issues you want to work on. Is there a class you can take to build a skill? Books you can read to help you deal more effectively with others? Podcasts or videos that will help untangle the issues that stymied you? Do you need coaching in a certain area, such as time management?

Using difficult feedback to get back into a learning mode will boost your confidence as it shifts your focus from your loss to planning your next win.

Work Out

If you think working out seems to be the go-to answer for improving any situation, well, you’d be right. Exercising and feeling strong are a boon to your mental wellness and will give you the charge you need to begin the job search.

At a time like this, you want to do everything you can to move the odds squarely in your favor. Grab those kettle bells, go out for a run, or do daily push-ups, and notice how the physical exertion impacts your well-being.

Write a Thank You Note

To your former boss! As you come to terms with the devastating loss, hopefully, you’ll begin to see things more clearly. Maybe you’ll even conclude that your manager made the right decision for the company, and if not that exactly, then a decision that in the long run will prove good for you and your career path(2).

Even if it takes swallowing some pride, send a note to your former supervisor, thanking her for the opportunity to work in the organization and offering your assistance should she ever need help in the future. You never know where she or you will end up, and it’s entirely possible that your professional paths will cross again. And at the end of the day, a simple note of gratitude will get you a lot further than burning bridges.