Strategies For Dealing With Getting Terminated

By Carl Mueller

Getting fired used to be something that many people figured would ruin their career. Obviously, getting fired isn't an ideal situation but it's certainly something that can be dealt with, so that you get back into the work world again quickly with a minimum of discomfort.

Perhaps as a society we've gotten used to hearing about people being fired, whether it was the whole dot com bubble bursting which resulted in thousands of companies closing and jobs being lost.

Perhaps we're used to hearing about managers and coaches in professional sports constantly being fired and then resurfacing with another team and have gotten used to the concept.

Maybe we're numb from listening to the latest corporate executive who has been charged with some offence and know that whatever happens, they'll land on their feet at another corporation once the legal dust has settled.

In other words, we know that being fired doesn't have to be a death knell.

Here are some strategies for dealing with getting fired so that you can get back on your feet as soon as possible:

1. Tell The Truth

At this point probably the worst thing you can do is lie when explaining why you got fired. If you've been fired and are then caught in a lie, that makes you a liar who got fired so you've got two strikes against you.

Getting fired doesn't necessarily mean of course that your boss walks into your office and yells "you're fired!" This isn't Hollywood.

Getting fired might mean that your contract simply wasn't renewed, it could mean there was a difference of opinion between you and your manager, it could be a result of a new manager getting rid of staff so that he/she can bring in friends of theirs. Trust me, this happens all the time.

Conflict is something that we humans are quite good at and the truth is that we won't get along with everyone that we come into contact with.

When telling interviewers why you were fired, just remember to tell the truth. Tell people what happened and what you have learned from the experience. Take responsibility and don't point fingers looking for other people to blame.

2. Keep your answer brief

Don't start rambling and tell a long story which could get you into more trouble by making you look defensive. My experience dealing with job searchers who were fired are that the ones who land back on their feet the quickest are the ones who:

 understand why they were fired
 understand what they need to do to minimize the chances of it happening again
 are honest about what happened.

Believe me, the ones who lie are usually very easy to spot.

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