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Leadership, Seed Or Fruit?
Purpose: Learn immediately if you are fostering leadership or ignoring it. Discover the power of nurturing your people. It was an enormous redwood tree. And due to regulations the forest service had to go to incredible trouble and expense in...
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Testing Interview Questions
Job Interview Questions can be classified into three categories.
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Volunteering as a tool for Career Advancement
Many people will tell you that networking is a good way to find a new job. However, networking often seems like a vague term. In this job searching tip, we will discuss a specific way you can put networking to use to advance in your career. The...
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Executive Resumes 101
What makes an executive resume "executive"? Is it the format? Is
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Getting Fired: Strategies For Dealing With Getting Terminated
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.
3. Use Your References To Defend You
Ideally, you will have several references from the company who
fired you who can defend you and can speak positively about your
time with the company. If you can find several former colleagues
or management-level staff who can give a reference and
positively explain your departure, you'll be one step closer in
your job search.
As mentioned above, from time to time we all run into someone
whose personality clashes with ours so if your ex-boss was the
problem, think
about who else you can use.
Perhaps the job just didn't match your skills and experience as
well as it should have.
Whatever the reason for being fired, having several people who
worked with you who can highlight your positive attributes and
alleviate any concerns a future employer might have will only
help you chances of landing a new job quickly.
In my experience, when I have worked with a job searcher who had
been fired, I've normally done at least one reference check
right away to determine whether or not the person was telling me
the truth with regards to their reason for being fired.
When the reference check alleviates my concerns by explaining
why the person was fired and if they can show me that the firing
might have simply been an explainable situation that was not the
result of a fundamental flaw in the person's background, I feel
much more comfortable helping that person find a new job.
Further, I feel better speaking with potential employers about
this person and comfortably dealing with the reasons why they
should look at hiring someone who was recently fired.
4. Be Prepared To Lose Out On Some Job Opportunities
The reality is that some potential employers will shy away from
you when they find out you were fired and the reason behind it.
In some cases, you might not be able to avoid this if the
employer doesn't have an open mind or if the reason you were
fired was very serious.
You can help your own cause by following the two points listed
above but you can also improve your chances at finding a new job
by trying to find a new job right away.
When you get fired, taking time off for an extended vacation or
to figure out what you want to do next in your career might not
be the best thing you can do because then not only do you have
to explain why you were fired you also have to explain the gap
in your resume, which means you might have two strikes against
you, not one.
The reality is that if you are dealing with being fired, you
want to minimize the number of reasons that a potential employer
could look past you at this point. Now is not the time to put
further doubt in the mind of people who could be looking to hire
you.
If a potential employer hears that you've been fired and then
sees that you haven't worked in several months, this could send
the wrong message. They could think that you are having trouble
getting a new job and would then further question why they
should hire you.
Getting fired means that your job search might be a bit more
difficult than it would otherwise be if you had been still
employed. If you understand the reasons for getting fired, take
responsibility, tell the truth, and get people to help honestly
defend you, you should get back on your feet quickly.
About the author:
Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional
recruiter who wants to help you find your dream
career.
Free newsletter: Sign up for Carl's free monthly newsletter:
http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/dream-career-finder.html
Free 5-day course: Sign up for Carl's free 5-day course:
http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.ht
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