Fired for Now: Getting fired, laid off, and hired again

We all know pretenders. We may work with some. We may actually work for one. Hopefully you’re not sleeping with or married to one.

My last boss was a pretender.

On the morning that I was fired, I was clueless, about getting fired at least.

My boss likes to read industry books, and I had come across one at home the previous night that I thought would be of interest to him on a project we were working on.

Before leaving my house at about 8:30 that morning, I emailed him asking if he’d like me to bring the book in. A few minutes … Continue Reading

Just this week, a 48-year-old man who worked in the imaging department of a hospital outside Anchorage, Alaska walked into the hospital a day after being fired and shot his direct supervisor and another senior employee. One was killed, the other is still in critical condition. The man himself was shot dead at the scene by state police.

Most people don’t shoot their former bosses after being fired. It’s not a good career move.

But I think I know what that man was feeling, even though I don’t have any fantasies of picking up a rifle or hand-gun and heading back to … Continue Reading

Wow, does it suck. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been through it before. Getting fired sends you reeling.

No matter how capable, confident, or accomplished you may have thought you were, getting fired can bring you to your second-guessing knees in seconds. It did me. All the negative messages I’ve ever thought, heard, feared or suspected about myself collided at g-force with anger and confusion.

Even writing things off to the economy can’t spare you completely since for every person losing their job, there are many others who still have theirs.  No matter the circumstances, getting fired can lead to question our … Continue Reading