What to Do After Getting Fired From Your Hard Earned Job Update

Filed in Job by on May 7, 2021

What to Do: If you have been fired from a job, there are key steps you can take to recover from the loss and hopefully reduce the amount of time you spend out of work. I will give you healthy tips to undergo after being fired from your job.

First, don’t go on social media to badmouth your former employer, cautions Mic Fleming, president of YESShr. He says he’s had job candidates refer him to their online professional profiles where they’ve done just that. The result: “Immediate rejection.”

What Not to Do After Being Fired

Even though it’s difficult, you can make a bad situation worse by doing or saying the wrong thing to the wrong people when you have been fired. It’s natural to feel angry, sad, and frustrated; just make sure to restrict negative comments and complaints to your closest friends and family.

But don’t just walk out the door. There are things you need to know before you can move on.

1. Go Through your Stages of Grief

“Everyone deserves a grieving period,” says Kate Kemp, Monster contributor and author of the series “Life After Layoffs.” “For the first few days, don’t contact anyone for new work, you’re going to feel rejected and desperate and it’s how you’re going to come off when reaching out.

[It’s better to be] in a position of confidence and power.” But only allow yourself a few days to mourn, she says, “You don’t want to wallow either.”

2. Say “Sayonara” With Severance

Ideally, you’ll have some foresight before getting laid off or fired, but even if you don’t and even if you’re comfortable in your job now you should know the severance package at your company and the average for your industry.

Then — if and when the time comes — negotiate your exit by asking for as much severance as you think you’re due as well as an extension for your health benefits. If you can’t voice it yourself, consider hiring an employment attorney to say it for you.

This attorney can also review any papers an ex-employer is asking you to sign (i.e. a non-disclosure or a non-compete — and note, do not sign at the point of termination, take the time to read/think it over). And most importantly, don’t resign. If you get asked to and you comply, it can disqualify you from collecting unemployment.

3. Take your Benefits to Go

Don’t go without health coverage and review your retirement options. First, talk to your former employer about extending your health insurance benefit for up to 18 months under COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) — you have 60 days after your coverage lapses to opt-in — or start shopping for your policy on healthcare.gov.

Your new employment status allows you to enroll even if it’s not open enrollment time. As for retirement, you generally have three options for your 401(k) or other nest egg: you can leave it be (if the balance is $5,000 or more), roll it into a new employer’s plan (if allowed) or roll it into an IRA.

(There is a fourth option, but it should be avoided: you could cash out, but in doing so, you’d pay income taxes at your current rate, a 10 percent penalty and you’d lose out on that money for retirement.)

4. Say Hello to a New Budget

“I would love to sit here across from you and tell you I have regrouped and I have it all figured out and that everything’s great and the money is rolling in and I can’t get out of the way of it, but that’s just not true,” says Syler.

After saying goodbye to a regular paycheck, you need to revisit your budget especially if you don’t know how long you’ll be unemployed and/or your income becomes inconsistent.

Start by surveying what’s coming in and how much you have in liquid, accessible savings (i.e. your emergency fund), and then compare that to how much you spend every month.

Divide your spending into fixed, necessary expenses (e.g. housing, student loans, car payment, insurance, groceries) and variable unnecessary ones (e.g. eating out, clothing, travel). Cut back on the latter.

5. Consider a Gig

While on the hunt, ensure that money is coming in by taking on a side gig that allows you to control your schedule. You can make your hours with companies like Uber, TaskRabbit, and Airbnb.

Or you can sign on with a good old temporary employment agency. And note: If you’re searching for a job in the same field, keep records of your job-hunting expenses. If the expenses exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income, you can write some of them off come tax time.

6. Own it à la Syler

When interviewing for your next role, “Never lie about getting fired,” says Kemp. It’s not worth the risk of your new employer finding out. Be upfront, stick to the facts, and leave emotion at the door.

However, if the thought of that makes you too uncomfortable, then script your thoughts and incorporate statements like: “It wasn’t a cultural fit” or “My boss and I continued to have differing opinions.” Or, like Syler, you can simply say the F word: “I felt like it was important for me to own that and that there was power in owning my own authentic story.”

7. Have Your Elevator Pitch Down.

You’ll want to update your resume and Linkedin profile, of course, but did you think about your pitch? “As people are getting more and more inundated with apps and emails and everything they’re trying to keep up with, attention spans are shorter than ever,” says Kemp. “Nobody wants to hear a 20-minute diatribe.” Practice quick and succinct communication, especially for your elevator pitch.

Regardless of the reason, it’s your choice as to how you handle the situation. You can be resentful and bitter, or you can see this as an opportunity and make the most of it as you move forward.

Don’t see it as the end of the world when coincidentally you get fired from your job. Someone out there might need help, kindly share this article with your friends.

CSN Team.

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