Acquire soft skills to enhance your hiring and avoid firing
When you look at successful people including Abraham Lincoln, Anna Wintour, Bill Belichick, Howard Stern, Isaac Newton, J.K. Rowling, Jerry Seinfeld, Julius Caesar, Lady Gaga, Lee Iacocca, Madonna, Mark Cuban, Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney; they were fired. They converted their stones into bricks and built their leadership brands globally. They converted the brickbats into bouquets and became source of inspiration for others across the world.
It is a great challenge to cope up when you are fired from your employment. It is tough to digest such news from your employer. There are innumerable reasons why employees are fired. The basic myth prevailing in the corporate world is that employers fire their employees due to poor performance or negative feedback. The truth is that when the employers don’t have adequate contracts or assignments from their clients and customers, they are forced to fire their employees. They also fire their employees when the organization is in losses; the industry is under recession; and due to downsizing. Hence, don’t treat termination of your employment or job-loss as a stigma.
Upon hearing the news of being fired, your mind may go blank; your heartbeat may speed up; and your palms may sweat. Don’t worry. Be happy. You will be able to pursue your hobbies that have been ignored. Additionally, getting fired is a boon in disguise as you come out of your comfort zone to explore better opportunities. It is rightly remarked that below average individuals talk about individuals, average individuals talk about issues and above average individuals talk about ideas. Hence, it is time for you to explore ideas to grow quickly in your personal, professional and social life.
Tools and techniques to cope up with your job loss
If you have anticipated termination it is a good sign since you have already prepared for it mentally and you are freed to work under stressful conditions. At times, employees are fired due to attitudinal reasons. Hence, analyze the reasons and improve your attitude, personality and behavior to perform well in your next employment. Here are some tools and techniques to follow when fired by your employer.
• Inform your family members immediately because it is your family that gives you an emotional support.
• Take it in your stride. Accept the fact that there is no permanent employment in this world. Remember that there is only permanent employability in this world. Hence, acquire knowledge, skills and abilities to improve your employability regularly. Jack Welch once remarked, “You can give lifetime employability by training people, by making them adaptable, making them mobile to go other places to do other things. But you can’t guarantee lifetime employment.”
• Take feedback to analyze the reasons for your termination. If the issues are due to organizational challenges, there is nothing to be concerned. In contrast, if the issues are related to organizational politics then develop a flexible mindset to get along with others and be tactful in your behavior.
• Acquire soft skills because people are hired due to hard skills but fired due to lack of soft skills. In fact, a judicious blend of hard and soft skills are essential to achieve professional success and fast-track your career.
• Update your resume with achievements. Look for appropriate employment opportunities through your connections and consultants. During the employment interview, avoid badmouthing your previous employer as it presents you in a poor light.
• Cut down your expenses temporarily until you get better employment.
• Don’t isolate from others. Associate with likeminded people who bring you happiness and joy.
• Open the channels of communication.
• Go to gym regularly to maintain your health. Most people brood over job-loss and get into depression. Instead, follow your passions that have been neglected for a long time.
• Avoid alcoholism and substance abuse as they aggravate the issues further.
• Build a network of friends who you helped in the past and who can help you in your job search. It is essential to build a network of ten best friends in your life to support them and seek their support when you are in distress. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.
• Lie low for a while until you get better employment opportunities. Work for a lower salary, if possible.
• Be active on social media especially LinkedIn to explore employment opportunities.
• Engage productively on other activities that pay you in the long run. Go for a part time job.
• Pursue research and consultancy activities in your area of interest.
• Go on a spiritual tour for a few days to recharge yourself. When you travel new places, you unwind yourself and get fresh ideas and energy. You also develop fresh perspective toward life.
• Add value to society through nonprofit to make a difference.
• Don’t treat it as a job loss. Instead, treat it as a career transition for betterment.
• Treat termination as a ‘bend’ not an ‘end’ in your career. Be optimistic as something better is waiting for you. Convert from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Explore opportunities to evolve as an employer rather than to remain as an employee.
• After getting employment, keep financial reserves ready to encounter any such eventualities in future.
If you don’t get the employment of your choice, look for relevant areas in your profession. For instance, if you worked as a faculty in an educational institution you may consider working as a researcher and consultant, and also as a trainer. These are all related areas that help you to fast-track your career. Such career transitions help you grow horizontally in the short term and grow vertically in the long term in a huge way.
Everything happens for a reason!
Convert the stones thrown at you as the stepping stones to achieve your professional and career success. Convert your brickbats into bouquets to build your leadership brand.
Job loss is a temporary relief to take feedback and chart your next course of action which otherwise was ignored when you were employed. Hence, treat it as an opportunity, not as a threat to renew and improve yourself. To summarize, being fired doesn't mean the end of your career. It is just the end of one employment. When people understand that everything happens for a reason, they will be able to overcome their job loss and look for better employment opportunities. To conclude, life is not a cakewalk. It is full of peaks and valleys. Understand the realities of life and evolve accordingly to excel as a successful professional and leader.
“Your strength doesn't come from winning. It comes from struggles and hardship. Everything that you go through prepares you for the next level.” ? Germany Kent
