[1]What to Do When You Think You're About to Get Fired by Whitson
Gordon:
Kyle Platts
Things have gone from bad to worse at your job. Maybe the company's
showing signs of financial trouble or your boss has given you more
than a couple stern warnings about your performance. If you have an
inkling that your job might be in jeopardy, here's how to prepare
yourself.
Don't wait to do this things when you get an inkling. Plan for the
worst so you're ready when it happens.
Get direct feedback and look for the signs
"In theory, you should be getting feedback along the way if you
aren't doing well," said Kim Scott, the author of "[2]Radical
Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity." "Solicit
feedback well before you think there's a problem. Either you'll be
reassured that things are not as bad as you think they are, or
you'll hopefully get some feedback you can use."
Come up with a go-to question you ask with some frequency. Merely
asking "do you have any feedback for me?" isn't always going to
help. Instead, put your manager on the spot and ask a more direct
question like, "What can I do to make it easier to work with me?"
Give your boss time to answer - at least six seconds of
uncomfortable silence is usually enough - and don't get defensive
when they reply.
Of course, not all organizations are run so well. In some, getting
feedback may be like pulling teeth. In others, they may not say
explicitly that your job is in danger, so you'll have to read
between the lines.
Ideally, that will give you something to work with, and you may even
be able to keep your job. If not, though, you'll at least be able to
say you gave it your all.
Document what your manager says, too.
Prepare for the worst now
If all signs point to a potential firing in the near future, it's
time to get your ducks in a row. "When you're fired or laid off, it
is very likely that you'll be asked to leave right away," said
Alison Green, the author of the [3]Ask a Manager website and
[4]book. "You may be allowed to go back to your desk to grab some
personal items, but you're probably going to be locked out of your
computer."
So start thinking now about the stuff you'll want to have with you
when you leave - contact information for friends and useful
connections, statistics that might bolster future job interviews, or
anything else that might come in handy. Just be sure not to take
anything confidential or that you've signed an agreement not to
take.
It's also a good idea to make any medical appointments you might
need before your health insurance goes away. Similarly, make sure
you have [5]a healthy emergency fund in your savings account, if you
can: enough money to get you through a few months (experts suggest
three to six) without your regular salary. This will make things a
lot less stressful when the hammer finally comes down.
Next, Ms. Green said, "read your employee handbook. You might find
things in there about separation procedures. It might prompt you to
start thinking about negotiating a neutral reference, or you might
find out if they pay for unused vacation." These types of logistics
are easy to forget when you're in that fateful meeting, so if you
think about them beforehand, you'll be well prepared for anything
that comes your way.
There are, however, a couple things you'll need to discuss during
the meeting. First, agree on a story about why you left. "Sometimes
you can negotiate with your employer, and they will agree to say you
weren't fired," said Ms. Green. In some cases, they may agree to
just confirm your dates of employment when called for a reference.
"The time to do that is in the meeting, when the firing is
happening, because they have an incentive to wrap this up as
pleasantly as possible." You might even be able to negotiate for
more severance.
In the U.S. and a lot of other countries, there is a difference between
being laid off and being fired.
Fired usually implies cause: poor performance, insubordination,
incompetence, criminal activity, or violating terms of employment
(sexual harassment, racism, &t.) Fired for cause will often include a
history of poor reports in one's personnel file. Being laid off is
better. It implies you were "let go" for general staff reductions or as
part of a reorganization but not for poor performance or criminal
activity.
Negotiating severance that this point is important. When I was laid off
many years ago I was able to double my severance plus get a career
coach, access to resources, and some other things that helped me find a
great job just before my severance ran out.
Finally, try to turn that meeting into a learning opportunity. "If
you're not too devastated by having gotten fired, this is a great
opportunity for you to get the feedback that you didn't get
earlier," Ms. Scott said. Ask what you can do better, so you don't
find yourself in the same situation next time. "Then I would ask my
boss, 'Where do you see me working? What kind of opportunity do you
think I would thrive in?' If the boss is a total jerk, you're
probably not going to get any useful information, but usually people
have an idea of where you would really do well."
This is fantastic advice.
Hit the ground running at your next job
Don't wait until you've been fired to start searching for your next
job. "As soon as you start being worried, start the job search," Ms.
Green said. "Reconnect with your network, and start looking around
at what's out there." Make a list of everyone you know who might be
able to offer you work - or might know someone who could. If you're
in a field where freelancing is common, see if you can line up some
potential freelance work during the gap. "The sooner that you can
start, the better," said Ms. Green. "You don't want to go home from
that meeting and be at square one."
Always have "[6]irons in the fire" even if things look good at work. It
will keep you in-tune with the marketplace, help you focus your
training and experience to that market, and maybe that next great
opportunity comes along.
Hopefully, that will help you line up interviews quickly. Just make
sure you're prepared to answer the question of why you left your
last job. You don't have to say "I was fired," necessarily, but
don't lie outright, since the interviewer will likely talk to your
former boss. Instead, come up with a brief, nondefensive explanation
of why it didn't work out. Ms. Scott offered a simple script: "You
could say something like 'I realized that I'm really not well-suited
for XYZ kind of opportunities. But that's why this job is really
appealing to me, because I'll be playing to my strengths.'" If you
can show that you're a person who takes feedback and learns from
your experiences, good employers will take notice.
Finally, remember that no amount of preparation can inoculate you
against the blow to your ego. Give yourself a few days to recover,
but try to shift your focus to the future. "The road to insanity in
these situations is obsessing about injustice," said Ms. Scott.
"Sometimes there really is injustice, and you may want to take
action. But usually, it's a better return on investment of your time
to get a new great job." After all, the best revenge is a life well
lived.
Agreed. The Stoic practice of [7]negative visualization can help with
this. Prepare for the fact that you may not be able to be as prepared
as you might like.
You can check put my previous posts titled "Preparing for the Pink" on
this very topic [8]here, [9]here, [10]here, and [11]here. I should
collect these into a page for easy navigation, so na?
Also on:
[12]Twitter
__________________________________________________________________
My original entry is here: [13][PftP] What to Do When You Think You're
About to Get Fired. It posted Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:29:39 +0000.
Filed under: business,
References
1.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/smarter-living/what-to-do-when-you-think-youre-about-to-get-fired.html
2.
https://www.radicalcandor.com/the-book/
3.
https://www.askamanager.org/
4.
https://smile.amazon.com/Ask-Manager-Navigate-Colleagues-Lunch-Stealing/dp/0399181814
5.
https://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/how-much-to-put-in-your-emergency-fund/
6.
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/iron+in+the+fire
7.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=753
8.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=825
9.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=230
10.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=1027
11.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=232
12.
https://twitter.com/prjorgensen/status/1085167642867052545
13.
https://www.prjorgensen.com/?p=2489
