The Art of Getting Fired

By Jayne Brooks

Why is getting fired such a taboo topic? Whether you are losing your job due to redundancy, being considered unfit for the job, or a host of other reasons, getting fired can be a hugely traumatic event in one's life. We don't openly talk about being fired, because it's not something that people want to advertise about themselves. So when it happens to you, it's easy to feel like you're in a club by yourself.

 

The Art of Getting Fired aims to coach people through the entire process of being fired, drawing on my extensive experience across the globe during which I have been fired, seen countless others get fired, and fired people myself. I outline the process employers go through when firing somebody and the reasons behind it, strategies to avoid being fired once you find yourself at risk, and what to do immediately after you've been fired. Plus, I help you process the various range of emotions and feelings you might experience, the practical aspects of what to put on your résumé, and how to approach a job interview.

 

This book is for anyone who has ever been fired or suspects they might be fired, or managers who have to fire others. So let's talk about getting fired so that we can move forward from it and thrive!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ocean Reeve Publishing
• Release date: Sep 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781922956972

Book preview

Acknowledgements

For my husband and his endless sacrifices and support.

Introduction

Getting fired from your job could be considered one of life’s rites of passage, or it could be considered a very traumatic event that only happens to other people. There are no statistics kept on how many people have been fired in the world, nor by any particular country, so it is impossible to know the true extent of how many people have had this happen to them. However, I would be willing to bet that more people than you think have been fired at least once in their lifetime. Whether it be very publicly … say, on a reality television show, or very discreetly behind closed doors in an office somewhere in a large city. Of course, it’s not something that people like to talk about. Perhaps because the person harbors feelings of shame, or because it is generally considered more of a taboo topic.

The idea of being fired can carry a lot of stigma for a lot of people. Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance or person, but I really want to challenge the notion that being fired should have any connection with any of that. Just like falling pregnant out of wedlock or getting divorced used to have a huge negative stigma in times gone by, our modern-day society no longer considers those things a mark on one’s character. So too should getting fired be a stigma relegated to the past. I think progress on this point has been hampered because we don’t talk openly enough about our experiences of being fired.

In this book, I aim to unpack the whole process around being fired, including what may be going on in the employer’s mind. One way to process the feelings around being fired is to attempt to fully understand it. There’s a lot more to it than just the gut-wrenching despair, shame, and worry that it may leave in its path. Whether you suspect it may be coming for you in the near future, or you’ve already been fired, there are a host of different reactions and responses you can take depending on your unique situation. There is no scientific formula or ‘playbook’ to get you through it, but it’s more of an art to navigate a way through that leaves you coming out on top. Coming out on top doesn’t necessarily mean you avoid being fired or somehow reverse it, but more on that later.

The scope of this book is to assist people who are being fired or have been fired, for reasons other than discrimination. If you do feel that you have lost your job due to gender, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, relationship status, family or carers responsibilities, pregnancy, physical disability, mental illness, or social class, then you should seek the appropriate advice and take whatever action that you identify you have the energy and resources to pursue. These kinds of legal fights can be very, very difficult for the individual involved, but a very worthwhile thing to do if you are able. There have been many difficult battles in this area forged by others in history, and while much progress has been made, there is still a way to go. But, being fired for reasons of discrimination is an area that needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis by legal experts, and therefore not appropriate to examine in this book. This book is for people that have been fired for any other reason.

Now, before I go any further, I’d like to deal with the semantics of the word ‘fired’. There are other terms used to describe this process: ‘laid off’, ‘let go’, ‘dismissed’, ‘termination of employment’, ‘redundant’, ‘sacked’, ‘axed’, ‘discharged’, ‘released’, and perhaps a host of other terms that you could think of. Essentially, when I use the word ‘fired’, I am referring to any process whereby a person has lost their job as a result of a decision by their employer. Some people may view the word as being more appropriate for people being let go due to reasons specific to them, and not the job itself (as is the case for redundancy), but if you don’t mind, I prefer to use it as an all-encompassing term. In my experience, the pain and trauma suffered by individuals going through redundancy can be just the same as those being fired suddenly for other reasons. For me, ‘fired’ is a very dramatic word to describe what is going on, and that’s precisely why I like to use it. It’s a kind of defiance against it, or facing your fears head-on. I don’t wish to deal with my fears of being fired by calling it something very soft and thereby hiding behind the terminology. I want to be able to say: ‘Yes, I was fired, and I’m fine!’

But what makes me qualified to be writing a book on getting fired? Well, not only have I been fired myself (a few times actually, under different circumstances), but in my line of work as a manager of large teams in the banking industry working in the US, Europe, the UK, and Australia, I have fired a number of people over the years or witnessed countless others being fired. Operating in different countries, I have been privy to the different legal requirements for firing someone, as well as having the opportunity to have observed different cultural and generational attitudes towards it. I have been around long enough to have observed the impact of economic factors, technological factors, and global factors on the practice of firing people. I have made roles redundant, entire teams redundant (more from macro-events going on in the company, not through my decisions), and I have fired people for poor performance under a whole range of scenarios.

Some of the time, those I fired deserved it due to their extremely poor attitude or dishonesty, but a lot of the time, many did not. By this I mean they were people of good character with integrity who were really trying, but simply could not perform the job that they were employed to do. Or perhaps unbeknownst to me they were going through something in their personal life which manifested at work, but was only temporary, and not a reflection of how they would perform in the future. Or they were in the wrong job but would thrive in a role that better aligns with their talents once they figure out what they are. Whatever the reason the manager is making a decision that someone in their team is to be fired, it is reflecting that person’s contribution (or lack of contribution) at that point in time, in that workplace. In most businesses, employee numbers are managed very tightly, and the team can’t afford to carry anyone not doing their part. The manager has an obligation to make commercial decisions in this regard.

Now, if you believe you are being fired, or you have been fired (unfairly), it’s very easy to fall into the trap of only seeing it through your point of view. I’m sure there is a lot you could say about how unreasonable it was, how your boss never liked you, how much harder you work than this other person who was not fired, and so on. But you have to remember that your manager or your employer is in a position of power over you. It is their job to assess your performance and your contribution to the current business needs. It is actually a function of their job to continually assess the effectiveness of every individual and make those tough decisions about who should be let go in order for the business to prosper or, in some cases, keep the business afloat. That is not to say that their decisions in these matters are always correct (indeed, it can be a subjective area), but the point here is that it is their decision to make.

Imagine if you were a small business owner who employed a few staff and your livelihood depended on the effectiveness of every person in your business. You would want to have the power to let a person go without having to justify it to anyone. After all, it’s your business! You should be free to make these decisions. Similarly, if you are a manager in a large global organization, you are being held accountable to deliver results from your team, and you would want a level of empowerment around who you employ and who you think is going to deliver the results required. The point is, managers and employers are in a position of power, and they need this power in order to function properly in our capitalist society (arguing the merits of capitalism is not relevant to this book—I’m just stating how it is for now). Of course, sometimes, they may abuse this power, and that’s where labor laws in various countries and jurisdictions come into play that aim to provide a level of protection for employees.

This is not to detract from the emotional toll that one can experience as a result of being fired. People can react differently, but extreme feelings of shame, humiliation, anger, despair, or stress are all common responses. The fear of losing one’s job and not easily finding a new one could well have devastating financial consequences for a lot of people as well. They might lose their house, or the means to support their families. In America, being without a job very often means being without health insurance, and this can cause additional stress and worry, particularly when they are supporting a loved one with a significant health condition.

Dealing with feelings of shame or a bruised ego are things that have to be worked through. You really don’t want this event to affect your ability to be happy and confident in life. Being fired is not who you are, it’s just something that happened to you. You also don’t want to harbor hate or bitterness towards the person, or company, that fired you either as this may not serve you in any way. Life is a wonderful thing, and you do not want to be wasting precious energy on something that will likely only be a blip in your life when you look back. You, and your innate abilities and skills, may simply not be suited to this job at this time. When it comes to working through all the negative emotions you may have, I have some real-life examples and stories on this that will help bring some perspective here, and hopefully, help you get past those feelings as quickly as possible.

Then there is the issue of getting back on track, either for the sake of a regular paycheck or for the satisfaction of pursuing a career that you love. How can you best ensure those two things are least affected is something you will come to understand in this book. Careful consideration needs to be given to your resume, and your job interviews in the immediate aftermath of being fired. Lying is never recommended, so what on earth are you supposed to say? I can give you an employer’s perspective on that.

What has compelled me to write this book is everything I couldn’t say but wanted to to the people I was firing. You see, first and foremost, I needed to consider the legal implications for myself and the company I worked for ahead of really trying to help the person I was firing. It’s a case of sticking to the script and following the process. There might have been some hard-truth feedback that I felt the person needed to hear, but it was a legal minefield for me to go there … so I didn’t.

I also really wanted to provide advice about what the person should do next if they were at the beginning of the process of being fired. I’ve fired enough people to know when it is unlikely that someone can make a turn-around big enough and quickly enough to reverse the outcome. For those people, what I wanted to tell them was to go into the market immediately and find another job, to avoid a firing being on their record at all. Or at least to hedge their bets if it didn’t work out the way they would have liked in their current role. Yet by voicing anything like that, then I have a preconceived view of the outcome, and I’m not then going to judge their performance fairly after they receive formal feedback. The law in some countries, and often company policy, dictates that employees are given a fair and reasonable opportunity to improve after receiving feedback, even though this is not always the most helpful approach for some people.

One of the key aspects covered in the book is what the employer is likely to be thinking as they go through the process of firing someone. What the process looks like that they follow, what their priorities are, and why they are saying certain things or not saying other things, as the case may be. You may well not be able to prevent being fired, or have it taken back. However, having all the information about this process from a range of perspectives may help you feel more empowered, and ultimately, help you get through it quickly so you can land on your feet and move on.

These are all the things I wanted to say to employees but couldn’t.

CHAPTER 1

Why Do People Get Fired?

As previously mentioned, the primary reason for firing someone should be due to underlying business drivers for profit or effectiveness in meeting the organization’s objectives. But that’s a high-level explanation. When you unpick that and get to the individual circumstances, the drivers are many and varied. Here is a list of the more common reasons for getting fired, which I will explore further in this chapter:

•dishonesty/theft

•lying and resume fraud

•breaking the law by other means

•poor attitude

•making too many mistakes

•making one large mistake

•scapegoating or taking the full blame for the error of others

•not hitting assigned targets or meeting objectives

•aptitude or the inability to demonstrate learning capacity for the role

•your skills and attributes are no longer suited

•there is a better candidate identified for your role

•a new manager who has a different view of someone’s performance

•personality issues, either a person who is not liked, or does not get along with colleagues

•substance abuse

•whistle-blowing or otherwise being too critical of the company and its practices

•redundancy.

The official corporate line likely to be the most prevalent reason for firing someone is that they were not meeting objectives and targets because companies don’t wish to acknowledge all the other more subjective nuances that go on that can affect results or even just general morale. However, in my experience, the reasons for firing someone can be wide and varied, even if it’s made to look like they are not meeting. Remember, failing to meet objectives is among the most straightforward of reasons that are likely to avoid legal ramifications for the company, so they will try to go down this path where possible.

Sometimes a few of the examples above will apply to the same individual, and it is often the case that a manager will only choose to focus on one—the one that is easiest to justify and prove. What level you are in the organization can also affect which of the above factors is going to be more relevant. For example, scapegoating is more prevalent among senior-level and executive management.

The summarised list of the more common reasons for getting fired is now discussed in more detail.

Dishonesty and theft

The most obvious thing that comes to mind here is employees that are stealing from the firms in which they work. Whether that be money, the company’s product, or other general equipment such as computers or