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You're fired!

Now what?

One of the worst days in anyone’s work life is the day they get fired or laid-off. They have no idea that tomorrow can be a worse day.

Why? Because the day-after is the day you have to pick up the pieces, quit grieving over a job loss and start thinking about the future. Your credit and family obligations demand you get right back into the game as soon as you can.

You’ll not only have to decide where you want to go, but how you are going to get there. Almost no one has a seamless transition after losing their job and that’s important to remember.

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Here are five things you should be prepared to do if you do lose your job:

Go directly home and tell your spouse or immediate family that you were let go. Revealing this may seem to be hardest thing of all to swallow, but the fact is it is far more liberating to share this information than to try to bottle it up inside. People – particularly those closest to you – will understand and the sooner you feel their support, the easier it will be to move on.

Be candid with friends about your work situation. Don’t bad-mouth your former employer or your company, but be realistic that it happens every day and on this particular day it happened to you. People want to help people who are positive. Angry or frustrated people look for sympathizers. Instead, if you rationally explain what happened and can see a future, others will be more willing to help you. Remember, you never know which friend or acquaintance will have the lead that eventually lands you a job.

Be honest with everyone. This means prospective employers, too. A former felon told me she didn’t want to admit her crime on a job application. I told her that anyone who hired her would likely find out so it should come from her. If she didn’t confess and was discovered, she’d certainly be fired. But that employer that gave her a second chance would probably be a very good employer to work for.

Turn this into a learning experience. Like a divorce, when someone is fired there usually is enough blame to split between the two parties. Accept this. Be realistic about your attitude and work habits. Think about how you could have built a stronger, better relationship with your supervisor. This can only help in your next job.

Know what it takes to be a better worker. If you can explain what happened in your firing, and how you would have handled it differently, you’re on your way to landing your next job. Employers don’t want to dwell on the past, they want to know that the people they hire know how to do the work and get along with others. Demonstrate what you’ve learned during the interview process and you can climb to the top of the hiring ladder.

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New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

One of the worst days in anyone’s work life is the day they get fired or laid-off. They have no idea that tomorrow can be a worse day.

Why? Because the day-after is the day you have to pick up the pieces, quit grieving over a job loss and start thinking about the future. Your credit and family obligations demand you get right back into the game as soon as you can.

You’ll not only have to decide where you want to go, but how you are going to get there. Almost no one has a seamless transition after losing their job and that’s important to remember.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Here are five things you should be prepared to do if you do lose your job:

Go directly home and tell your spouse or immediate family that you were let go. Revealing this may seem to be hardest thing of all to swallow, but the fact is it is far more liberating to share this information than to try to bottle it up inside. People – particularly those closest to you – will understand and the sooner you feel their support, the easier it will be to move on.

Be candid with friends about your work situation. Don’t bad-mouth your former employer or your company, but be realistic that it happens every day and on this particular day it happened to you. People want to help people who are positive. Angry or frustrated people look for sympathizers. Instead, if you rationally explain what happened and can see a future, others will be more willing to help you. Remember, you never know which friend or acquaintance will have the lead that eventually lands you a job.

Be honest with everyone. This means prospective employers, too. A former felon told me she didn’t want to admit her crime on a job application. I told her that anyone who hired her would likely find out so it should come from her. If she didn’t confess and was discovered, she’d certainly be fired. But that employer that gave her a second chance would probably be a very good employer to work for.

Turn this into a learning experience. Like a divorce, when someone is fired there usually is enough blame to split between the two parties. Accept this. Be realistic about your attitude and work habits. Think about how you could have built a stronger, better relationship with your supervisor. This can only help in your next job.

Know what it takes to be a better worker. If you can explain what happened in your firing, and how you would have handled it differently, you’re on your way to landing your next job. Employers don’t want to dwell on the past, they want to know that the people they hire know how to do the work and get along with others. Demonstrate what you’ve learned during the interview process and you can climb to the top of the hiring ladder.

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San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
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Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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