Obviously, most people would prefer to go their entire careers without ever having been fired. Under the best of circumstances, it’s an upsetting, even terrifying, experience.
For one thing, it’s pretty difficult to amass the six to nine months of savings that many experts suggest, in order to cushion the financial blow.
But the self-esteem aspect bears mentioning, as well: with so much of our self-image wrapped up in work, it’s hard not to feel shaken by the experience.
But, even the darkest clouds have silver linings. There are actually some really good reasons to celebrate being fired. It might even be important for your career to do just that.
1. Finding the bright side will help you move on.
It’s more than OK to take some time to process the difficult emotions associated with the experience of being fired — it’s even essential. The only way to move past emotions is to move through them. However, it’s not going to do you any favors to linger in the negativity for too long. It’s important to find the positive aspect of this experience in order to successfully move on from it. Otherwise, your mood could impact your search process, or even your next job.
Sherrie Bourg Carter, psychologist and author, told U.S. News & World Report that employees who’ve been fired and begin a job search could find it difficult to land something new.
“If they do happen to find a job,” she added, “there is the risk that their negative, unresolved feelings about the old job may impact their productivity, performance, and attitude.”
Finding ways to gear yourself toward seeing this as a positive thing, as something you can celebrate, will help you turn lemons into lemonade and find your way forward. Our attitude is so important — it impacts our lives in so many ways. It’s a worthy goal to attempt to work toward a viewpoint that helps you move forward, rather than embracing one that could hold you back.
2. You can say goodbye to everything you didn’t like … a list that will grow by the minute.
It’s funny how we see situations a little differently once they start moving into the rearview mirror. You are likely to gain a new perspective on your old circumstances now that this period of time is coming to a close. There are probably a lot of things that you don’t like, and that you aren’t going to miss. Take the time to celebrate moving on from them. However, don’t burn any bridges on the way out if you can help it. Telling HR, your boss, or any other affiliate of the company “how you really feel” won’t do you any favors.
3. You could end up earning more money because of this.
It’s not lucrative to stay at the same job forever. Job hopping actually has its benefits — one of which is earning more money. Workers who stay at the same job can expect to earn an increase of about 3 percent per year. However, when changing jobs, the average employee sees a pay increase between 10 and 20 percent. Changing jobs, even by way of being fired, could put you on a path to a higher salary.
4. You can learn from this.
It’s so important to learn from our mistakes, and you can certainly learn a lot from being fired. So, do yourself a favor and take a long hard look at the part you played in this. Maybe you don’t agree that your termination was the right move for the company, but chances are there is some kind of a takeaway here. Maybe you need to communicate more in your future endeavors, or work a little differently when you’re a part of team. Try to be honest about where you can improve. And remember that learning from this experience will help you move forward in a positive and constructive way.
5. You’ll have new opportunities.
Now that you’ve been fired, you’re ready to move on to what’s next. Hopefully, you’ll be happier in your next job. That should help you perform better and experience more success. This change gives you the opportunity to reassess what you’re looking for from your next professional opportunity. It even allows you to find something that’s a better fit.
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