How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You?re Fired


Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on.

Know yourself, have a plan, make a footprint. After you're fired, the raw power needed to convert a job loss into a high-voltage catalyst that gains multiple job offers is surprisingly simple. Consider these energizers:

Who you are? Detangle your sense of job from your sense of self

Where are you going? Design a five-year plan for career focus / direction

What can you do? Maintain a life-long log of your career achievements

"Getting fired is a lot like getting divorced," says Steve Johnson, Vice President of Information Systems for R. L. Stevens & Associates Inc., http://interviewing.com/ a leading international career marketing firm headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. "All you hear is 'I don't want you anymore'," he says.

Own your success and your failures. When he was fired from a multi-billion dollar petroleum company earlier in his career, discernment gave Johnson, a business-world veteran, the inner strength to get up and get on instead of rolling over and playing dead.

Despite an impressive portfolio of documented achievements that solidly contributed to the bottom line through process reengineering, he was still let go. His stellar performance though appreciated, was undervalued by his employers. Johnson made sure that this unexpected event did not end his career or dampen his spirits. "The time I was given the pink slip and told my talents were no longer needed, I faced a decision to either continually bemoan the shut door or look forward and find a new door I could open."

Possess the wisdom to know the difference between opportunity lost and possibility found. Johnson, an avid golfer, expertly swung himself out of his job loss bunker and found customers wanting his talents by taking the same approach in his job search as he does in his sport. "Getting fired is like an awful day on the golf course. You've got to stay in the game, play the holes, and adapt, improvise and overcome," he says.

"Every time a bad thing happened in my career, I always landed on my feet and good fortune proliferated through increased earnings, greater fulfillment and expanded opportunity to learn new skills. Using multiple career marketing strategies simultaneously I made sure that failure was never an option," he added.

Quickly create opportunities for yourself by changing your mental and physical state. Here's what you can do to restore order out of your job loss chaos:

Want to deactivate your fears?

?Take a vacation now to clear your head and get perspective

?Don't feed your anger by calling past colleagues and revisiting the past

?Welcome your firing as an unexpected career advancement to the next level

?Limit your pity party to one business day (8 hours)

?Forgive, let go, accelerate onward

Want to reactivate your confidence?

?Volunteer your time to someone who needs you ? a charitable organization

?Convert your resume from a career obituary to a marketing promo piece

?Inventory your portfolio of skills and question their relevancy / currency

?Showcase your business talent by serving on a community task force

?Upgrade your self-marketing campaign to strengthen your branding

Change your focus from retribution to restoration and you'll find the key to layoff survival and increased employer interest. Swallow your pride and take control of your career by morphing yourself into a consultant. You might even be able to reverse your misfortune and sell your talents back to the boss who fired you. Many ingenious job searchers have done just that and leveraged their talents by filling a void left by their departure.

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.

Got any valid reason to settle for a bad-tasting insect when a juicy steak is just around the corner? Get on with it.

About the Author:
Marta L. Driesslein is a senior management consultant for R.L. Stevens & Associates Inc. http://interviewing.com/. For over 24 years R.L. Stevens & Associates has been the Nation's most successful privately-held firm, specializing in executive career searches generating quality interviews through both advertised and unadvertised channels.







Related News



Job seekers flock to CityCenter Careers web site - MSNBC

Job seekers flock to CityCenter Careers web site
MSNBC -10 hours ago
It's being called the largest, single new employment opportunity in the country, and it's happening right here in Las Vegas. ...

2009 Outlook for Job Seekers: Not Great - Lawn & Landscape

2009 Outlook for Job Seekers: Not Great
Lawn & Landscape, OH -2 hours ago
Manpower’s Employment Outlook survey says that employers in eight of 13 industry sectors plan to increase staffing levels in the first quarter of 2009, ...

The Best & Worst Careers Today! - SayCampusLife

SayCampusLife

The Best & Worst Careers Today!
SayCampusLife, VA -16 hours ago
Mathematician — If you like children, then a career as a teacher in the public schools is a lock for you. Actuary — If there is anything certain these days ...
Best And Worst Jobs For 2009CBS 4
Mathematician Rated Nation's Best Job in New CareerCast.com Jobs ...PR Newswire (press release)
all 14 news articles

Obama inauguration shown live in Miller Auditorium - WMU News

Obama inauguration shown live in Miller Auditorium
WMU News, MI -Jan 6, 2009
Advisors from WMU's Career and Student Employment Services will be at Miller Auditorium with information about careers and internships in government through ...

The HBPTEA Organization Provides New Hope for Individuals Seeking ... - PR.com (press release)

The HBPTEA Organization Provides New Hope for Individuals Seeking ...
PR.com (press release), NY -14 hours ago
Dallas, TX, January 07, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Home Business Professionals Telecommuting Employment Agency Career Development & Resource Center (HBPTEA) is a ...


Can Career Change Land Recession-Proof Job? - KCRA.com

Can Career Change Land Recession-Proof Job?
KCRA.com, CA -Jan 5, 2009
The California Employment Development Department said those who are out of work may do better transitioning into other careers. ...

Colleges aiding graduates in job hunt - AsiaOne

AsiaOne

Colleges aiding graduates in job hunt
AsiaOne, Singapore -13 hours ago
Sungkonghoe University is to launch a "Mock Company Program" this summer, mainly for graduates, including junior workers who have just started their careers...

CV Adult School: Is Your Job Recession-Proof? - San Leandro Times

CV Adult School: Is Your Job Recession-Proof?
San Leandro Times,  United States -17 hours ago
Castro Valley Adult and Career Education provide quality career training courses expressly designed for local industry and employment needs within the ...

Goodwill to add careers center at Wilkesboro store - Winston-Salem Journal

Goodwill to add careers center at Wilkesboro store
Winston-Salem Journal, NC -7 hours ago
The ribbon cutting will be at 11:30 am The new Goodwill Career Connections Center will partner with agencies including the Employment Security Commission, ...

The state of IT careers: What will become of IT jobs lost in ... - WTN News

The state of IT careers: What will become of IT jobs lost in ...
WTN News, WI -3 hours ago
“That certainly doesn't mean they can't seek employment elsewhere,” he noted. “Everyone's situation is different, but the majority of people we talk to are ...