So You Were Fired?

You got canned.

Maybe you weren’t a strong performer. Perhaps you were late too often. Or it might have been that you did something more serious or even illegal. Even though you had the rug pulled out from under you, you’re by no means the first person to be fired. You can get back on your feet. It's time for some damage control.

Have a pity party for no more than a week. It's okay to pull the woe-is-me stunt, but only for a short time. Then get up, dust yourself off, and get moving.

Be honest with yourself. It does no good to kid yourself into thinking you were innocent. You were fired for a reason. To move on with your career, you must figure out exactly what that reason was so you can correct the problem. Was it a one-time thing, or do you have a history of a certain negative behavior?

Take the initiative to fix the problem . Fired for alcohol abuse? Begin rehab or find help through a program immediately. Take care of yourself and your personal challenges before attempting to regain your employment. Fired for showing up late every day? Take a course in time management and purchase three alarm clocks. When you go in for future interviews, it will look much better if you have at least sought help for your problem and taken responsibility for your actions.

Be straight with future employers . More than likely you will be asked in interviews why you left your previous position. Don't lie. It's possible to verify this information. State in the most positive spin you can give it the reason you were fired. If you continuously missed work, considering saying, "I was terminated because it was challenging to manage my time effectively. I didn't have a good work/life balance and failed at juggling all of my responsibilities. Since then, I've taken time management courses and I've experienced a dramatic improvement with terrific satisfaction in this area."

Resist the temptation to bash your former boss . Maybe you got the pink slip because you spoke up against someone who was cooking the books. Even though you took the honest, ethical road, you paid a hefty price. Instead of trashing those “crooks,” simply tell prospective employers that you recognized some things that didn’t seem kosher so you opted to speak up instead of staying silent—and you’d do it again because you place a high premium on ethics. Do not reveal the details. If asked, you can say you’d rather not reveal confidential information about your former employer, but that this characterizes the incident that led to your dismissal. Offer solid references who’ll back up your stellar performance.

Get creative . If you have been fired repeatedly, or committed a serious act, you will have to take a few steps back and try again. Ask friends, family, and networking contacts if you could work for them for a probationary period at low pay. Consider freelancing. Take what you can get and slowly rebuild your trustworthiness the old-fashioned way.