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Your #Career : How Getting Fired Could Be the First Step Toward a Better You…Few Things are More Motivating than Losing your Job. Don’t Squander this Opportunity to Learn About Yourself and Embrace a New Direction.

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Getting fired can feel like rejection or the painful end of something. It certainly doesn’t feel good. It can cause you to go into protective mode and tell yourself a story that wasn’t your fault. It also can lead you to beat yourself up for not meeting expectations.

Laid off Worker with Box

People get fired for many reasons. Perhaps the business wasn’t doing well and needed to cut costs or restructure. Maybe your boss really was an idiot and the two of you didn’t get along — so you subtly self-sabotaged yourself. Or maybe the job wasn’t serving you. Think back. Did you find yourself wasting time because your heart wasn’t in it? Did you get complacent and flatline instead of looking for ways to challenge and motivate yourself?

Whatever the situation, I guarantee you will be better off somewhere else in the long run.

Grieve. Then get moving.

Allow yourself to grieve for a short time. Then, stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to look on the bright side: You now have countless opportunities to consider.

Getting fired isn’t the end of the world. It isn’t even the end of your career. If it was unexpected, odds are there’s no predetermined path laid out for you. Take this opportunity to assess and regroup. What is it that you truly want to be doing? Are you satisfied in your current career, or do you need to pivot?

Most important, remember you have it within you to bounce back — with new self-knowledge that will help you become stronger than ever before.

You might want to look into specialty training or further education. Or maybe you need time off to do some soul-searching. Whatever you decide, realize you now have many different paths from which to choose. More than one is bound to make your life more fulfilling than it was at the job you left behind.

Related: 6 Habits That Turn Dreams Into Reality

Success breeds complacency.

Oftentimes people who reach a certain level of success cease to strive for more. Their basic needs are met. You might linger for years in a job that’s only mildly fulfilling you. If you’re thinking, “It can’t get much better than this,” you’re functioning but not really really thriving.

Getting fired gives you a different perspective. Take a look at your life and your next moves with fresh eyes and a beginner’s excitement. What else might you want out of a job that would make you passionately excited to get up every morning? You — and your eventual employer — deserve more than just complacency.

Related: Getting Fired Was Step One to Increasing My Pay 1,000% in 3 Months

 

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Failure is your best teacher.

Absolutely none of the world’s most successful people took a straight, smooth, always-upward path. Taking risks and reaching for something more naturally means you will get turned down and endure rejection. In fact, stretching beyond your job description could be the reason you got fired from the position that didn’t fit.

Failure isn’t an end, and it certainly doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Failure teaches resilience, empathy, and self-confidence. The experience is painful, but the lesson it teaches can be quite a gift.

Related: A Special Guide to Growing Stronger, Feeling Better, and Bouncing Back After Failure

“Failure is neutral — it’s how you emotionally hold it inside of yourself that is not,” says Ashley Stahl, a career coach to millennials. “In truth, failure is just feedback that it’s time for you to course-correct. Use failure as an opportunity to evaluate where you add the most value as a worker, and celebrate the fact that you’re not great at everything.”

Be honest with yourself so you can move forward.

So, what do you do now that you’ve been fired? You can look ahead by being honest about your past. Ask yourself the hard questions — the ones whose answers might reveal you bear some responsibility.

What could you have done better? What part did you play in getting fired? Would you be happy at a different job in the same field, or might you actually want to do something else?

Look at the pros and cons of your last job.

What did you love? What did you hate? Did you like the culture, or do you need something different? Smaller, larger, more service-oriented?

As best you can, isolate the characteristics you most want in your next job. Otherwise, you risk falling into something that looks just OK. Real progress means you’re moving closer to fulfillment, not just into another position that won’t engage you on a deeper level.

Start making phone calls.

Call your friends, if you haven’t already. Let them know you’re looking for a job in your sector or primed for something new. Networking is your lifeline. Your friends, family members, and colleagues should know a skilled and employable rock star is available to join their team. Take all the introductions, advice, and sympathetic ears offered.

Most important, remember you have it within you to bounce back — with new self-knowledge that will help you become stronger than ever before.

 

Entrepreneur.com | November 17, 2016 | Murray Newlands

 

Your #Career : What I Learned When I Got Laid Off In A City I’d Just Moved…To This Texas Transplant’s Position was Cut just as She was Settling into her New York job, But it Actually Opened up her Options.

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When I moved to New York city to take a job as a creative director in 2014, I was ecstatic. After purging at least 70% of my belongings, I happily traded shoe-melting Dallas summers for eyelash-freezing New York winters.

Free- Lighthouse on Cloudy Weather

It was the first time I’d lived anywhere outside of Texas, so adjusting to my new home and the unsettling lack of Tex-Mex took longer than expected. Then, just about the time I started to feel settled into my new city, I got laid off. Here’s what it taught me.

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH UNEMPLOYMENT

The first two weeks of unemployment were the worst. I hadn’t had time to build a New York–based professional network anywhere near the size of the one I’d had in Dallas. Despite that, I still managed to get enough support to update my portfolio, survive a nasty fight with depression and anxiety, and land a freelance gig as a creative director.

Some of my ad-industry buddies insist that freelancing in New York is the only way to go. There are tons of opportunities, and you can make a ton of money doing it if you can stomach inconsistent gigs (which I cannot) and if you love networking (which I do not): I need to know exactly how much my next check is going to be and when I’m going to get it. And the thought of saying things like, “Lemme shoot you my contact info so we can have a convo about those opps!” to multiple cocktail-holding industry strangers makes me want to run screaming into a busy intersection.

 

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Luckily, the contract I took was a solid one-month commitment that, thanks to following my favorite four-word rule, turned into two months and, eventually, a full-time offer. The freelance opportunity helped me with so much more than paying rent. I made amazing new connections, got a fresh (and desperately needed) boost of self-esteem, and had the chance I needed to decide what I really wanted to be doing and where I wanted to do it.

Feeling like this particular full-time job just wasn’t right for me, I declined the offer. But with my newfound confidence I decided to try to find that perfect fit—and, like most things in life, it played out a bit differently than I’d imagined it would.

LOCATION, VOCATION, LOCATION

It’s always easier to find a new job when you have one. Negotiating for a better salary, title, and benefits doesn’t work nearly as well when you’re making $0, your title is “unemployed,” and the only benefit you have is being able to send emails from your phone in bed all day. During my new agency contract, I had the luxury of investigating alternative options, knowing the freelance gig could turn into a full-time gig if I wanted it.

Because I wasn’t afraid of unemployment anymore, I had the confidence to ask tough questions that I knew might make people uncomfortable (calling out bad reviews from former employees, for example). I countered existing job descriptions with the ones I actually wanted. I developed proposals around the salary band I thought I deserved based on market research and help from recruiter friends, and used facts and figures to push for it.

I began turning interviewers into interviewees, asking them questions about their company’s vision of the future, and determining whether I wanted to be part of it. I focused less on getting in with the big-name agencies and more on finding a spot that felt like the best fit for me.

“NEW YORK I LOVE YOU, BUT YOU’RE BRINGING ME DOWN”

Back when I only visited New York for business trips, I saw the city as a magical wonderland of art, theater, and intense connections. But as a resident, I saw it as a crowded, angry place that taught me to keep my head down, walk fast, and stay guarded. On the one hand, that was disappointing. On the other, it piqued my curiosity about places I’d previously dismissed.

A native Texan, I spent my formative years in Dallas devouring queso, chugging sweet tea, and enjoying the fact that 90% of my family lived within an hour radius of me. As a 15-month Brooklyn resident, I’d captured hundreds of short stories inspired by people on my subway commute, discovered the value of weatherproof boots, and tapped into an energy unlike any I’d experienced before.

Now I had a chance to try something completely different. New sights. New stories. New people. And the way that thought got my heart pumping was enough to counteract the dread of packing and moving once again.

Eventually, I got a call from an interested Seattle-based recruiter. Had I received it prior to my New York adventure, I likely would’ve turned down the opportunity. But because I already knew the excitement a cross-country move could offer, I was open to the idea.

I found what turned out to be the perfect fit: an agency I’d never heard of in a city I never thought I’d live in. Through two months of deep, honest conversations with everyone from the recruiter to the CEO, I’d found a place where I felt I could make a difference.

Was I terrified about packing up and moving across the country yet again? Absolutely. Would I want it any other way? No way. Being scared is always better than being stuck.

 

FastCompany.com | KATE KEMP, MONSTER |  07.13.16 

Your #Career : Best Money Moves When You Get Laid Off…The First Quarter of 2016 saw 76% More Job Cuts than the Last Quarter of 2015

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If you’ve ever been laid off, you know how it stings. I’ve been there, too, and, sadly, growing numbers of workers have lost their jobs lately. The first quarter of 2016 saw 76% more job cuts than the last quarter of 2015, according to global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

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If you become an unfortunate victim, you’ll have a myriad of financial decisions to deal with pronto. And they’ll demand clear thinking. So, just in case a job loss happens to you — or if it recently did — here are nine money moves you need to make:

1. Ask the nitty-gritty questions. Find out whether “any severance is being offered, whether the company has a written severance policy, when your insurance will be cut off, and — possibly most importantly — why you are being fired,” says Donna Ballman, author of Stand Up for Yourself Without Getting Fired. “You’ll need this information when you apply for unemployment, if you want to talk to an attorney about potential legal claims, when you apply for a new job and when you have your next doctor’s visit,” counsels Ballman.

(More: 5 Ways to Prepare for a Possible Job Loss)

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2. Get your employment-related financial stuff. If it’s not a quick shuffle out of the building with Security or HR, tap into your computer and make copies of: documentation of anything your employer owes you (say, commissions and bonuses); any employment agreements, confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements you signed; your performance reviews, commendations, awards, disciplines, recommendation letters and anything else about your work that might be useful to a lawyer or to your state unemployment compensation agency, advises Ballman.

3. Scrutinize any severance agreement. It could contain a non-compete clause blocking you from working at certain places, for example. “Be clear on the restrictions you’re agreeing to in exchange for a severance payout. Be certain you aren’t giving up vested benefits. The agreement should clearly state the status and amounts of your 401(k), stock options or pensions,” says Ballman.

(More: Don’t Let a Job Loss Harm Your Retirement)

Your best move is to tell HR or your boss that you need some time to evaluate any severance agreement. If you’re being asked to sign something you don’t fully understand, don’t. First, talk to an employment lawyer; you can find one near you at the National Employment Lawyers Association website.

4. Examine your final paycheck. “You may be entitled to payout of all your accrued paid time off or vacation pay if the company doesn’t have a use-it-or-lose-it policy or if your state requires it,” says Ballman. If you’re paid by the hour, check to be sure you’ve been compensated for all the hours and overtime you worked.

5. Line up health insurance. Many employers cut off your health insurance the day you lose your job; some continue it to the end of the month. Initially, if you don’t have a spouse or partner’s health plan to fall back on, you might opt for landing coverage through COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), which lets you to buy it under your ex-employer’s group plan, generally for 18 to 36 months.

Some employers subsidize or pay the entire cost of health coverage, including COBRA coverage, for terminating employees and their families as part of a severance agreement. You’ll have 60 days to decide whether to sign up for COBRA; the insurance is retroactive to your loss of coverage date.

Your other option: buy an individual health plan from your state insurance marketplace or directly from an insurer.

Losing job-based coverage is a “qualifying life event,” allowing you to enroll anytime, not just during the normal Open Enrollment period.

If you’ll need health insurance between the time you lose your job-based coverage and when a Marketplace policy starts (for example, you or a family member needs medical care), you may want to sign up for COBRA, since it’ll continue providing benefits until your Marketplace plan kicks in.

6. Consider replacing any employer-sponsored life or disability insurance you had. If you purchased either type of coverage this way, you may want to buy your own policy now. If so, compare prices by using online insurance brokers such as Accuquote.com, FindMyInsurance.com, andLifeInsure.com.

7. File for unemployment insurance. “Some people hesitate to apply,” says Ballman. “Why? It’s your money. What do you think they’ve been paying in from your paycheck all this time? It may not be a lot of money, but it will help tide you over.” Apply by contacting your state’s unemployment agency as soon as you are fired or laid off.

Whether you’ll qualify for unemployment benefits depends on your state. To check your local law, visit the “Find Local Help” area of the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop site. Before taking any freelance assignments or a part-time job, read your state’s unemployment insurance rules; some work may reduce your benefit.

8. Be sure you get all your vested retirement funds. Any of your 401(k) contributions belong to you, of course, but your employer’s contributions (or matches) typically must be vested before they’re yours. You’ll vest, or own, a certain percentage of your employer’s contributions each year once you qualify for them.

9. Manage your retirement account. Chances are, when you leave your employer, you’ll want to transfer your accumulated retirement savings to aself-directed IRA that offers you more investment choices.

After you receive the funds from your employer plan, you have 60 days to complete the rollover to an IRA or other tax-deferred plan. Wait too long and the amount will be taxed as ordinary income; if you were younger than 59½ when the distribution occurred, you’ll face a 10% penalty, too. A direct rollover straight to an IRA or a plan at your next employer is best, so the money never comes into your hands. Ask your plan administrator to make the payment directly to another retirement plan or to an IRA.

You can, alternatively, leave the money in your ex-employer’s plan, and sometimes that’s more cost effective. Large corporations often negotiate with financial service firms for lower fees than you can get on your own in an IRA account.

My advice: Meet with a financial adviser to figure out what’s best for you. As a rule, I think an adviser should have the Certified Financial Planner designation, awarded by the nonprofit Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

Just don’t cash out your 401(k) balance. If you do, you’ll owe income tax on any withdrawals and possibly that 10% penalty. As I wrote in this Next Avenue post, extracting retirement money before retirement is a weighty problem; nearly 45% of workers cash out their retirement accounts when changing jobs, according to the Women’s Institute for Secure Retirement (WISER).

The last thing you need after losing your job is a wallop from the Internal Revenue Service.

Forbes.com | May 1, 2016 | Kerry Hannon, Contributor