So how and why would you muck it up?

 

In our experience the biggest killer of any interview is a bitter negative about a previous company, boss or colleague. It says ‘I struggle to move forward from negative feedback’/’I find it hard to communicate with peers’/’I can’t move on from conflict’.

 

Understandably it can be difficult to push aside your feelings towards a previous role when it didn’t end amicably.

 

Let’s start with one rather hideous redundancy/firing experience that is often heard about in Recruitment circles: The meeting full of platitudes, ‘we think you’re great but…’ followed by security escorting the individual from the room where their stuff has been piled in the lift.

 

Think ‘Jerry Maguire’ but without the opportunity to nail down your clients and steal the goldfish. Haven’t seen it, add it to your watchlist.

 

OUCH! Not many of us would enter a role thinking that at the end of it we would be sorting through a box in reception to find our mobile.

 

Of course, that is an extreme. Exit interviews are often one fidgety meeting of uncomfortable individuals unwilling to make eye contact. Sadly on the whole they are handled poorly and leave both parties feeling unresolved and pretty crappy. How do you move on from here?

 

Been made redundant (fired)?

1. It’s a business decision. To many of us we let our work define who we are BUT this is often not an attack on your character and ability, it remains a commercial choice based on what will make a company succeed; in general that is shaving off payroll costs during tricky financial times.
2. Redundancy / Fired – it’s a blurred line. Plenty of redundancies have been a cover-up for not following the necessary disciplinary procedures. If you feel that your redundancy or dismissal was unwarranted or unfair then you should speak with HR or the appropriate decision makers, otherwise just accept it, it’s probably for the best.
3. Remain positive, the negativity you take from the situation will hamper your chances of moving on and as mentioned earlier will come across in future meetings.  This is your personal showcase, time for you to shine, not cast shadows.
4. Don’t delay. This would’ve been a bit of a shock. Like with all loss, take your time to grieve but don’t self-indulge. You don’t have time as you have a new mission to take on, your job-seeking plan of attack.
5. Don’t panic. Bluntly, it may take a while to secure another role. Therefore be open to every opportunity as you don’t know where it might lead you. Stay focused, be organised, time to push aside what went on before and get list writing.
6. ALL the most successful individuals have suffered disappointment in their careers, what defines them is how they used that experience to forge forward with new ventures or opportunities. SAINTS NOTE: Need a boost or proof, then read up on these guys: Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney (“he lacked imagination and had no good ideas”), Anna Wintour, The Beatles, Richard Branson, Henry Ford, Winston Churchill, Steven Speilberg.
7. Seize the opportunity. It’s time to re-evaluate your career. Look at every avenue. Maybe this is just the opportunity to pursue other ambitions, study, travel, start up on your own or freelance.
8. Take advice. Often people suffer quite destructive emotions in these situations, rejection, shame, worthlessness, desperation, guilt etc Don’t. Look around you. Given the recent economic climate there is a good chance that you have shared this experience with a considerable number of friends, family and social media associates, put your ego aside and talk to them.
9. Chin up, we’ve all been there! Being made redundant can rock your mental well being, being fired is all in the word – like being propelled from a cannon. Allow this experience to be the making of you, not the breaking of you.

 

Thanks for reading, hope whatever your circumstance you’ve made the very best of it and if you ever want to share drop us a line.

Also fancy a little more reading take a look at http://www.budbilanich.com/50-famous-people-who-failed-at-their-first-attempt-at-career-success/