(I just started working on another website, TWIGG How-To, with some really impressive young women. In addition to coordinating events and working with contributors to get their articles submitted, I occasionally write for them. Below is a personal "how-to" that talks about a not-great summer I had three years ago.)
In June 2011 I was fired from my office assistant job at a major production company, leaving me devastated. My dream was to write and produce for television, but how was that going to happen if I couldn’t even hold on to an office assistant job for more than three months?
A month later I got a job as a copywriter for an SEO company. I’d get to write, even if the writing wasn’t exactly the kind I’d hoped to do, and I was making a livable wage doing it. Unfortunately, I lasted one week before I was fired for, and I quote, “writing at a junior high level, senior high at best.” To recap, I had been fired twice in about a month; the second time, because I was deemed not good enough at something I thought was my life’s passion.
August was a tough month for me. I was living at home with my parents at the time, spending my days wallowing in misery. One Saturday morning, I was staring at a cup of coffee I hadn’t started yet when my brother and father came home from playing basketball. Out of nowhere, I started bawling. My brother realized he needed to take a shower immediately and basically sprinted out of the room, while my father pointed out that this attitude was no way to get a job (unsurprisingly, not helpful). Living with my mom and dad really made me feel like a failure, and I had no faith in my abilities to be an independent adult.
I finally got a job near the end of August as an assistant to a literary manager. She was entirely in film, which was not exactly what I wanted to do (television > film), but close enough. Even though it only paid $500 a week for 11 hour days, I moved to an apartment and thought this would be my gateway to getting my life back on track – until she fired me before 5 PM on day one.
Until last night, I was unsure if I was qualified to write this article. I am self-sufficient and work at a job I’m good at, but it’s not my dream career and I have doubts about it frequently. I only realized I had something to offer when a friend of mine asked me for advice. She told me she got fired from her restaurant job, and she was really upset about it. She remembered I had told her about my inability to keep a job three years ago, and she asked me how I handled it. I surprised myself by offering what I think was pretty damn good advice.
Realize it happened because it wasn’t a good fit.
Getting fired was not a reflection on you; it was a reflection on your relationship with your workplace. When I got fired from my office assistant job, I was very upset – but I also remember waking up the next morning and realizing, happily, that I never had to go back there again.
Stay positive.
This is, without a doubt, the most difficult step. While the way my dad told me to stay positive was not helpful (“if you stay negative, missy, you’ll end up being the loser you think you are”), he was right. Do whatever you need to do to stay positive. Treat yourself to the best of your abilities. You want to marathon entire seasons of shows on Netflix? Do it. You want to go to the beach in the middle of your Wednesday? My god, DO IT.
Keep busy.
The easiest way to stay positive is to take your mind off what happened. With all this free time, you can finally do all the things you’ve been wanting to do. Decorate your home like those cutesy apartments you’ve been eyeing on Pinterest. Exercise regularly. Read a book. Be artistic. Create something. Learn a new recipe. Take day trips around your neighborhood or city. In Los Angeles, there are so many different articles about free things or cheap things you can do in and around town. I’m sure this is true for just about everywhere, so do some internet research and have fun while you don’t have the work obligation!
Don’t dwell on your old job.
Could you have done something differently? Maybe. I know I could have. My attitude was piss poor, like I was entitled to this shitty job and better than these menial tasks. That mentality absolutely came across in my work. Does thinking about what you could have done differently change anything? No. Learn the lesson and move on.
Figure out what you need in your next job.
By the time I got fired the third time, I just needed a job that would support me and not fire me. I stand by my choice, as over the last several years I’ve had the chance to build up a confidence in myself that just did not exist three years ago. What do you need out of your job? What is important to you? What did your old job not do for you?
Keep moving forward.
Applying for jobs sucks. Networking sucks. But you know what doesn’t suck? Looking at all the possibilities for new jobs! Imagining yourself in a new, exciting career! There are so many options! This door closed so you could open another cooler, more personal door. You’re going to have to work for it, and it sure isn’t going to be easy, but let this new chapter be as exciting and rewarding as possible.
Not everything is 100% where I want it to be right now, even three years after that awful summer, but trying to switch careers is a very different issue than getting fired. I got “getting over getting fired” on lock. To be fair, there is no single right answer for how to bounce back from getting fired, but these tips helped me get through it. Don’t beat yourself up – you’re a great kid with a ton of potential. Now you finally get to use it.
