Professions - ever been fired?

[rainy_lilac at yahoo.com]

I got sacked from a job, which I took on even though I knew it was 
going to be a big mistake because I was desperate for a job.

It was a position in development research and was the most dismal 
career move I had ever made. Every morning my heart sank because I 
knew I had to go and spend the next eight hours in my little cube, 
doing work which I found completely unrewarding. My boss was new to 
being a boss, and had she a clue we would have had a talk about this 
in the first month. As for me, I was clinging to that platry paycheck 
for dear life.

Sometimes when you take on a job that was not meant to be, it is like 
walking into the wrong saloon in Dodge City-- it is only a matter of 
time before th guys at the bar heave you out through the plate glass 
window. I had no enthusiasm, and it showed in the quality of my work. 
When it came time to be sacked, it was very, very stressful, but we 
all put a pretty spin on it, and did our best to move on. 

It actually turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me-- 
someone in Human Resources was very sympathetic, and I ended up doing 
a bit of research and finding a line of work that I actually enjoyed. 
My self-esteem had taken a beating, but in my new line of work, 
things rapidly improved. The fact is: if I am doing what I love 
doing, I am one of the best and everyone knows that-- I am however 
constitutionally incapable of going in each day to a job I can't 
stand. It just doesn't work.

It takes awhile to find a paying career that you really love. I am a 
writer and an artist, and the making-a-living side of things was 
always a difficult balance. I think one of the best skills to 
cultivate in oneself is the ability to accurately assess whether what 
you are doing right now is a way worth going or just another cul-de-
sac.

I would also add that being sacked is no disgrace: More people have 
experienced this than not, I will bet. Very few of us have flawless, 
perfectly aligned resumes. What is important is what your learned 
from the experience. Can you identify what went wrong and then go on 
to something better? That is what really makes the difference.

--Suzanne


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., Angela Boyko <ochfd42 at y...> wrote:
> 
> --- meboriqua at a... wrote:> 
> > New question:  Has anyone ever been fired from a
> > job?  I'll step up 
> > and admit that I have.  I sure hope I am not the
> > only one to write 
> > about it, let alone admit it.
> 
> I guess it depends on your definition. I prefer
> "forced out on a stress break". :-)
> 
> I was teaching English as a Second Language on a
> contract basis. Things were going very badly
> personally (sister-in-law was suicidal) and it showed
> in the quality of my work. I admit that. The Powers
> That Be were slowly eroding any shred of
> self-confidence I had at the job. So they didn't offer
> me a new contract, and I was forced out. They said to
> call when I felt ready to return.
> 
> I enjoyed the break so much that I didn't contact them
> as requested to discuss my return. Hey, they never
> bothered to pick up the phone to see how I was doing.
> It was very stressful being out of work and surviving
> on temp jobs, but at least I got to work on rebuilding
> my self esteem. I realized that I could never return
> to work there if I wanted to feel good about myself. I
> called them four months later to return my key, and to
> retrieve my ice skates, and have dropped by on
> occasion to say hello. Things are cordial now. 
> 
> It was very painful being forced out, but it led to
> some wonderful growth for me, and now I'm at another
> company where I'm told what I'm doing well, and what I
> need to work on. My self-esteem is intact! I've also
> learned to ask for help more often.
> 
> Angela
> 
> =====
> * * * http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/4439/index.html * * *
>                May the Force be with you
> 
> _______________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get your free @yahoo.ca address at http://mail.yahoo.ca