I've met a lot of people over the years that have played it safe in their careers and frankly they seem to live in constant fear of losing what they have (which usually isn't much). I was having breakfast with a friend the other day that was sweating through his shirt because his department was getting merged with another. I just don't understand it. No one wants to face rejection, especially if it's going to cause financial hardship, but there are worse things in life than being out of a job. If you're passionate about what you do, you'll find another.
I've been on both sides of the table firing. It's unpleasant either way but it's not much worse than getting dumped that first time. Shit happens, you grow. I'd rather be fired and learn to deal with it than do a job I hate and/or live in fear of losing that job.
Yes, but probably not many. I think being unemployed ranks pretty highly in all the 'most stressful life event' lists.
it's vanishingly rare for people to be able to make a living doing something that are passionate about.
Maybe instead of being fired, you should do something more sensible and ethical: Quit.
It's through adversity that people grow the most, not when life is going smoothly (although that's when the work gets done).
When I was 30, I was "reduced in force" which is a fancy way to get fired, and was fairly devastated. I had been with the company for 10 years and it was my whole life. I had also been top sales person for 2 of the last 3 years- unfortunately not the year before the R.I.F... Now I am 41 and the last 10 years have been the most profitable of all. Even with the recession carving a chunk of my investments I am better off - because I started a couple of my own companies and did it myself. I learned how to manage people, how to manage the books and how to understand that much of the time you are flying blind and the only choice is to make the best decisions you can at the time. It has been great.
So go out and get fired. Just do it for the right things. I was let go at 19 (and 30) for telling the boss how it should be done, and how I would do it better. What have you been fired for?
* if the company doesn't have a good reason to fire you, like you just don't get along with people, they often give you a sweet departure package you wouldn't get if you just quit. I guess to prevent a lawsuit.
* you can collect unemployment, which you can't do if you quit.
* few people hiring really care if you got fired. nobody even asked me what happened. I had competing job offers in days.
* this happens all the time, even moreso in the upper ranks of management. in fact, it seems the higher up you are, the better deal it is to get fired. often times when a C level exec gets fired, they get a severence package which allows them to not work for a year or so.
* the person who is probably going to be most bummed is your mom.
The main lesson I learned though, is that it's another one of the long standing bullshit lines about things that will destroy your life that simply aren't true. It's in the same league as smoking pot, dropping out of college, and not paying your taxes on time. Nothing very dramatic happens, and it's pretty easy to recover. It's disappointing, in a way. It's a better story if you're on the brink of disaster and come back. In reality it's just a temporary setback, and you probably end up with a better job at the next place.
But, I was fired once - I'm pretty sure you can call it that; and from the moment it was happening, I was sure that it was a great thing for me. Having come from a background where I was constantly taught that having a job and keeping it was the only way to be a worthy human being, I never would have had the guts to quit myself. Once I was fired, I was sure I never wanted to work for anyone else again. The first few weeks of being unemployed, I just had to get used the idea that I actually still existed, despite not having a job.
That was over three years ago, and the resulting freedom to explore my curiosities and creativity has lead me to a much happier life than I had before. So, if you fantasize about getting fired, just quit. It may be worth it.
The first was because I fought for a better way to do things since the company didn't seem to go anywhere with launching their first product (startup). I had to make a stance: fight or sink with the company. Fired because they thought I was unhappy working there.
I was happy to be let go. I didn't enjoy working there anymore. The company is neither alive nor dead.
The second was because my role was considered a "luxurious" to have during the hard time of the company (they downsized 2.5 weeks before they decided to let me go). 1.5 weeks before I was let go, my supervisor informed me that my work was "in the line of being successful". I didn't know that their situation was really that bad. When I joined, I thought they were in a very good financial position.
The second time was tough, cause I just lost my job a few months before. Having said that, I was planning to quit 2 more months before it happened cause the job was really boring and have no concrete goal.
Every time after I got fired, my mind was clouded by the possibility of doing my own startup, learning different programming languages, learning new frameworks, blogging or something else. Should I make a web-app? should I make an iPhone app? should I sell something online? What should I do (copied from LeBron's Nike ad hehe)?
As someone mentioned in this thread: one thing about being fired is that you get a chance to collect unemployment.
Within that year, I took some time off to step back and think hard. Afterward, I managed to make a few key decisions. One of them was a tough one: decided not to pursue programming as a career. Instead, I chose Sys-Admin. Worked my ass off to get certified.
These days, things are more stable for me. I enjoy my life better than before.
No more indecision which programming language I should learn, fear that there will be another complicated framework to be released soon, overwhelmed by the job requirements as a developer (ranging from XML, to agile, to various RDBMS, to testing/algorithms/design patterns), fighting with your colleagues which solution is better (we're not even talking about building a gold standard code, just a simple should you use singleton or not, especially when you want your code to be unit-testable).
The money is good. The career is quite stable. My mind is clear now. I also joined the iPhone/iPad movement recently. But instead of coding the app, I outsource everything. I might run my own web-startup one day cause I'm still curious and feel unrest if I haven't done it. But, again, I will outsource everything to someone else.
And so, after my 6th job in 3.5 years, I decided to do what I had been itching to do for the last 2 or 3 of them, but not had the balls to do, given the conventionality of the steady W-2 paycheck. I've been running my VoIP consultancy for almost 36 months now and I am still here, growing steadily and slowly - but growing. It's twice the work, half the money, but I'm a whole lot happier for it. I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that I needed someone to kick me in the ass and push me out of the plane, or I might not have gone down this path for quite a while yet.
Ironically, and pleasantly, the same CEO sent me a lot of consulting work, especially early on, and continues to be an important relationship for me. When I occasionally come in, he shakes my hand and says it's nice to see me and asks, "how's business?"
Certainly do not try to get fired from a good job.
Getting fired generally says one of two things:
1) You weren't right for the job/company, but you had to have it pointed out to you (whether or not it's your fault), or 2) The company wasn't doing well, and rather than seeing that and getting out on your own, you waited until the company couldn't afford to keep you on (which doesn't necessarily mean you weren't pulling your weight, mind you).
When I take a job, I want to be the one who decides when it's time to leave. I may leave because I feel I've learned or advanced as much as possible, or because I don't believe the company and I are going in the same direction, or because I feel the company has a strong possibility of failure. And just as important, when I leave, I don't want people to be happy that I'm gone, although I don't want my departure to be overly bad for the company either.
Being fired may be able to teach you something, but it's more likely to mean you weren't paying attention.
Now if it's a layoff, that's a different story. I've always been told that you should work your way out of your job. Meaning do such a stellar job that they really dont need you anymore. In this sense, it's a good thing, because you actually know when it's time to move on or that what you're doing is not up to your full potential.
But there is another set of people that constantly strife to improve and move up in their own skill set and role. These people move as opportunity comes to them. They are never laid off or fired, per se, but know how to actively advance their career and goals effectively. In my mind this is where everyone should be, as it means you are never fearful of losing your job, or ever concern about finding another job. If you are good, the jobs will find you.
