Speculations on Termination

Synonyms: canned, pink-slipped, shown the door, terminated, let go, downsized, involuntarily separated, terminated, axed, or laid off.

I recently accepted a position as a Program Marketing Assistant at a very small non-profit outside of Boston. I have also recently been terminated from that very same small non-profit. My jubilation of finally being a salaried contributor to the economy lasted a very short three months.

The job was awful but I was naively optimistic because I wanted to believe that I could be a happy working girl, that I could feel like an adult, that I too could move out of my parent’s home. Alas, this was not my fate and though I was miserable, I knew I would grin and bare it until I found a new position.

I was unhappy, not stupid. The search had just begun, I applied to three jobs the week before my termination, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. On October 31, I was told I needed to be let go.

Being that it was Halloween, there was a Halloween costume contest for our office of 10 employees that day. I felt pressure to participate because earlier that month, it pointed out to that I was not a team player. There was also a $50 cash prize, and let’s be honest everyone could use a little more cash.

Yes, you know where this is going...I was fired while dressed like a giant crayon. I was “tickled pink” and while I was being told what was happening I couldn’t help but think, wow I am really being fired dressed like a crayon. I wonder if she could still fire me if I was dressed as a giant teddy bear or something with whiskers.

When I was asked into her office to “check in” I grabbed my notebook and didn’t think much of it. My heart of course was pounding, but that was my normal reaction to talking to her. I asked how she was and her response was, “Not good, I have to let you go”. After an awkward pause there were a few other short statements about how she knew I was unhappy there, that my attitude was “toxic” and, that she “bent over backwards to make me happy”.

I was asked if I had anything to say, if I spoke my mind it might have gone something like this.

“uhh, WHAT?! You are firing me because someone told you I was unhappy? When have you bent over backwards for me?! You couldn’t even spell my name right for the first 4 weeks never mind knowing that I may or may not be unhappy with your unethical and possibly illegal accounting demands! You are firing me after I trained my replacement today?! And most importantly, I am dressed as a life-sized crayon….you are really firing me dressed as a life size crayon?!?! My attitude is toxic?! Everyone knows Crayola crayons are NON TOXIC!!!” This is of course what I wish I said, not the professional and reserved few sentences I managed to mumble.

It has been a few months now so that I have had time to digest the fact that I was fired from my first full time job. However, if one more person tells me it is a blessing in disguise I am going to punch them in the face! Even when you hate your job getting fired still stinks.

The comfort I have found in the entire ordeal comes from knowing all of the great successful professionals have at first failed or been fired. If being fired for standing up for what I believe in is what it takes to avoid mediocrity than I guess it’s a price I am prepared to pay.

In our tough economic climate, it's worth reminding ourselves that losing a job may not be the end of the world. Sure, it never feels good, but getting the boot may provide the impetus to reach even greater success. Donald Trump my have patented the line, “You’re Fired” however, not everyone’s termination is TV worthy. Through someone haphazard research, I have learned that getting fired is only a moment in time. It doesn't define who you are, and if you look at getting fired as an opportunity to discover what you truly want to be, do and have in life, then take action towards that goal; getting fired is the best thing that can happen to you! So what? I have some time to reevaluate my goals and career choices; maybe this has even given me a bit more gumption.

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J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling lost her job as a secretary because she was caught writing stories when she was supposed to be working. She used her severance to begin the first Harry Potter book.

Bill Gates: Gates didn't seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn't work, Gates' later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.

Walt Disney: Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.

Thomas Edison: In his early years, teachers told Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked.

The proceeding information is credited to “November 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First” http://www.onlinecollege.org/2010/02/16/50-famously-successful-people-who-failed-at-first/