How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You?re Fired

Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on.

Know yourself, have a plan, make a footprint. After you're fired, the raw power needed to convert a job loss into a high-voltage catalyst that gains multiple job offers is surprisingly simple. Consider these energizers:

Who you are? Detangle your sense of job from your sense of self

Where are you going? Design a five-year plan for career focus / direction

What can you do? Maintain a life-long log of your career achievements

"Getting fired is a lot like getting divorced," says Steve Johnson, Vice President of Information Systems for R. L. Stevens & Associates Inc., http://interviewing.com/ a leading international career marketing firm headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. "All you hear is 'I don't want you anymore'," he says.

Own your success and your failures. When he was fired from a multi-billion dollar petroleum company earlier in his career, discernment gave Johnson, a business-world veteran, the inner strength to get up and get on instead of rolling over and playing dead.

Despite an impressive portfolio of documented achievements that solidly contributed to the bottom line through process reengineering, he was still let go. His stellar performance though appreciated, was undervalued by his employers. Johnson made sure that this unexpected event did not end his career or dampen his spirits. "The time I was given the pink slip and told my talents were no longer needed, I faced a decision to either continually bemoan the shut door or look forward and find a new door I could open."

Possess the wisdom to know the difference between opportunity lost and possibility found. Johnson, an avid golfer, expertly swung himself out of his job loss bunker and found customers wanting his talents by taking the same approach in his job search as he does in his sport. "Getting fired is like an awful day on the golf course. You've got to stay in the game, play the holes, and adapt, improvise and overcome," he says.

"Every time a bad thing happened in my career, I always landed on my feet and good fortune proliferated through increased earnings, greater fulfillment and expanded opportunity to learn new skills. Using multiple career marketing strategies simultaneously I made sure that failure was never an option," he added.

Quickly create opportunities for yourself by changing your mental and physical state. Here's what you can do to restore order out of your job loss chaos:

Want to deactivate your fears?

?Take a vacation now to clear your head and get perspective

?Don't feed your anger by calling past colleagues and revisiting the past

?Welcome your firing as an unexpected career advancement to the next level

?Limit your pity party to one business day (8 hours)

?Forgive, let go, accelerate onward

Want to reactivate your confidence?

?Volunteer your time to someone who needs you ? a charitable organization

?Convert your resume from a career obituary to a marketing promo piece

?Inventory your portfolio of skills and question their relevancy / currency

?Showcase your business talent by serving on a community task force

?Upgrade your self-marketing campaign to strengthen your branding

Change your focus from retribution to restoration and you'll find the key to layoff survival and increased employer interest. Swallow your pride and take control of your career by morphing yourself into a consultant. You might even be able to reverse your misfortune and sell your talents back to the boss who fired you. Many ingenious job searchers have done just that and leveraged their talents by filling a void left by their departure.

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.

Got any valid reason to settle for a bad-tasting insect when a juicy steak is just around the corner? Get on with it.

About the Author:
Marta L. Driesslein is a senior management consultant for R.L. Stevens & Associates Inc. http://interviewing.com/. For over 24 years R.L. Stevens & Associates has been the Nation's most successful privately-held firm, specializing in executive career searches generating quality interviews through both advertised and unadvertised channels.

---

Create Your Plan B Before the Layoff Axe Falls

In one short week, the axe fell at a number... Read More

Why Well Produced Career Portfolios Are Replacing CVs

What is a Career Portfolio?The original portfolio used by artists... Read More

Theres No Need to Pad Your Resume

It seems like a good idea, harmless in fact. Your... Read More

Reinvent Yourself in a New Career

Some people reserve the word "vocation" for religious calling. Contemporary... Read More

Why Your CV/Resume is Not Generating The Interview Offers You Want

If your current CV or resume is not generating the... Read More

Formal Business Attire is Making a Comeback

The dot com boom of 1990s brought with it a... Read More

Using Journal to Support Your Job Search

Are you searching for a job? Here are some tips... Read More

Factual Employment Screening Part 1

We have all heard in recent years that the need... Read More

Career Moves: Take Charge of Your Life

Every day millions of people let their inner fears stop... Read More

Successful Job Seeking ? The Importance of Your Cover Letter

As an employer I receive many job applications each week.... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Try, Try, Again

This article relates to the Career Opportunities competency and explores... Read More

Get A New Job - Career Choices

Career change is tough but rewardingThere are a number of... Read More

How To Deal With A Nightmare Boss

It can happen to anyone. there's a change in the... Read More

What Is Your Greatest Weakness?

The fastest way to make a good interview go bad... Read More

Listening for Interview Success

Yes I know that we usually think of interviews as... Read More

Employment Under A Microscope

A certain amount of oversight is involved in almost any... Read More

Don?t Discount the Temporary Position Interview

If you think, 'it's just an interview for a temp... Read More

Do More than Expected to Get Ahead

One of the best things you can do to increase... Read More

Free Resume Template: Beware!

Downloading a free resume template can be so alluring. No... Read More

Telecommuting Interview Tips

Telecommuting Interview Tips- By Nell TaliercioYou've made it! Your cover... Read More

Career Change: A Glittering Invitation To The Emotional Stalkers

As much as you are yearning for career-change, and as... Read More

Benefits of Maintaining a Career Portfolio

Have you ever tried to contact a past employer only... Read More

Out Recruit The Competition

We hear from our clients that they "hope the candidate... Read More

Signs of a Healthy Work Environment

There's no denying that a healthy work environment is a... Read More

Effective Networking Skills: The Art Of Taking Your Job Search To A Whole New Level

Your network consists of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and former... Read More

Taking Your Words Seriously

When we ordered the stained glass window as... Read More

How To Pick The Best Career For You, Part 1

In Part One we'll look at how Positioning or "Coming... Read More

Crafting A Stellar Career Summary For Your Resume

Are you a career changer? Or, are you satisfied with... Read More

Resume Writing Tips

Make sure that your resume is up to date with... Read More

How to Overcome Being Overqualified

Have you ever gone through the interview process, felt confident... Read More

Managing Emotions During Career Change and Job Search, Part One

How can you manage your emotions during your career change... Read More

Interview Tips, How to Get the Job You Want

Enter into a state of relaxed concentration. This is the... Read More

How To Effectively Present All Of Your IT Skills

Effectively present all of your IT skills with the IT... Read More