On the other hand, it also represents good PR for the company. Fired employees who leave in anger express it to many people, including those in the company's industry. An employee who is sincerely helped by an outplacement service will leave with more positive feelings, especially if the counselor has materially helped the person get another job.
Sometimes a counselor from an outplacement firm is present, along with the boss, when an employee is brought in to be fired. I dislike this practice; it's like having a funeral director on hand at the hospital. If this happens to you, all you can do is try to make the best of it, gain in an attempt to cut your losses.
Make an honest attempt to determine whether you really need the services of an outplacement counselor. Some people do, especially those who perceive themselves as having special problems, or who haven't planned for such an eventuality (haven't "insured" their careers on a continuous basis).
On the other hand, if you are someone who is confident you'll find another job fairly quickly, suggest to the company from which you're departing that you be paid additional severance roughly equaling the amount the company would pay to an outplacement service. Better to take that money in your checking account than in the offers of the outplacement firm.
If you do elect to use the services of outplacement counseling, it doesn't mean you have to accept everything suggested to you. If you feel the counselor is not earning his or her money, by all means report it back to your former boss, or to the human resources department. After all, counselors are being paid good money to help you, if they don't, hopefully your former company will take steps to get you a more effective counselor. But make sure your evaluation is based upon reason and is not the result lingering anger and a need for revenge.
What most people being fired don't realize is still there is room for negotiation. Too many simply pack their belongings and slink out, head bowed, accepting only what they were given in their severance package. Ask for more severance pay if you honestly believe you deserve it. Negotiate the time you'll be allowed to use desk at the company, its phone, its fax machine, phone copier, and secretarial services. These things can make dramatic difference in how fast you'll locate a new job. Neglect to pursue them is to shortchange yourself.
The first thing that comes to many people's mind these days when fired is to threaten a lawsuit. Certainly there are instances in which legal action is called especially in cases of blatant discrimination based upon age, race, sex, and other human elements that are restricted under our employment laws.
But in most cases someone is fired for "good" cause and the discrimination excuse is merely contrived. My search indicates that most people who are fired knew they were going to be long before the axe actually fell. Companies these days, well aware of the penchant of suing former employers, do a pretty careful job of documenting an employee's slipping performance, bad attitude, and general lack of productivity. Bringing frivolous lawsuit against a former employer based upon need for revenge guarantees that you have burned your bridge back to that company and its potential contacts. You've completely destroyed the possibility of getting even a reasonably satisfactory reference.
How you leave a job can be vitally important in your search for a better one. Don't be shortsighted. View the company you're leaving, either because you've elected to leave or have been asked to, as but another steppingstone in your continuing search for career success. Commit yourself to leaving a job the right way, just as you have committed yourself to finding that better job.
Reminders on How to Leave a Job
- Keep your behavior on a professional level, no matter how angry you are.
- Be positive, both when informing your boss you're leaving and in your resignation letter.
- Make sure a copy of the letter goes to the company's personnel or human resources manager.
- Give a fair amount of notice.
- Be especially helpful to the person or persons replacing you.
- Don't gloat about your new job to present colleagues.
- Don't coast at the end. Give your final weeks your all.
- Try to come up with your own replacement.
- If fired, negotiate the best possible deal you can.
- If fired, try to get a written reference.
- Don't threaten to sue.
