=============================================== "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 24, October 2007 =============================================== Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a quarterly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "How to Get Fired Up After Being Fired" 2. Office Happenings (DVD Receives 5-Star Rating at Amazon!) 3. Helpful Resources (Top 10 Temporary/Contract Agencies) 4. Favorite Quotes Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. ===================================== How to Get Fired Up After Being Fired ===================================== Being fired is one of the most stunning blows to confidence and self-esteem one can experience. Whether your dismissal was the result of your own job performance or the whim of a difficult boss, the sting of rejection is personal, profound and not easily overcome. But, it's imperative that you move past those feelings of rejection as quickly as possible. Doing so will allow you to transform what feels like a slammed door into a fantastic opportunity to obtain a satisfying new job and propel your career forward. First, remember that you are not alone. Countless numbers of people have stood in your shoes and gone on to enjoy successful careers after being fired. In fact, some very high-profile, high- achievers were fired before finding success. J.K. Rowling was fired from a secretarial position for using her company's computer and time to do creative writing. She used her severance pay to begin writing the first Harry Potter book. And, six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's former French racing team, Cofidis, fired him in 1997 when he began treatment for cancer. Patriots Coach Bill Belichik was dumped by the Cleveland Browns in 1996. Belichick pulled himself up and spent the next few seasons in assistant coaching positions with New England and the New York Jets until 2000, when Patriots owner Robert Kraft handed him the top job. Clearly, getting fired doesn't need to derail your career or diffuse your dreams. Remember also that firings are often far from black-and-white situations. While the stigma attached to being fired implies an employee who's failed an employer, the reality is that sometimes firings reflect an employer who's failed an employee. Poor management, personality conflicts, office politics, and more can result in good employees being shown the door. Or, firing can often be the conclusion to a simple case of incompatibility... a bad fit. In coping with your own situation, be mindful that the circumstances of a firing are subjective and involve at least two points of view. Finally, know that in today's economic climate of downsizing, employers understand that many talented people are unemployed. As such, having been fired no longer raises the giant red flag it once did. Employers are willing to look past these events if it means gaining qualified new employees. So, while you will still have to explain your firing to a prospective employer, you need not feel compelled to spend job interviews apologizing for it. If you and the position you are seeking are a good match, a calm, confident communication of your skills will override any concerns raised by your firing. So, how do you rise above being fired? The process begins with your honest examination of the reason for your firing. How much of the responsibility rests with you? How much rests with your former employer? A conversation with managers from your former company who know you could be helpful in this process. Their impressions of your performance and of events leading to your dismissal may be illuminating. Own any behaviors or shortcomings on your part that contributed to your firing and do what you can to address them, whether that means getting training or gaining appropriate experience. Be proactive and commit to learning the lessons that come with being made aware of a weak point in your job performance. View it as an opportunity to improve. However, don't assume that the firing is entirely your fault and be realistic about what roles people or events external to your control may have played. Don't be afraid to dismiss criticisms of your work you know to be false. Why is this assessment process so important? Because your state of mind while pursuing a new job has a direct effect on your success in that pursuit. If you are in a state of dejection and self- doubt, all aspects of your job search, from the gusto with which you approach it to your performance in an interview, will suffer. How do you explain a firing to a prospective employer without spooking them? First, if you can, try and find out what your former employer is going to say when asked for a reference. Awareness of what your potential new employers will hear from your previous employer will help you address any negativity in their portrayal of you. Then, using this information and your own assessment as a framework, develop a concise explanation for your dismissal to present to interviewers. Your story should be honest, as lies and contradictions can easily come undone when interviewers conduct background checks, check references, and compare notes. And, your story should be blame-free. Bad-mouthing a former employer rings loud alarms for a prospective employer who may perceive you to have a poor attitude. Finally, your story should include what you have learned from the experience. Owning your mistakes and communicating how you've grown from them will earn far more points with an interviewer than breezing over them. Practice your story so that you can deliver it succinctly (not too much detail!) and with confidence. Above all, if you've been fired, don't dwell on any judgment and rejection you may be feeling. Focus instead on forward movement. Remember, being fired is not the end of a book. It is the end of a chapter in your career and you are the author of the next one... not your former employer! ================= Office Happenings ================= I'm thrilled to announce that my DVD program "10 Steps to Interviewing With Confidence" recently received a 5-star rating on Amazon.com! The reviewer states, "... I am amazed that this video has taught me more than what I would have expected. Jeanne Knight's advice will definitely help you sell yourselves, answer the tough questions, and get the job you want." The review can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/2vp9zk I recently had the exciting experience of being quoted in the Washington Post in an article that explored the challenges of relocating for a new job. The article, entitled, "When That Offer Means A New City," ran on Sunday, September 16 and can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/2nubx7 Starting this month, "Achieve Your Dreams" will be published quarterly. The newsletter will continue to bring you pertinent and insightful career, job search and life-enriching articles, as well as valuable resources to support you in achieving your professional dreams. As always, don't hesitate to e-mail me if there's a specific topic you'd like explored. Look for the next issue of "Achieve Your Dreams" in early 2008. ================= Helpful Resources ================= Top 10 Temporary/Contract Agencies As the economy continues to be uncertain, more and more people are turning to contracting and temporary employment, either to sustain them during periods of unemployment, or as an alternative to traditional full-time employment. Temporary employment firms have exploded in growth in the past few years, with the strongest growth now occurring in professional and technology positions. Firms that once focused on low-skill labor are rapidly adding high-skill positions. The best firms are offering a wider range of services to meet both employer and employee needs with greater flexibility. The top 10 staffing firms in the U.S. market represent almost one-fourth of total U.S. market share. See the complete "Top 10 List" at: http://www.workforce.com/section/06/feature/24/92/13/index.html =============== Favorite Quotes =============== "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success." -- Thomas J. Watson "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -- Confucius "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo 1876 "You say this is a computer for ordinary people? Why would an ordinary person want a computer?" -- Hewlett Packard executive to Steve Wozniak regarding Apple prototype My very warmest wishes to all of you for a wonderful holiday season and a joyful, healthy and prosperous New Year! In support of you, Jeanne ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me via this e-mail address. I will remove your name promptly.