Getting fired is a beautiful thing

[NovaTerra]

Long story short, my previous employer let a bunch of us go three weeks ago. I spent my first day off the job hitting all the job sites, like monster and dice.com, etc. Then I put out about 50 resume's and waited for the weekend to end.

Three days later, I got my first offer. I turned it down. Four days after that, I got another. Then the next day I got another. After 14 days, I took an offer, and I start next Monday! My new job pays 20,000 a year more than the previous one!

Please please please--if you are in a job you hate, get your resume out there and find something better! I spent the last year vacillating between complaining about the job and being afraid of getting fired. When they finally laid me off, they were doing me a great favor! If they had not let me go, I am sure I would still be there, still in fear of losing my job, and still complaining about poor pay. But they forced me to do something that I would not do on my own--find a better job for more pay.

You might think there is nothing out there for you. You might think you are not qualified to do anything better. You might think it is ok to "settle" for a job that is less than the best. I think that life is too short to be in a low paying job that you hate.

Go out there and get the job (and the money) you deserve!

 

[The Mutha]

well said.

I believe most people (there are many exceptions) - but in general, most people aren't very confident about their skills.

Usually to get a bettery salary you need to do things you normaly don't do, or have never done. You need to have more skills than you have currently... SO many people think they CAN'T do it, when in fact, if they tried hard enough, they would be able to do it. Also, most people don't know how to market themselves.

Anyways, like Russ 's signature implies, there is a large number of people that don't think they can do it.. but if they just tried a little harder.

Anyways, good for you NovaTerra.

 

[Yzzim]

Congrats NovaTerra! Hope everything works out for you at your new job

 

[NovaTerra]

I was not confident in my skills either, so I spent time building my skill set. A very smart man once told me that you should use the job you have as training for your next job. If you believe you can get to the next level, you will get there. You just have to try to make it, to reach for that next rung at a new company.

 

[damocles]

So true. I perservered with a job i hate for a couple of years, because the money was good. I moved into a new field recently. I am enjoying the new job a lot more and am getting promoted faster.

You spend a fairly large chunk of life working, make the most of it

 

[atomicbomberman]

hehe, I hope so.. I went in for an Interview last week.. how long until they give u a call and let u know their desision?

 

[Fingers]

very well said NovaTerra

 

[Total Refected Power]

Good for you!

 

[xodarap]

Glad to hear this economy hasn't givin up on us nerds yet. If it can hold out for three more years heres to a butiful future!

 

[MC]

congrats!

btw, what kind of job you getting? how much does it pay?

 

[Cheapster]

Well I was lucky enough to get laid off last week. I'm looking at this as a mid-life vacation. I figure I'll take a few months to enjoy myself, tie up all those loose ends, then go for a job. I did nothing but b*tch and complain because I had too many skills for what I was doing, but then again we all do that. Now I'll be forced to find something and I'm sure I'll make 10K more by the time I'm done doing it.

Who knows, with all this extra time, I might improve my status here too LOL

Good luck to all that are in the job market. Confidence can compensate for inexperience.

 

[NovaTerra]

Atomic: I got this job because I was persistent. The recruiter found my resume on monster, and said that he knew of a position being created at another company, and would I be interested. I had just interviewed at another company that wanted me to start right away, but the job was not exactly what I wanted. I called the recruiter back and said, "hey I have a job offer on my computer right now, is this company of yours still interested in talking with me?" The recruiter then initiated an interview. I went to the company, was very impressed with the operation, gave a pretty good interview, and left.

THE NEXT DAY, I emailed them and thanked them for the interview, and stated again that I was ready to start right away and I had another offer. Basically, I took the initiative and gently nudged them into making a decision to hire me. I think you should do the same. NEVER wait for a prospective employer to "get back to you." If you want the job, act like it is yours for the taking, and pursue it. I will tell you that if you are equally qualified on paper with someone else, and that other person calls the company to try to close the deal, that person will get the job.

Ming: It is a management job where I basically do QA work, supervise a crew of professionals and report to the ISO 9000 officer. The pay is very nice--with bonuses it increases my salary by 30 percent.

 

[burnedout]

Thanks for the advice NovaTerra. I was laid off last week. Have found another. In tech support. I'll use the new one for bigger and better things.

Yes, hound those HR managers.

The end always justifies the means.

 

[TomCsTulip]

I had the same situation. I lost my job and got 3 offers, the one I took was 12,000 more than my previous employer. I also have a great chance to advance in my career now!!

Monster.com was an excellent resource for me!!

 

[TomC25]

Congrats on the new position and outlook on work/job NovaTerra

 

[NovaTerra]

Thanks for the congrats everyone.
Cheapster: One word of advice, you may not want to stay away that long. There are two ways a prospective employer looks at an extended break from work: either nobody wanted to hire you, or you did not feel you had to go right back to work. Even if the former is untrue, it is what they are going to see first when they look at your online profile or your resume. If they think the latter is true, you had better be able to explain up front why you needed all that time off.

When I was hiring people, my company forced me to look askance at those who had been out of work for several months.

I recommend that you get your resume together, start looking right away, and just be picky about the next job you take. Set your start date a couple of weeks away, and you will still have time to "get things together" when you are hired. If you really want to take the time off, you can tell prospective employers that the reason you have not looked for work is because you went into business for yourself. That might work, if you can show that you actually did something the last few months.

 

[Azraele]

Congrats on the new job!

 

[Stark]

I'm in the process of looking too (not fired, but I need to get out of here).

Yesterday I talked to a headhunter who got my name off dice.com, so hopefully I'll get some serious bites soon.