My husband lost a great contract job the day before his 30th birthday. It took him two months to find a solid temp-to-hire job (he did little jobs in between). That was three years ago. He’s much happier now.
I was fired back in the mid 90’s. I had called in “sick” because my car was broken down. The boss saw me at a local bar that night and the next morning I was told to turn my equipment in (I was a fresh fruit and vegetable inspector).
Shock. Embarassed. Torment. Disbelief.
It had been a pretty decent job, paid well, lots of overtime and was seasonal (we worked about eight months and then collected unemployment for the rest of the year). It was definitely a rut that I would have had difficulty getting out of.
To be honest, though, I wasn’t in any kind of situation (like many of the ones described already) that wouldn’t have worked out fine. I was about 25 at the time, had no kids, a cool apartment with a friend, money in the bank, great family, etc. It was just the shock and embarassment of being fired.
Anyways, I had flunked out of college at 18, travelled, worked, travelled, worked and now found myself with no employable skills (except being able to identify various kinds of fruit and vegetable defects and being a good judge of ripeness). So, I got a job delivering pizza and went back to school.
Lo and behold, not only was delivering pizza pretty cool…but I loved school. Fast forward five years and I had a wife, a kid, an M.A., and a very cool job that I love, pays decent and gets me lots of free drinks at the bar.
Getting fired sucked but it was just the kick in the ass I needed.
I’ve never “lost” my job, but I was nearly hired at one after a long period of unemployment. I would have taken the job if I had been offered against my better judgement. The pay was pretty good and it was in the field I wanted to be in, but they had an awful non-disclosure and no-compete agreements that pretty much would have trapped me there forever, unable to work at another creative-services business and unable to show off the work I had done for them. Still, I would have taken the job.
I wrote about it in my blog in nothing but positive ways, and during the interview process they stumbled upon it. Called me up, threatened me with lawyers, and of course said they wouldn’t hire me. I was devastated.
A few months later I was hired at another job that was closer to where I lived, had a higher salary and more benefits, no no-compete or non-disclosure agreements, much more chance of promotion, etc. Never been happier.
Yes. I was “afraid” to lose my last job, because the job market was so bad, I didn’t know how long it would be to find another job, and I thought “what if I end up at someplace even worse than this one?” But I was essentially forced out (my hours were cut & I was put in an impossible situation), so I ended up having to face my fears.
A few months later, I had found the job I have now. It’s a vast improvement! My base pay is better, plus I get bonuses and a profit-sharing pension plan, free transit pass, dental & vision coverage in addition to medical, and I have a nicer office. The people here treat me a lot better, and the company is much more stable, reputable, and profitable. So, my commute takes me 15-20 minutes more each way - I can live with that.
I left at lunchtime on the first day of a really REALLY shitty job and never came back.
The boss told me to let the phone ring at least four times, regardless of whether or not I was doing anything…so the caller could think about whether or not they really wanted service on their refrigerator.
And he wore a T-shirt that said “Dirty Old Men Need Love Too”.
No jury would convict me.
Yep, and it worked out very well in the end.
First job out of college - I did very well at it, kept getting promoted, blah blah blah. In the fall of 1999 the company sold off the majority of the stores to another company, but asked a select few to relocate to Georgia (one already lived there) for the formation of a new company.
We did little work for six months, but got paid, drove around in the company cars, had the cell phones and the like. At about six months, they laid us off. Sure, they set up interviews for us with a similar company based in the same town (Cleveland, TN), but something felt really wrong about it - and it would have meant another move, this one to the Myrtle beach area. I said no, debating it all the while, and within 2 weeks had landed a new job, close to home, making more than I was making before. About 2 months after I’d started the new job, the former boss called me, we had dinner together, and she asked me to come to the new company again - and I said no again.
I worked there for about 2.5 years before realizing (with the help of a fantastic boss) that I wasn’t in the right field and heading back to grad school. Now I’m not too far away from you IIRC - but I don’t think I would have ended up where I am today if the layoff hadn’t come up and I’d said no to the other company twice. Note: When I applied to grad school, my boss at the first company wrote one of my recommendations and she told me then that I’d done the right thing saying no two years before - that it was an awful company to work for. By then, I knew I had, but it was nice to have confirmation.
In May 2000, I started a high-stress, long-hours, decent-wage, risky-future job at an internet startup.
In October 2000, the startup failed spectacularly, and we were all on the street. It’s the one and only time I’ve been involuntarily unemployed. I moped and grumped around the house, collecting unemployment and hunting for a new position and mulling my non-career.
In December 2000, an old boss heard through the grapevine about my situation, and invited me to join her department at her new company, which is a high-profile technology company whose products you use and whose jingle you can sing. I’m still here, making almost twice my old salary.
So, yeah, that was a pretty good thing.
Everytime so far! I’ve been fired more than an AK-47 at an Al Qaeda training camp! I keep coming up smelling like roses with more money and better benefits!
(except the last time 
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I got laid off from a benefitted parttime psychologist position at a university after 3 years. It was the best thing ever. I just took all my patients and saw them in my private practice. It worked out great because the university did all the work of getting me credentialed on managed care (insurance) boards. I miss the health insurance a little, but I work a lot less for more money, and I really like my life. No regrets 
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YES!
Even the BIG ONE! I was laid off when pregnant (two weeks after signing the papers on a new house). Fou months after baby was born, hubby was laid off too. It was horrible. He found a shitty little job just to put food on the table within a month, but we were still fubar’d.
We both agree that two year period was the darkest time, no money, no prospects, but always hope.
Now, we think we can get through anything, as long as we are together! He is in a job he loves, and makes enough to support me while I pursue my dream (writing). Our daughter is thrilled as I am at home with her during the day.
Everyone I know, it always turns out to be a good thing. But it’s hard for everyone to be without a job, but I think harder for men. My husband is pretty traditional, so for him to be without work really made him feel that he was not only failing the family, but failing as a man.
Now, let’s get him through this and on to the next better thing!