Can You Save Your Job? What to Do If You’re About to Be Fired
Are you about to get fired? Can you improve your job performance and save your job? Lisa B. Marshall, aka The Public Speaker, offers some advice.
Lisa B. Marshall
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Can You Save Your Job? What to Do If You’re About to Be Fired
I recently received an email from a reader who wrote to say that his colleagues are not responding to his emails and have declined meeting requests. When he brought the issue to his boss, she said, “Well, there’s been some feedback about your performance from the team and we’d like to meet with you. Oh, and we’ve invited upper management to the meeting, too.”
From this interaction, he saw the writing on the wall—it seemed he was about to be fired. He asked for some advice. What could he do, if anything?
Here’s my response:
From my experience, I have to warn you that, at this point, it may be incredibly difficult to recover from this. Not impossible, but very difficult. The meeting can go one of three ways: 1) You’ll be given a chance to improve your job performance; 2) You’ll be asked politely to part ways; or 3) They will let you go immediately without cause (they can do that in some states and not others). Whichever way it goes, the best thing to do is to view this as an opportunity to get feedback. Of course, it may be unusable feedback for this job, but you will likely learn some important lessons to help you in the future.
Try to prepare for the meeting by reviewing your past experiences and trying to ascertain what may be the problem. You may come up with the wrong answers, so never volunteer your ideas, but thinking about it ahead of time, and trying to put yourself in the shoes of your team members, will both prepare you for the meeting and help you come up with solutions for the future.
Not excuses! Solutions. In addition, take some time to think about some ways that you have really been an asset to the company, so you can bring those up if you get the chance.
Here are my suggestions, given each different situation:
1) They give you a chance to improve your job performance
If you are being given a chance to save your job, you should say very little (no defending your position). Just listen carefully to what they say. It’s going to be hard, but you’ll need to bite your tongue! Remember what I said—no excuses. You want to get as much feedback as possible. Try to approach the feedback with an attitude of curiosity and great respect, as if it were a giant scientific mystery that needs solving. You simply want to try to understand their point of view to the best of your ability. Your goal is to be in ‘information-seeking mode’ to learn as much as you can about how to improve.
If you are asked your opinion or your thoughts on what has happened, be sure to relay your point of view is the most straightforward, nonjudgement, non-defensive manner possible. Express as objectively as possible your viewpoint. If you made a mistake, own up to it; take responsibility. Express your regret if necessary. If you did some things right and some things wrong, it’s OK to express that. Start with what you wished you had done differently. When you are done, listen.
Listen, to their reactions. Not responding emotionally will be difficult because negative feedback can be ego crushing and, well, emotional. This is exactly the time that listening and proceeding with an attitude of openness and humility is the hardest. Ask for as many examples as you can and for specific details of the expectations going forward. Ideally, you will be given the opportunity to co-create goals, expectations, and deadlines to get you back on track. If you have already thought of this problem and think you have a solution to share, do so. But present it as an idea you’re offering to them, to see if they think it would help. They may be pleased to see that you have thought about it and have come up with ideas of your own. This can only help.
However, there is also a very good chance they will verbally tell you what they expect and then follow up with a summary email. The main point here is that if they believe you can improve your job performance and save your job, then you’ll need to be sure you are clear on the expectations and that you are both on the same page. They will likely send a written summary of the meeting; be sure you agree with what is in the summary. After that, of course, you’ll need to start working on repairing the relationships. Again, humility and respect are key.
2) They ask you to resign
If, on the other hand, they ask you to part ways amicably—that is, they gently (or not so gently) suggest you resign—then you’ll want to ask the following question. Say something like: “I appreciate this candid feedback. I appreciate that you are a direct and honest person. May I ask you this? Do you now believe that I’m incapable of making the improvements needed to eventually be successful in this position?” If the answer is “yes,” then this opens the door for you to try to negotiate your transition a bit. [By the way, it is important to label the person as honest, direct, or candid. You are using altercasting to influence the outcome.]
Again, if they say, “Yes, we don’t think your performance will improve enough,” you might respond by saying, “I really appreciate your honesty. With that in mind, I’d like to discuss how we can make the transition as smooth as possible for both of us. Of course, I’d prefer to have the opportunity to prove myself, but it sounds like no matter what changes occur, for you, a positive outcome will not be possible. Are you willing to continue to work with me while you search for a replacement?” If you’ve been in the position a while, you could offer to at least keep things moving along while they search for a replacement. If you are new, you might even ask if there is any possibility to move you to a different area where you would build more on your strengths they identified in the hiring process. The idea is to try to buy some time, perhaps suggest an alternative, and, most of all, be extremely careful not to make it sound like you are offering to resign. You want to be able to continue working there either in the long term or at least while you search for a new job.
3) They fire you
If they say they have decided to let you go—to fire you—then there isn’t much you can say. In most companies, they will most likely directly escort you out of the building. Although this is not the outcome you want, you should at least prepare for this possibility by ensuring you have all of your personal belongings. Again, I’m really sorry you are in this position.
I sincerely hope things work out. However, if it turns out you find you are in need of a new job, please write me back and I’ll send you a copy of my book, Ace Your Interview. (Oh, and by the way, in the book, I cover what to say in your subsequent interviews if you’ve been fired.) I have heard from so many people that have gotten amazing results by following the advice in my book, even people that had been fired from their last position. I hope it helps you.
Good luck, and keep me posted!
P. S. I heard from the reader after I sent him this advice. He was given an opportunity to work in a different part of the company.
This is Lisa B. Marshall, moving you from mediocre to memorable, from information to influence, and from worker to leader! I invite you to read my best-selling books, Smart Talk and Ace Your Interview, listen to my other podcast, Smart Talk, and invest in your professional development via my online courses Powerful Presenter, Expert Presenter, or Influence: Maximize Your Impact.
As always, your success is my business!
About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.