After being fired it is easy to play the blame game and over-analyze everything until you end up hating and berating yourself or your boss. Instead, turning the firing into a positive experience will help you grow as an employee and even as a person. Here are some recommendations for making being fired work for you:

1. Immediately after the firing, take a minute to jot down key feedback or reasons you were let go. If this is not offered at the time you are fired, then take a deep breath and ask. The only way you can work to correct behavior is by first identifying it.

2. After a day has past (and without looking at your notes) make a list of both your positive and negative behaviors at your job. Try not to make value judgements, but instead brainstorm at all the qualities and actions you took to your former position.

3. After a week has passed, compare your list to the reasons you were let go. Anything standing out? Perhaps your boss felt you socialized too much, when you should have been working. Or maybe your productivity was down, and you realized you spent a bit too much time on the job surfing the net. There might even be a few positive qualities that your employer viewed as a strike against you. Making these links will help you clearly start to see where things went wrong.

4. Make a shortlist of three to five qualities or behaviors you have linked to feedback. Brainstorm on alternative behaviors or possible scenarios that might spin these things into a better outcome. Tendency to be short with co-workers or customers? Imagine different words that might have better expressed yourself without offending anyone.

5. Spend some time getting feedback from friends and family about your shortlist. Talk to them about your possible solutions, and discuss their perspective. Our family and friends know us best, and perhaps have beneficial insights into how we can make a minus into a plus.

6. Practice new behaviors. Research, where appropriate.

7. In looking for a new job, it is also often better to avoid work environments that got you in to trouble. Were you fired because you didn't dress professional? Seek out more casual work environments. Problems with childcare, causing a high absence rate? Look for opportunities that have flexible schedules, or allow you to occasionally work from home.

8. Above all, keep positive. Its not the end of the world.

Learn more about this author, E.D. Cameron.
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