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Happy 2017 everyone!! How's everyone feeling?
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I was like, “Okay, I guess I’m dismissed.” No “best of luck to you” or “good-bye” or anything. I know I’m not owed anything, but at a minimum it would have been nice. Mind you, during this PIP we were having weekly 1:1s where I was asking for feedback on my work. She never had any feedback, never discussed progress, nothing. At that point I should have known that her passive approach to the PIP meant she had already made her mind up about me.
Sorry for the rant! I’ve never been fired from a job before. 😢 Praying for better days ahead and a new job soon!
Very sorry you were fired. It definitely doesn’t feel good. But it’s happened to the best of us. You’re going to have some strong feelings over the next few days and possibly weeks. Allow yourself time to feel all of it—the anger, frustration, sadness, irritation. But then at some point you need to take a deep breath, get your head together and get cracking on your next job. Life goes on. This sucks but it’s not the end of the world and you’ll get through it. Hopefully you find something quickly and it’s a better fit for you.
Wish you all the best of luck!
I was fired in almost exactly this way (but remote) 2 jobs ago. First and only time that has ever happened. It was awful awful awful, but then turned out to be a true blessing both professionally and personally. I'd recommend truly taking a few days off (or a week) to recover, reflect, rest, etc., before jumping into the job search grind. The few days won't make or break your search and you want to give your nervous system a reset.
DM if you want to chat more. From your comments, sounds like we had very similar experiences.
I was fired from my last job due to performance issues but I too was never given any feedback. I tried to improve and I did everything I was told. I asked for feedback and help but was never given anything meaningful. They didn’t put me on a PIP but they posted my job. I thought maybe they were just hiring a new person somewhere else in the org (big company) but a month or so later came into a meeting with my boss and HR was there.
But you know what? I found another job and getting fired from that horrible situation was a very good thing for me. I just didn’t know it when it happened. At the time I felt both relief and the stress of oh no how do I take care of my family but now I’m in a better situation.
Almost everyone I’ve talked to who was fired said that in hindsight it was a good thing for them. You never get fired from a great situation. It’s usually good for you in the long run. You’ve got this OP
Thanks everyone for the great advice and encouragement! I'm feeling much better and will put a plan of action together after taking a mental break for another couple days. Thanks y'all! 😊
I would push for severance
I would:
1. Immediately shift all focus away from this job and focus instead on your mental and physical health, and your next step.
2. If you’re in a protected class and feel you were treated differently from others, consult with a plaintiff side employment attorney. The performative PIP could suggest there wasn’t a clearcut reason to terminate you. You may be able to negotiate a softer exit.
I’m so sorry this happened. Looking back in several years, you may view this as liberation from a job that was holding you back.
My thought was this too - is OP part of a protected class or did the company fear a claim? Because to be blunt if a company figures out they want to fire a white guy with no disability and no possible claims they just do it right away most of the time. Why go through a meaningless PIP routine if you know you’re going to fire someone if you don’t fear a claim
So sorry to hear this. My wife went through a similar experience. Sounds like your manager wasn’t actually invested in retaining you, I’m sure you’ll land somewhere better soon!
Thanks so much A1! And I hope your wife is at a better job now! 😊
Ugh that sucks. Sorry you had to go through this. I had a similar situation, and honestly being let go was the best thing to happen to me. You don’t want to work for a company that treats terminations how you described. Better days are certainly ahead!
Honestly a PIP is the worst and it’s good you are gone from that toxic workplace.
In your opinion, was this warranted or entirely unfair? Sometimes companies let people go for budgetary reasons and disguise it as performance related.
Really? I’ve actually never seen this… but I often see the opposite situation: Calling it a job elimination when it’s really for performance to spare the employee’s feelings and because the performance documentation is lacking
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Sorry to hear that. Typically a PIP is to prevent frivolous claims from employees being terminated for permitted reasons, so it’s not uncommon for them to feel performative. If supervisors were trying to give feedback to improve performance it often happens well in advance of a PIP.
Learn from it. Dust yourself off and get back on that horse.
This. A PIP isn’t really for you…it’s just a CYA move for the company. Once you’re on a PIP, 95% time there is no coming back from it—they’ve already written you off and the company is just going through the motions to kick you out. Sorry this happened to you.
Sometimes and most times… it’s not you or skills. From their perspective, it isn’t a good fit or it’s a budget issue. So, instead of telling you that, they gaslight you into thinking it’s a you issue. I’ve been put in a PIP once for fit and once because I called out something that violated laws that impacted me personally (I got a raving review two months before the pip regarding how they were lucky to have me and I was doing well). I didn’t even want anything out of it. I just gave them notice about the issue, so it wouldn’t happen again to other people and trying to lower the company’s risk.
Both PIPs were blessings in disguise. The last one I managed to get some money out of them after hiring an employment attorney as I actually had a case that wouldn’t look to hot in court. Keep your head up. In the meantime, contract work is hot if you need something in the interim. Take a couple days off then refocus!
Thank you so much.
I was fired from a firm in a similar manner. In my case, my work was good (the department head had been trying to find a substantive reason to fire me and couldn’t, something I’m still proud of), so no PIP, but I was completely blindsided. The practice area had just been getting pressure to downsize from firm management which did not value it, and I was the chosen victim. I had a friend who was let go after an “unsuccessful” PIP from another firm.
It was devastating for both of us, though it happened at different times. I felt ashamed, like I’d somehow failed. Mind you, I’d been miserable there, but still. I had a hard time facing my old boss at local meetings and CLE events, although I think it was harder for her, but I had to go for networking purposes. I was unemployed for 8 months.
Fast forward 20ish years. I’ve been happily with my current firm for 13+ years now. I work remotely and part-time, and I get paid well for what I work. My friend? She’s currently General Counsel for a company with 10,000+ employees.
You will get through this. Sometimes it’s just a mismatch between you and your manager, and nothing you did would have made the slightest difference. That’s what happened to my friend. Take some time if you can and lick your wounds. Took me more than a year to recover all of my self-confidence, but you know what? That experience made me tougher. The next time I was miserable at a firm, it didn’t affect me in quite the same way. And all of that led to where I am now.
I've had a similar experience and I was absolutely devastated . I cried and cried and didn't get out of bed for nearly a week . But, once you've accepted that this is the new reality, don't waste any time dwelling on the past , pull your resume together , and start pounding the pavement . Everything happens for a reason . I've lost more than one job and I couldn't have known at the time that every job that I've ever had or lost over a 30-year career was a stepping stone in my path to finding the job of my dreams that I have now . Have faith and never lose hope
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