College students and recent graduates sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they will never get fired. Unfortunately, you probably will.

Everyone gets fired at one time or another. That’s just the way things work today. However, the question becomes, what will you do when you get fired?

Stages of job loss:

Your Normal Job Performance - If your normal job performance is not considered to be at least average to above average. You are more likely to be terminated in tough times. No employer tries to hang on to employees who only do the minimum required.

Savvy employees do their best to stay employed, so they can leave on their own terms. They understand their own jobs, as well as other jobs in their department and perform those jobs to excellence. Additionally, the best employees understand that there is more to their responsibilities than just doing a good job:

- They never speak badly of their company or its people.
- They look out for the best interests of their employer, their department, their coworkers and their supervisors.
- When needed, they come in early, stay late, volunteer for the dirty jobs, come to the rescue of coworkers and go the extra mile for their employer and its customers.

Smart employees also keep up with job-related technology, procedural changes and operational changes that increase speed, reduce costs and solve problems. Your contributions in these areas will always be noticed.

Additionally, the best employees develop great leadership skills and demonstrate exceptional communication skills. Both of those skills greatly reduce your chances of being terminated.

Termination and Disbelief - Everyone is shocked when they are told that they have lost their job. Regardless of your performance and whether you were fired, laid off, downsized or your employer went out of business, it hurts!

There is a sense of disbelief. You’ll ask, “Why me?”

Interestingly, most people are not terminated for performance. They lose their jobs for one of two reasons: 1) They don’t get along with the other people in their organization, or 2) They are downsized with many others in their department and throughout the company. There may be little anyone can do about these two situations.

Anger - Disbelief quickly gives way to anger. Someone has taken away your income and your security. Losing your job hurts and makes you angry.

Terminations are especially difficult when you have family obligations, medical expenses, few financial resources, no severance pay and little chance for quick reemployment.

Mourning - You will mourn the loss of your job. That’s normal. However, don’t get stuck at this stage. If you do get stuck, it will hold you back.

That’s not good.

People lose their jobs all of the time, through no fault of their own. However, when it affects you, it is personal and it hurts. The best approach is to stop feeling sorry for yourself, accept your situation, mobilize your resources, apply for unemployment, get started with your job search and become a bit more flexible in your job requirements.

Acceptance - Don’t engage in self pity. It’s a waste of time. Pick yourself up and get started with your job search. The faster you get started, the better. If you lost your job because of your performance or your attitude, you must recognize the facts and take steps to improve.

You know how to conduct a job search. You’ve done it before. 1) Update your resume, 2) Sell the contributions you’ve made, not just your job duties, 3) Reestablish your network, 4) Investigate job search web sites, and 5) Research potential employers. Then be sure to work at your job search 8+ hours a day, seven days a week, no matter how long it takes, until you land your next job.

Since there is no telling how long that will take, conserve your resources.

Accept help from wherever you can get it. If necessary, go home to your parents. When times are tough, everyone must pull together.

Reemployment - When you do find a new job, never badmouth your last employer. Your new employer has hired you to do your job in a way that will contribute to the success of their organization. They want you to be positive, hard working and effective in getting things done. Since teamwork is expected, they also want you to get along well with the other employees.

When you become a well liked and well respected member of your new organization, you are helping your career and doing everything you can to prevent your future termination.

Everyone gets fired at one time or another. However, wise employees do two things. While they are employed, they do their best to make themselves, their co-workers, supervisor, department and employer successful. When they are unemployed, they sell their accomplishments, successes and positive results to potential employers. In each case, they focus on doing something positive.