Many of us here are retired.

Typically these days it's rare to have had only one job.

Business owners of course can't be fired.

Although I had scads of jobs and short term contracts in my life I never had the pleasure of being told YOU'RE FIRED or indeed even shown the door with cause.

 

How did I dodge this? I feel I've missed something.

 

For me there have been:

 

Resignations some with drama

 

Companies going out of business

 

Massive Layoffs / reduction in forces

 

Contracts just ending when a project was completed

 

Volunteering to be laid off to collect an exit package

 

But never a YOU'RE FIRED.

 

You?

 

 

 

 

Never been fired all my working life, worked for 1 company in my home land moved to Australia and became self employed for about 25 years and retired 8 years ago. Also had my own business in LOS.

I had several jobs in my early days - I don't remember being fired, but more an understanding a couple of times, after a couple of days, that this was not for me...

 

After 24 or so, I was always self-employed... 

Made redundant, but never "fired".

 

The redundancy was harsh.2 guys show up from H/O with an envelope, asked to clear out my desk there and then and hand over the keys to my company car. Felt like I was a criminal but it was for security reasons etc.

Envelope had a fat check and they gave me a ride home. ????

One of my mass layoffs was particularly traumatic and as close as I came to being fired. That's because I knew my boss was on my case and also I was very closely bonded with my workmates.

 

So the day of the big event where the big company was shedding about a third of its workforce I made it to the end of the day still not booted. Even had a black humor filled lunch with my coworkers. So my boss was going to have a meeting with the survivors and then he saw I was still there so he said everyone back to your cubes. Five minutes later the call of doom from a big big boss to have a visit. I guess that experience may have been even worse than an old fashioned YOU'RE FIRED.

Never , i work for biggest chem company in the world for 32years now . They hire people only with technical degree and after some serious "IQ like" testing , to check understanding , stress , learn , ... No need to talk sweet , dress up smart ,since it won't help in my kind of job . When you are on the job , company delivers loads of learning programs and learning on the job . Occasionally people are fired , but that imho is their own choice .

Between graduation from high school and a late start at university I went through a number of crappy jobs and was fired from a couple. Back then I assumed I was smarter than my supervisor(s)/boss(es). I might have been, but it wasn't the best start on my CV.

 

50 minutes ago, ScamperAZ said:

Between graduation from high school and a late start at university I went through a number of crappy jobs and was fired from a couple. Back then I assumed I was smarter than my supervisor(s)/boss(es). I might have been, but it wasn't the best start on my CV.

 

It's very common to be smarter than your boss. To stay employed you just have to suck it up and humor them.

I was fired from one company I worked for. Actually I manipulated them into firing me. I ended up suing them, we settled out of court. About 18 months later they hired me back as a consultant at well over twice what they were paying me as an employee. Never looked back and was never ever an employee again after that.

 

----

 

At a different company a few years later, thtantsey were doing a reduction in force. One of the directors was tasked with giving the bad news to the affected. After he finished the firings, they called him into a VP's office where they promptly fired him. Brilliant. As for me, they kept most of us consultants on so I continued.

I never had any trouble with finding a job -  I had trouble KEEPING a job

I was a Union Carpenter and as such I did not get fired , I would get laid off, and my name would go back into the hall to be reassigned to another project, and could collect unemployment while waiting. 

Because I was technically a journey man and did not belong to any particular company , I did not receive vacation time, but rather a vacation  check quarterly, and used the time between projects to come to Thailand .or go other places. 

 My laid off time was my vacation time. 

Though I was a journey man , I really only worked for one company that would always request me from the Union when a project came up that required my particular skill sets. (Concrete forms,  detailing the building plans, and site safety) 

Never fired, but came close a few times.

I was taken to HR by a supervisor and told to sign my final warning for doing an awful paint job on a piece of machinery. After signing the form I asked them "where does it say on my resume that I'm a painter?". The supervisor was marched off site and my declaration was torn up.

I was hired in Chicago as a Sr Manager.

 

90 days later I was called into the office and told I was going to be sent to Orange County, California, John Wayne Airport, to open a new office there.

 

I said no, no and no.

 

I was fired that same day.

 

The firing proved to be a godsend as it got me the heck out of Chicago into a really nice location!

I got fired from McDonalds as a teen for refusing to smile.

 

I said "What's to smile about, I'm working at McDonalds."

Got fired from KFC when I was 16 for smoking pot behind the building while the boss was on vacation. I just never included that job on any subsequent job applications.

8 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Made redundant, but never "fired".

 

The redundancy was harsh.2 guys show up from H/O with an envelope, asked to clear out my desk there and then and hand over the keys to my company car. Felt like I was a criminal but it was for security reasons etc.

Envelope had a fat check and they gave me a ride home. ????

Same company made me redundant twice.

First time they lost a contract, no need for me, then promoted into a different job.

Second time they changed conditions of service, I chose redundancy, gave me 1 years wages tax free.

As I was in the office with HR, the guy said "why did you choose to leave", my reply was "Do you know how long it would take me to save a years' wages free and clear?, and I can start a new job tomorrow". He said, "Yeah, I would have left too"

All very friendly, kept my ID, everyone wanted to see the cheque.

Last real job I ever had, retired age 45.

1 hour ago, freedomnow said:

I got fired from McDonalds as a teen for refusing to smile.

 

I said "What's to smile about, I'm working at McDonalds."

Actually that reminds me of the time I was asked to leave (not technically fired) for cracking a chaps shins at McDonald's Charring Cross with a broom in the early eighties from memory.

Dirty pig had a pile of rubbish at his feet and wouldn't move them when I politely asked.

In my 20's me and a mate of mine, we were fabrication welders in a small company. We decided it would be a laugh if we filled a large waste bag with oxygen and acetylene, we then placed it in the small toilets, with a fuse of paint thinners. Lit it and legged it, unaware someone was in the cubicle, it blew the windows out, and the occupant was not too amused ????. Sacked on the spot, we attained celebrity status in our town!

There I was sitting on the couch at home watching the Apprentice when all of a sudden I heard Donald Trump yell at me through the speakers "You're Fired".  Thought it was a joke but then my TV just unexpectedly changed to another show......I was so distraught I went out and got myself another glass of wine from the Kitchen.  Misery loves company so I called up my sister, she to had been fired by Trump.......oh the shame.

While in college I worked nights as a security guard for an RV resort and got fired for eating a piece of pie in the clubhouse. There were 20 pies, everyone had always shared and shared alike, but the new boss canned me the next day. I was temporarily devastated not for loss of the job, but for the insult of being called a pie-thief. 

The best was when I was fired from a bank for general incompetence.

 

They took me in a room and told me they had tried and tried with me. I asked if I was being fired, they said, not necessarily. I asked if I was coming back tomorrow. They said no.

 

They said they had a severance check for me. I asked if they had it with them. They said no. I told them to mail it.

 

When I got home,  the headhunter who placed me there called me. I thought to yell at me, but he offered me a job. He asked me when I wanted to start. I told him I was still wearing my suit and would be right over.

 

I sat down at a desk and called the guy who had just fired me and asked if I could replace myself in the job -like, who better? I sent over another another doomed prospect who at least stayed long enough to get me paid.

 

A year later, I placed the guy who fired me. He was all apologetic when I took him to lunch, but I just said that daily FX reconciliation was a real rhymes with witch and left it at that.

You have to be pretty stupid or pigheaded to get fired. I didn't manage it in 45 years, although I had quite a few jobs, moving upward each time, and a couple of bosses I could hardly stand. 

43 minutes ago, Speedhump said:

You have to be pretty stupid or pigheaded to get fired. I didn't manage it in 45 years, although I had quite a few jobs, moving upward each time, and a couple of bosses I could hardly stand. 

Maybe you're from a country where laws make it hard to fire people?

Not just fired, but marched at gunpoint to the departure gate at the airport in Lagos. How many can beat that, lol?

30 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Maybe you're from a country where laws make it hard to fire people?

UK and then 13 years in UAE. So you don't believe no-one would ever want to fire little old me? ????

I got fired after I had picked up this young woman with an amazing figure---she was a little bit out of it.

Anyway one thing led to another and we ended up having great sex...

 

I was told after that apparently I am not the sort of Ambulance driver they are looking for.....................

Met my Thai wife to be and was engaged 1 year later. I promised in front of her father to marry her within the year. Unfortunately he died but I kept my promise and returned within the year and we got married.

 

Returned from my 2 week vacation / marriage here to find my 'role' in the company I worked for had been advertised externally. I 'failed' the interview for the post I had been performing for 3 years and the position was given to the external candidate.

 

After a little advice from a legal firm I walked.

Made redundant 3 times and told one boss to f... his job but only once was I fired after I fired a 12 bore shotgun through the back door of the place where I worked (industrial mis-conduct), but landed another job within 2 hours.

Been fired twice, which was a bit traumatic at the time. But both my bosses were complete dick***** so i was glad to leave, especially with big payoffs. Walked straight into other jobs.

On 1/2/2022 at 8:12 AM, roo860 said:

In my 20's me and a mate of mine, we were fabrication welders in a small company. We decided it would be a laugh if we filled a large waste bag with oxygen and acetylene, we then placed it in the small toilets, with a fuse of paint thinners. Lit it and legged it, unaware someone was in the cubicle, it blew the windows out, and the occupant was not too amused ????. Sacked on the spot, we attained celebrity status in our town!

You were obviously worse than me, but admittedly I did not get found out about locking an apprentice in the boot of a car, while working overtime at night. After two hours he went very quiet so we opened the boot. He was very limp and maybe he was telling the truth about his closterphobia (not sure about the spelling)