What to Do When You're Fired

When you’ve lost your job, it's important to check—right away—on compensation due, benefits, references, and unemployment. If you have been fired and haven't been informed about benefits, contact the Human Resources department at your former employer or your manager to request information on the status of your benefits. Follow this checklist to make sure you have covered all the bases.

The day you get fired, your focus will waver between the immediate (“I just got fired. What do I do now?”) and the very long-term (“Is my career over?”). To keep from getting lost in the details or psyching yourself out, it helps to have a plan.

This step-by-step list tells you what you need to know when you have been fired from your job—and what to focus on today, tomorrow, and so on. 

We’ve all seen it in movies: the hero gets fired from his job, makes a big scene that either embarrasses his evil boss or sets the hero up for eventual redemption and then stomps out of the office, accompanied by stirring music. That makes for great drama, but if you try to replicate it in real life, you’ll notice that it’s a lot less satisfying without the soundtrack and flattering lights.

Bottom line, there’s a right way to behave after getting fired—and a lot of stuff you shouldn’t say or do, lest you make a bad situation worse. Avoid these common mistakes. 

Short answer: probably not. When an employee is terminated or laid-off, there are no federal regulations requiring employers to give advance notice to the employee unless the employee is covered by an individual contract with their employer, a union/collective bargaining agreement, or the WARN Act. If you’re like the majority of workers, these probably don’t apply to you—in which case, your employer is free to terminate you on the spot. 

When an employee is terminated for cause, they are fired from their job for a specific reason, for example, being chronically late, stealing, spending too much on social media, or having a bad attitude. It’s important to figure out whether you were fired for cause—as opposed to being laid off—because it may determine whether you’re eligible for unemployment. Here's how to handle being terminated for cause. 

Don’t assume that being fired means that you’re ineligible for unemployment. Depending on the circumstances, you could still qualify. The exception is if you were fired for misconduct, but you can always apply because your perception of your work history may be different than your employer's. 

Wrongful termination happens when an employee is discharged from employment for illegal reasons or if company policy is violated when the employee is fired. If you were wrongly terminated, you ​may be able to appeal the decision. Here's how to tell if you were wrongfully terminated—and what you can do about it. 

Regardless of how you were terminated, it’s important to know your rights. Depending on which state you live in, whether you’re working under a contract or as an at-will employee, and how the employer typically handles terminations, your rights will vary.

Getting fired isn’t the end of the world, even if it feels like it on the day you receive your termination. Handled correctly, it can be a minor bump in the road of your career. Here’s how to handle the inevitable job interview questions about your termination honestly and positively, so that you can move on to your next adventure. 

Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about termination from employment, including reasons for getting fired, employee rights when you have been terminated, collecting unemployment, wrongful termination, saying goodbye to co-workers and more.