What are the common signs that you may be fired or laid off?
A book, "I Didn't See It Coming," by Amy Dorn Kopelan, Nancy C. Widmann and Elaine J. Eisenman provides some coaching tips. Here are some Q&As by Ms. Kopelan that can prepare you for the arrival of that pink slip.
If there is a merger or acquisition, that's a common sign. To expect that anything will be normal is wrong. If a new boss comes into your division, that's a big sign. A less obvious sign may be when a coach is brought in to help with some of your management issues.
Any time you start a new job or get a new title at work, the first thing you want to think about is "What is my exit strategy?" Always have some money tucked aside in an exit fund. The goal is to cover a year's worth of expenses.
You have to think about your marketability. What are you doing to be your own best press agent? Another thing is to be constantly networking--inside and outside your company, as well as inside your industry.
You probably don't like to admit you were fired and would like to reframe the reasons for your exit for your new workplace. The answer comes back to what happened when you left. You should insist on controlling how your departure is framed. You can demand that you are the one to address your staff and your colleagues before anyone else. You can say that you're leaving to explore other opportunities, for example, and there need not be more of an explanation. If you control the official explanation for your exit, then wherever else you go, it's not an issue.
Source: BusinessWeek, June 11, 2007