Thank You for Firing Me!: How to Catch the Next Wave of Success After You Lose Your Job

by Kitty Martini, Candice Reed

Unfortunately, unemployment is on the rise—leaving many people anxious about how to recreate themselves and renew their careers after being fired. This fresh, funny, and smart guide will be their life saver, providing them with the information they need to thrive even in this tight economic environment. It will help jobseekers and prospective entrepreneurs figure out what they really want to do next, understand the changing job market, and find work in growth areas such as green technology. There’s also advice on retraining, freelancing and independent contracting, and Internet marketing options, as well as a chapter devoted specifically to women.  Personal interviews with workers who changed their lives after getting laid off—and who are now doing what they love—offer additional inspiration.

Genres: Self Help, Business

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2010

Reviews

[Margot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank You for Firing Me! has much of the same career advice you can find in any other career advice book. Personal success stories are a typical way that these types of books can make themselves stand out from one another. Although the personal stories in this book were great, there just weren't enough to make the book outstanding in that sense.

But the book did manage to combine the typical career advice with several chapters that functioned similarly to the BIG BOOK OF JOBS, 2009-2010. These chapters focused on popular and growing work areas such as Green Jobs or serving the Baby Boomer Generation and then went into general detail about what kinds of jobs you could do within that category. This is very useful information if you're not really sure what you want to do or you want to change jobs but are not yet sure where you'd like to go with your career next. Not so useful if you really already know what your career goals are.

The book also contains a huge list of resources and great advice on taking the skills you already have and making your own consulting business out of them. If you're out of work, you'll probably find this book useful and possibly even inspiring.

My only real complaint about the work is the organization, which often didn't flow or seem to follow a logical progression.

[Sue Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so topical and would only be helpful for those going through a job transition. The author did keep the subject light and the book is easy to read. I was happy that it gave a new perspective on losing a job; it gave a feeling of hope.

I appreciated the stories giving ideas of what can be done after losing a job. There were several suggestions and stories and each certainly made me think. He helped to eliminate the feeling of impending doom. The idea of getting new training or freelancing made me ponder.

Some of the suggestions were predictable and some were not relevant to me but, overall, it was nice to read. I just couldn't rate it higher because it is not a great book and would appeal only to a small group of people who are looking for new work. Still, if anyone is feeling discouraged about work loss, this could be one book to read.

[Jennifer Strasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I appreciated the breezy, easy to read way the authors presented the daunting task of re-branding yourself and jumping back into the work force after losing your job or getting downsized. The wide range of options on how to stay financially afloat while soul searching & job searching ranged from hard core practical to adventurously creative. There were plenty of great wesbites and resources on how to earn money no matter what your career was, and cool stories from people who found a better life as a result of getting fired. One guy who was a burned out mortgage broker ended up moving to California and becoming a licensed medical marijuana grower! I learned that getting fired isn;t the end of the world--it's the beginning of a new adventure.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. It did spark a few ideas for me to investigate though. I do question some if the research/editing. Pretty sure personal computers went on sale to the public prior to 1995 (pg74), and I know for a fact that Canada doesn't offer free child care and college eduction (pg178) so I wonder about some of the other facts in the book. Overall though it was an entertaining read and I did come out of it with some positive ideas.

[James]

this had a lot of useful advice: start a green business, bank on boomers, freelance, start an internet business or go overseas. forget it!

[Ciaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, my friend wrote this, but you should totally read it.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some really good advice and good "soul searching" exercises. I guess time will tell if it was actually helpful!

[Nichelle Sifontes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for those that are interested in finding a new calling, a new career path, etc!