April 11, 2025 • 9 mins
I´ve been Fired, Now what do I do? Dawn Rasmussen, Chief Resumé Designer at Pathfinder Writing and Career Services, Author, Speaker, shares her insight and advice to your first actions! Helps you clarify your "Business Value". https://pathfindercareers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnrasmussen
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I'm Tom Reach promoting successful business experts connecting people throughout
the word from my podcast studio in Brazil. Joining us
today from Portland, Oregon. Don Rasmussen, chief resume designer at
Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. So, Don, I've been fired.
Now what do I do?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
First thing you need to do when you've been fired
is take a deep breath. There's a lot of grieving
that goes in the process, but you also need to
get the ball rolling. The most important thing you need
to do after you take that deep breath and process
what's happened is to get into action. And that's where
I help people. Really as a resume writer and the
career management coach, I help empower people to see their value.
(00:48):
Especially when you've been fired, people feel with loss of
identity and a sense of self worth. So really being
empowered is remembering who you're connected to, what you've done
in your pomplishments, and thinking forward to okay, well not
if not this, then what and having that clarity to
be able to move forward.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Well two value you mentioned that and I see that
on your LinkedIn profile. It's very clear clarifying your business
value that drives because many times we don't feel you know,
you'll be fired. I don't think I'm worth anything.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Correct. A lot of people forget about everything they've ever
accomplished on the job, whether that job ended up working
out amicably or not amicably. So it's really important to
you know, after you take that breath, and as part
of your action plan is just take stock and start
thinking about obviously what kinds of things have you done
(01:43):
to move the needle at that employer and previous employers.
Incorporate that into your career materials, including your resume or
LinkedIn and really understanding and reflecting that value so you
feel it number one. But then also you're able to
convey that to a potential perfective employer.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And I said, well, today and literally today today's world
in the United States, we see that just so many
people are being made redundant as the English call it,
and it's not even their choice. They're not even sure
if they've done something right or wrong. It's just you know,
a tweet says bye bye. And so really to reposition that,
I make you breathe, as you mentioned, but you just
(02:22):
can't sit around breathing too much.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know, it's really important to get going right away
and you know there, like I said, there's that recovery time.
But then you need to start thinking, Okay, what do
I need to get done. Hopefully most people have updated
their career documents so they're already present and already accounted for.
Unfortunately a lot of people don't do that until there's
actually a necessitated need. So my advice is to, you know, now,
(02:50):
proactively get your career credentials updated and think about this mindfully.
And another thing that happens if you before you get fired,
you have an opportunity to access numbers in terms of
like quantifying your accomplishments. But after you are you know,
reduced or reduction force or redundant, they you won't have
(03:10):
access to those numbers, so then you have to sort
of do some scrambling and thinking ahead. So it's a
lot easier to come up and record that information before
you leave a company. So having an updated resume and
LinkedIn profile is really critical. I recommend updating those materials
probably every six months, so that you're pretty current and
(03:31):
that way, you know, it could be a firing situation
or it could be a promotion, So either way, you
don't want to be scrambling you want to be proactive
about your career. So this is a bigger picture of
career management that I like to empower people to think.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
About, but also works on the other side of the
same coin as maybe I'm not waiting to be fired,
maybe I want to go, and the same things value.
You know, for me, if I feel that my business
value is more than I'm receiving, it's back to that
same point, get.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
My actor together, absolutely, And it really boils down to
every job is actually a business contract. You're there as
long as you are compensated and feel value right, and
then employer will only keep you as long as they
feel like you're contributing value. So anytime that promise breaks
on either side, then someone leaves or someone is removed.
(04:18):
So constantly being aware of that, and it doesn't hurt
to remind your employer, not in a pesky kind of way,
but make sure you have an annual review so you
can kind of discuss those wins to remind them. No
employers front of mind, present and account for for everything
you've done right at this very moment. So sometimes it
takes some reminder nudges to remind them of the value.
(04:40):
And you know the axiom of the squeaky wheel gets
the grease. This really comes into play there.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Well, I've seen that in brazila situations. I've seen that
in other countries that we're talking of corporations, that's one thing.
But here we have many family run businesses, many small businesses.
They seem to be either paternalistic or paternalistic, and they
don't consider their employees as employees. They get us as
friends or whatever, and it becomes a very emotionally connected thing.
(05:09):
And I've seen that also happen in other places where
to get to get that annual review, they said, you
may get the feedback. Well, we talked about that at
dinner yesterday, and maybe that's not the way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
You know, and that is kind of a slippery slope
because still at the end of the day, you you
being an employee of that company is still a business decision, right,
And we saw a lot of that during the great
recession that we had in two thousand and seven through
two thousand and nine. People were at small or medium
sized businesses and they felt like they were part of
the family, and then they got shocked, shell shocked that
(05:46):
all of a sudden they got like, oh, then they're thinking, well,
we were all family, we loved each other, they love me,
I love them. Well that at the end of the day,
if you're a business owner, you're looking at your numbers
and you have to do what's best for your own
business interests. And if that means you have to lay
people off them, so be it. Unfortunately, well, well.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
We see that today in small businesses, many small startups.
They're starting exactly that way, you know, around the garage
or the coffee table or whatever. But then they have
to make business decisions so they could be bought out,
because that's also desperays. I want to do something and
somebody's going to come and give me a bunch of money,
and I'm going to sell my company, and then those
employees are out the door.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's it is scary. And one of the things that
I tell people is that there's no such thing as
a long job security. It's all about your employability. So
keeping top of mind of what you bring to the
table is you betting on yourself and investing in yourself.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Very good. Now what you do and what you offer,
obviously you're remote, you're online. You happen to work with
people anywhere everywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yes, I'm a career management coach. I write resumes and
cbs and I also do link in profiles as well
as a lot of coaching that relates to job searching,
salary negotiation, interview coaching. So I'm here to help and
empower job seekers to find their path along their correct
career pathway to success.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, in today's world it's literally global and businesses everywhere,
those pathways are multiple. Do you help persons find other paths?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You know, I am not a career coach, and I
want to distinguish the language career coaches really helping people
figure out which direction they want to go. I'm a
career management coach, and it's a little bit more of
the tactical how to get there and the tach you know,
including networking and you know, managing your career credentials and
thinking ahead like professional development. So it's a bigger picture
(07:49):
of your career. But it's not figuring out what you
want to be when you grow up.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, today we've been grown up and now we've decided
maybe we want to be here anymore, we want to
be there, so right part of the path. But anyway,
how can our listeners wherever they are find you well.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
People can find me Don Rasmussen on LinkedIn and I
also have a website. It's pathfinder careers dot com.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Very good well Don, thanks for being here with us
and sharing your expertise.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Thanks for having me, Tom.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And again for our listeners. It's Don Rasmussen, It's d
A w N and the last name r A s
m U s s e N. R A s m
U S s e N. You find her on LinkedIn
and her site pathfinder careers dot com. Pathfinder Careers dot com.
(08:41):
Cafe network is brought to us by Focus in My
Market Intelligence, an agricultural market research specialist in Brazil. More
information at f O c U S m I dot com.
Talk to Tom, talk to the world. Thanks for listening.
Until the next time here at Cafet and Networking Podcast
I'm Tom Reach promoting successful business experts connecting people throughout
the word from my podcast studio in Brazil. Joining us
today from Portland, Oregon. Don Rasmussen, chief resume designer at
Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. So, Don, I've been fired.
Now what do I do?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
First thing you need to do when you've been fired
is take a deep breath. There's a lot of grieving
that goes in the process, but you also need to
get the ball rolling. The most important thing you need
to do after you take that deep breath and process
what's happened is to get into action. And that's where
I help people. Really as a resume writer and the
career management coach, I help empower people to see their value.
(00:48):
Especially when you've been fired, people feel with loss of
identity and a sense of self worth. So really being
empowered is remembering who you're connected to, what you've done
in your pomplishments, and thinking forward to okay, well not
if not this, then what and having that clarity to
be able to move forward.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Well two value you mentioned that and I see that
on your LinkedIn profile. It's very clear clarifying your business
value that drives because many times we don't feel you know,
you'll be fired. I don't think I'm worth anything.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Correct. A lot of people forget about everything they've ever
accomplished on the job, whether that job ended up working
out amicably or not amicably. So it's really important to
you know, after you take that breath, and as part
of your action plan is just take stock and start
thinking about obviously what kinds of things have you done
(01:43):
to move the needle at that employer and previous employers.
Incorporate that into your career materials, including your resume or
LinkedIn and really understanding and reflecting that value so you
feel it number one. But then also you're able to
convey that to a potential perfective employer.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And I said, well, today and literally today today's world
in the United States, we see that just so many
people are being made redundant as the English call it,
and it's not even their choice. They're not even sure
if they've done something right or wrong. It's just you know,
a tweet says bye bye. And so really to reposition that,
I make you breathe, as you mentioned, but you just
(02:22):
can't sit around breathing too much.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know, it's really important to get going right away
and you know there, like I said, there's that recovery time.
But then you need to start thinking, Okay, what do
I need to get done. Hopefully most people have updated
their career documents so they're already present and already accounted for.
Unfortunately a lot of people don't do that until there's
actually a necessitated need. So my advice is to, you know, now,
(02:50):
proactively get your career credentials updated and think about this mindfully.
And another thing that happens if you before you get fired,
you have an opportunity to access numbers in terms of
like quantifying your accomplishments. But after you are you know,
reduced or reduction force or redundant, they you won't have
(03:10):
access to those numbers, so then you have to sort
of do some scrambling and thinking ahead. So it's a
lot easier to come up and record that information before
you leave a company. So having an updated resume and
LinkedIn profile is really critical. I recommend updating those materials
probably every six months, so that you're pretty current and
(03:31):
that way, you know, it could be a firing situation
or it could be a promotion, So either way, you
don't want to be scrambling you want to be proactive
about your career. So this is a bigger picture of
career management that I like to empower people to think.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
About, but also works on the other side of the
same coin as maybe I'm not waiting to be fired,
maybe I want to go, and the same things value.
You know, for me, if I feel that my business
value is more than I'm receiving, it's back to that
same point, get.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
My actor together, absolutely, And it really boils down to
every job is actually a business contract. You're there as
long as you are compensated and feel value right, and
then employer will only keep you as long as they
feel like you're contributing value. So anytime that promise breaks
on either side, then someone leaves or someone is removed.
(04:18):
So constantly being aware of that, and it doesn't hurt
to remind your employer, not in a pesky kind of way,
but make sure you have an annual review so you
can kind of discuss those wins to remind them. No
employers front of mind, present and account for for everything
you've done right at this very moment. So sometimes it
takes some reminder nudges to remind them of the value.
(04:40):
And you know the axiom of the squeaky wheel gets
the grease. This really comes into play there.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Well, I've seen that in brazila situations. I've seen that
in other countries that we're talking of corporations, that's one thing.
But here we have many family run businesses, many small businesses.
They seem to be either paternalistic or paternalistic, and they
don't consider their employees as employees. They get us as
friends or whatever, and it becomes a very emotionally connected thing.
(05:09):
And I've seen that also happen in other places where
to get to get that annual review, they said, you
may get the feedback. Well, we talked about that at
dinner yesterday, and maybe that's not the way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
You know, and that is kind of a slippery slope
because still at the end of the day, you you
being an employee of that company is still a business decision, right,
And we saw a lot of that during the great
recession that we had in two thousand and seven through
two thousand and nine. People were at small or medium
sized businesses and they felt like they were part of
the family, and then they got shocked, shell shocked that
(05:46):
all of a sudden they got like, oh, then they're thinking, well,
we were all family, we loved each other, they love me,
I love them. Well that at the end of the day,
if you're a business owner, you're looking at your numbers
and you have to do what's best for your own
business interests. And if that means you have to lay
people off them, so be it. Unfortunately, well, well.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
We see that today in small businesses, many small startups.
They're starting exactly that way, you know, around the garage
or the coffee table or whatever. But then they have
to make business decisions so they could be bought out,
because that's also desperays. I want to do something and
somebody's going to come and give me a bunch of money,
and I'm going to sell my company, and then those
employees are out the door.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's it is scary. And one of the things that
I tell people is that there's no such thing as
a long job security. It's all about your employability. So
keeping top of mind of what you bring to the
table is you betting on yourself and investing in yourself.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Very good. Now what you do and what you offer,
obviously you're remote, you're online. You happen to work with
people anywhere everywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yes, I'm a career management coach. I write resumes and
cbs and I also do link in profiles as well
as a lot of coaching that relates to job searching,
salary negotiation, interview coaching. So I'm here to help and
empower job seekers to find their path along their correct
career pathway to success.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, in today's world it's literally global and businesses everywhere,
those pathways are multiple. Do you help persons find other paths?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You know, I am not a career coach, and I
want to distinguish the language career coaches really helping people
figure out which direction they want to go. I'm a
career management coach, and it's a little bit more of
the tactical how to get there and the tach you know,
including networking and you know, managing your career credentials and
thinking ahead like professional development. So it's a bigger picture
(07:49):
of your career. But it's not figuring out what you
want to be when you grow up.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, today we've been grown up and now we've decided
maybe we want to be here anymore, we want to
be there, so right part of the path. But anyway,
how can our listeners wherever they are find you well.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
People can find me Don Rasmussen on LinkedIn and I
also have a website. It's pathfinder careers dot com.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Very good well Don, thanks for being here with us
and sharing your expertise.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Thanks for having me, Tom.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And again for our listeners. It's Don Rasmussen, It's d
A w N and the last name r A s
m U s s e N. R A s m
U S s e N. You find her on LinkedIn
and her site pathfinder careers dot com. Pathfinder Careers dot com.
(08:41):
Cafe network is brought to us by Focus in My
Market Intelligence, an agricultural market research specialist in Brazil. More
information at f O c U S m I dot com.
Talk to Tom, talk to the world. Thanks for listening.
Until the next time here at Cafet and Networking Podcast
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