Dear Counsellor, I was unceremoniously fired from my job after giving the company three good years of my life. I was employed on a contract and it was not renewed. All of my job appraisals have been good over the years. I am certainly qualified for the job. There was no explanation given to me concerning the reason I was fired. I was not told that the position was being made redundant. I recently went overseas to visit my ailing father. I intended to spend two weeks there, but I ended up spending three weeks. It was a beautiful time spent with my dad. I am grateful for the time. We bonded. It was quality time. To be clear, I was not fired because I overstayed on my visit with my dad. I know this because the letter stating that my contract would not be renewed was placed on my desk the same day I left to visit my father. The contract expired on that day. I am hurting because four years ago I was planning to start my own business and I decided to put that dream on hold in order to make a contribution to my society. However, this is the thanks I get. There was no discussion about my further employment. There was no exit interview. There was no warning and certainly no counselling. I was expecting that my contract would be renewed as it had been on previous occasions. This is just disgraceful. I am not sure what my next step is going to be. Do you have any suggestions about my way forward? Maureen Dear Maureen, It’s very painful when you commit your heart and soul into a job for years only to get a huge blow when your contract is not renewed. It is scary, overwhelming and even embarrassing and I truly understand your position. However, in life, when you’re faced with such a challenging situation, first direct your focus on the positives that you learned from this experience. Since your contract was on fixed-term basis, you should review your contract, if there are any clauses related to its expiration that might require certain compensations, like annual leave, other termination benefits or even a clause obligating your employer to provide some kind of notice prior to your dismissal. If there is nothing they owe you, then, take control of the situation and act professionally rather than repulsively as you prepare for a dignified farewell. Nothing should compromise your reputation. You have committed three years of your life to their service; you’ve enriched and rebranded your expertise with a wide range of essential skills relevant for future job openings with a good track record of all your job accomplishments. It’s important to remember that, no one stays in a job forever, and you’d one time move on eventually, whether through resignation, dismissal, redundancy or retirement. The good news is that losing a job is just a case of one door closing and a better one opening. Start looking for another fit. Keep depositing your smart applications to any career opportunities you come across via newspapers, Internet, radio or TV. Establish a network of reliable friends, family members and superiors heading different institutions, and, update your LinkedIn profile for increased connections. Consider spending quality time updating your résumé to appear complete and attractive. This is your selling tool which describes your abilities and portrays the potential skills you want to offer to the labour market. Different recruiters may be impressed by your CV and hire you. Alternatively, you can become an entrepreneur and start your own business. You’re surrounded with a huge portfolio of business opportunities for self-employment without necessarily having to invest massive amounts of capital. You don’t need to be a millionaire, a little capital is enough to begin with. Opening up an advertising or consultancy company won’t require huge amounts of money. You need to begin small and grow big. Apply sound money management principles in your investment plans while putting special attention on the legality, location and marketability of the business. A well-developed plan will allow you to build a solid reserve and create opportunities for your money to grow. Other businesses like a hair salon, boutique, simple mobile phones station, or stationery shop, and etcetera, can give you the best returns— putting special attention on the legality, location and marketability of the business. Treat your search as a fulltime exercise by increasing your exposure to develop personal connections or business ideas and you’ll soon come up with a viable employment option that’ll guarantee your financial security and certainly exonerate you from future employment and financial worries. How best can Maureen move on after losing her job? Readers offer their advice. Look for another job I suggest that you start looking for another job as soon as possible; there is nothing you can do about this given that your employer used the advantage of not renewing your contract to dismiss you. Accept reality and find a way to move forward. Immaculate Iradukunda, Teacher This situation is not permanent You need to understand that things change and nothing is permanent. Do not blame yourself for this, rather, use it as a way to get better opportunities. Paul Zigama, Visual artist It is not the end of the world Do not look at what you have not achieved, instead, focus on how you can find another job that will help you fulfil your dreams. Do this so that in the future, you invest in something before unexpected things happen. Violet Umuliza, Parent What is your next move? There are reasons behind this; perhaps the company is not doing well financially, or has other money-related issues, which led to your dismissal. Give yourself time to accept what happened and plan your next move. Lucas Niyigena, Social worker
