What’s Worse – Getting Fired Or Getting Dumped?
Husbando and I have been together about seven years now. So far, so good, really - for some reason, I've never had a relationship that made it this long. I guess that says something about me. But, I have had this gig here at the station for a long time. In fact, I was hired as a part timer back in 2004. (Sure, there was a year and a half blip, but we don't need to talk about that). So that's good, I've got some longevity there. But thinking about how long some things have lasted has made me think about the rejections of the past. I thought about breakups I've initiated, times I've been dumped, times I've quit jobs, times I got the sack.
One time I was fired from a telemarketing job when I was in college. I was setting up appointments for a dude to come to people's houses, clean a room's worth of carpet, and then he'd do a sales pitch to them to buy the vacuum he was using. I would get the day scheduled, and then I'd move on to the next, et cetera. The idea was you'd go through the phone book, call each person, and if they picked up you'd try to get them to agree to the service. I do not think I was very good at this job AT ALL. I'd work and go down the list with due diligence, but sometimes I'd just back off. They'd tell you to ask for the lady of the house, or "Mrs So and So" if you have a name in the book.
A lot of people were working during the day, so the people that picked up tended to be retired. One time the boss heard me ask on the phone for "Mrs So and So" and the caller said that his wife had been dead for six months. I apologized and hung up. But the boss thought I should have gone on and tried to get the appointment from him, so he canned me. And that did indeed suck, but it also sucked when I was dumped by the famous "left me in a Kroger Parking Lot" guy in Detroit.
So I got to thinking: which is worse - getting dumped or getting fired?
How are they similar? You feel rejected by both? You feel unappreciated? Don’t know if you’ll find someone/something else that’s as good? Can getting dumped/fired be good? Maybe it forces you to look for a job where you’ll be happier or find someone better for you? Maybe you were dumped, sparing you the awkwardness of doing the dumping. If you’re fired, maybe you get severance, which doesn’t happen if you quit. So, there are pros and cons to each, right?
Rejectedly yours,
Behka