Do You Shake Hands When You’ve Just Been Fired?
I’ve been fired from quite a few jobs lately. Every time I’m given the news of my dismissal, I am seated in the Human Resource Director’s office with managers and supervisors. I make a plea to salvage my situation, but inevitably I am told I am terminated. At that point, what is the proper etiquette?
I have always “thanked” each seated person in the room, shake their hands, and turned in my badge as I’m escorted off the premises. I’m always the one to initiate shaking hands, and I’ve noticed they are always very hesitant to extend their hand in return.
What’s the correct way to exit gracefully?
Tagged with: Been • Fired • Hands • Just • Shake • When • You've
Filed under: Human Resources Director
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Why not ask how to stop getting fired? What are you doing wrong?
I think it’s probably a good thing that you shake their hands, but I’d really be concerned with that record.
You have handled this uncomfortable situation in a very professional, graceful way. Kudos to you.
The act of firing or laying someone off is miserable, too, and people who do it are usually far more miserable about it than appears.
I recently had an employee that I had just fired for very poor performance extend his hand, and I too was hesitant to shake it. I’m not really sure why after I thought about it, I guess it just caught me off guard. You don’t expect someone you’ve just fired to be courteous to you right away.
you are very polite but some people just deserve it
Personally, as someone that has been on both sides of the fence, my hat goes off to you for your actions and words when you have been terminated.
Even when being terminated, you do not want to burn bridges, or leave on a sour note. You will definately be thought of when your replacement doesn’t work out, and someone may look back and wonder if they overreacted or acted in haste in terminating you.
By you leaving on such a pleasant and cordial note, you would more than likely be considered to be given another chance. So if you keep getting fired, keep doing what you do when terminated.
No you give the sob a beat down!!!
Yes. Right after you sneeze in your hand and wipe your nose. They will remember you….
I would only thank them if i wanted to be fined….you act as if they were giving you a job instead of letting you go…
i hope this is not a joke; please dont look to the future about getting terminated again and what to do. how about trying to figure out away what you must do for yourself not to get get terminated.
Maybe they seem hesitant because you are going overboard with it… pleeing for your job isn’t going to get you anywhere, you just need to start doing a better job so you don’t end up in the hot seat. Don’t pleed for your job. They aren’t going to give it back, if you are in the office they have already made up their mind. Why do you feel you need to be so polite? Are you planning to use them as references? Probably not. Maybe a simply thank you would be fine, or maybe you could thank them and shake their hands but not try and pleed with them and ramble around apologizing about stuff.
Overall, I’d say what you really need to be worrying about is how you can change your work performance in order to keep your job, not how to learn to make a perfect graceful exit. Its almost as if you are planning to have another!
Good luck- Susan.