Getting fired may be the best thing for job growth

Some of the world's most influential and iconic people were once fired from their jobs.

Oprah was too emotional as a news reporter. Steve Jobs was too demanding. Walt Disney wasn't creative enough. Thomas Edison spent too much time doing work unrelated to his job.

But experts say getting fired can give people a jump start in their careers.

"There have been so many accomplished, great leaders who have done huge things in the world who, in fact, have become who they were meant to be because they were fired," said Eileen Chadnick, principal of Big Cheese Coaching.

Chadnick helps executive clients navigate their careers. She says there is life after being let go because it forces people to pause and look inwards.

"When we take the time to really look at the facts and we take the time to self-reflect and, where possible, to seek more information to understand, we can get perspective," said Chadnick. "Perspective is very valuable to have the clarity to learn."

Majority of those fired landed equal or better roles

Elena L. Botelho is a partner at ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm in the U.S. It connects companies to skilled workers, including many top executives.

She led a 10-year study called the CEO Genome project and used the findings to co-author the book The CEO Next Door.

The CEO Genome project analysed the behaviours and career paths of 2,600 leaders. That sample was taken from a group of 17,000 CEOs and executives that the recruitment firm (ghSmart) had worked with in the last 10 years.

"We had a lot of surprises in the research," said Botelho. "One of them we uncovered [was] 45 per cent of candidates for CEO roles have, in one point in their career, experienced a major, major set back, like getting fired or making a huge business mistake."

Additionally, all of the leaders were willing to take big risks in their careers to get where they are and the most successful were the ones who were able to manage adversity.

"We found a lot of surprises around how folks recover [and] what it takes to recover," said Botelho. "We were surprised to find out that 90 per cent of those people who got fired landed in roles of equal or sometimes even greater levels."

'Ability to bounce back' is a respectable trait

Catherine Thorburn is a life coach based in Markham, Ont. She agrees with the study's findings and says it can be challenging for people to act gracefully when facing a job loss.

"Their level of resiliency and ability to bounce back is one of their major competencies," said Thorburn. "This is a really tough thing to do, but it is so powerful and such a respectable trait if they do it well."

While being fired can be difficult, Thorburn says to keep these tips in mind to help make the most of it:

• Create a transition narrative and be ready to answer the question "Why were you let go?"
• Take time before you accept another offer and don't rush into the first one you get.
• Don't point fingers and lay blame for your setback.

Overall, these experts say that career setbacks can be useful and that getting fired might push someone to do what they want to do in their career.

Not every worker is destined for a leadership role. But most people can learn from those who have made it to the top and build their best career.