Had achieved a dream job, but my new manager left after 4 months. The next manager let me go just a few months later and then lied to my internal clients, saying I had quit without notice. Quite devastating to me, as I had been put my heart and soul into the job, and really wanted to progress in the company. I got a call at home from one of the internal clients, who was furious that I had “quit” – I heard later that she ripped up one side and down the other of my former manager, after I had explained that I had, in fact, been fired.
During my job search, I reached out to a well-regarded executive search firm in my city. The managing partner didn’t have a role open, but suggested I come down and have a chat with them. I agreed, as I figured it was a networking thing and for future opportunities.
Anyway, I get to the meeting, and the managing partner asks what happened at my former employer. I tried to be diplomatic, but it was pretty clear that there were political undercurrents to the situation, because otherwise it made no sense that I had been let go that I could see, although of course I had totally lost my confidence and thought that I must have really screwed up. So I explained what happened, and what I thought the reasons were. At that point, the managing partner of the firm explained that they had asked me to come in in order to tell me that this was that manager’s SOP – every place that person had ever gone, they had decimated the team and brought in their own people. The managing partner predicted that the manager would last at most 2 years and then would get fired.
I felt so validated and supported, even though the firm didn’t have a role for me – it really helped so much to realize that this bewildering situation really wasn’t about my performance at all, and I was just blown away that this complete stranger cared enough about the situation to point out the pattern and reassure me that it couldn’t possibly have been my fault.
Turns out, they were correct. Sure enough, within 2 years, the new manager had fired half the team, brought in all new people in their network, and then got fired, themself. As it turned out, while I was on parental leave, the company I subsequently worked with told me they were hiring this person, and I was able to bring the pattern to their attention, and also to say that I wouldn’t be returning, if they hired that individual. In fact, it was a data point in my decision to start my own business.
