How to Console a Friend Who Was Fired

Do you have a friend who has recently lost their job? Losing a job can be difficult for someone's ego and can leave them feeling stressed and depressed. Here are a few ideas to help your friend through this difficult time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Listen. Let your friend unload their troubles by being a good listener. Sometimes, friends don't want advice as much as they want an ear or shoulder to cry on. Being fired from a job can be difficult and can leave a person feeling like a failure or worried about how they will cope financially.
2. Offer to help your friend look for a job. Help them figure out what they might want to do next and offer help by sending job postings to them via email or saving newspaper clippings. Offer to be a reference for them if they get an interview.
3. Cheer up your friend by doing something they enjoy like bringing them a movie and snacks to watch together or by taking them out for a night on the town. Doing something to take their mind off their troubles can be helpful and do a lot for their frame of mind.
4. Be positive. Your friend is probably feeling very negative right now. Be as positive as you can be without minimizing their feelings. After an initial period of disappointment, your friend might need you to help them get out of the dumps so that they don't end up depressed.
   
   Help your friend see this time as an opportunity. Use helpful sayings such as, "Sometimes a door has to close for a better one to open." Encourage your friend to take this opportunity to pursue new interests and start fresh somewhere.
5. Help them find out if they have any recourse via free legal advice consultations if you believe your friend was wrongly dismissed.

Tips & Warnings

• If money is a concern, be careful about loaning money to a friend who has lost a job. While you can feel like you need to help a friend with a loan, be aware that it can take a long time for an unemployed friend to repay the loan. Money can end a friendship so use caution if you feel obliged to help your friend financially.