Article: Whether you are informed days, weeks, or months before you are let go from your job, or if you are completely unaware until the day you are actually terminated, it is important that you remain professional. Remaining professional can help ensure you can use your employer as a reference in the future.  If you have a formal exit interview, you may have the opportunity to politely voice grievances. If you remain in the same career field, you could end up working with or even being interviewed by former co-workers. If you fail to remain professional upon termination, you may leave a bad impression with former co-workers, damaging your reputation or even disqualifying yourself from future job opportunities. Whether you are given a lot of notice prior to your termination or it happens suddenly, this could be a great opportunity to find out how you can be a better employee. The meeting that occurs upon your termination should include some justification of why you are being let go. Pay attention to this to find ways to improve in future jobs. If you are being laid off and are not given reasoning beyond that, you might ask why you were chosen over those who are not being laid off and/or ask for some feedback about your job performance in spite of the cutbacks. Grief should be regarded as a kind of injury that requires time to heal just like a physical injury. Although grief is typically associated with the loss of a loved one, for instance, the loss of a job can be just as difficult or more so. Whether you are aware of your impending termination for a period of time before it happens or taken by surprise, you will likely experience some grief from the loss of your job. Deal with your grief effectively by joining a support group, admitting the loss of your job and your emotions to others, and keeping a positive attitude and sense of humor.

What is a summary?
Remain professional. Find out why you are being terminated. Understand the seriousness of grief.