Four years ago little known actress Annabelle Gurwitch was hired to star in a play directed by her idol, Woody Allen. It was a big breakthrough for her career — until Allen fired her. But Gurwitch didn't pout about getting the pink slip from the showbiz legend. She collected other funny anecdotes from her friends and wrote a book about their experiences called "Fired: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized & Dismissed." Now Showtime is turning it into a movie. She talks with Forbes on why employees should always be prepared for the worst in this Q&A:
"The ideal way to be fired is not to be a victim. In this economy people have to be really proactive. Be prepared. Negotiate a severance. Get outplacement services. You have to get everything you can get when you're leaving a job…The more prepared you are the better off you're going to be. There's no working 40 years at a job anymore. There's a guy in the film who was looking for a job and he recommended people always have their resume up to date. He's right. There's nothing worse than trying to remember all the things you accomplished at a job."
If only we could all get a movie deal every time we were shown the door…
