Hilariously Fired

August 4, 2005

Web site SimplyFired.com was launched on Monday, and its content includes stories about anything but “simple” firings.�According to the site: If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

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Simply Hired, a five-month-old employment-related Internet startup, is in the news for offering a prize to the biggest loser through its affiliated Web site. In this case, the biggest loser is the person who was fired from his or her company for the stupidest, most outrageous, most embarrassing and most ridiculous reason. The prize is a Caribbean cruise that will include passengers “famously” fired (AP’s word) by Donald Trump on his “über-lame” TV show (this blogger’s word), The Apprentice.

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According to the company Web site, each story will be ranked in the following criteria: (a) Originality/Creativity in telling the story (65%), (b) Humor (25%), and (c) Appropriateness to the Subject Matter (10%). The entrant whose story earns the highest overall score will win.

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The contest will be judged by a panel that includes Phil Kaplan, an irreverent entrepreneur who ran a Web site about “the foibles of failing Internet companies during the dot-com bust.” Kaplan’s old Web site, F*ckedCompany.com, helped inspire simplyfired.com, Simply Hired marketing manager Kay Luo told AP.�Simply Hired’s specialty search engine scours for job listings posted on sites such as Monster.com, HotJobs.com and craigslist.

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True anecdotes already submitted include stories about being fired for doing naughty things with prosthetics, running a car over the boss’ foot, refusing to cook the company books, neglecting to sign a holiday card for the boss and, as a last straw, for one day not wearing a belt with�pants (serious dress-code violation, apparently). Also posted first-hand: Mark Jen, who earlier this year was fired from Google for discussing the highly secretive company in his blog. Understandably, most of the other postings have been made under pseudonyms.

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Web sites dedicated to reader-submitted stories are usually hit or miss — typically depends on the concept and on the audience, who essentially constitute the site’s writers. Here is another, about working�day-to-day with stupid clients, a personal favorite: http://www.clientcopia.com/.

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DRB