Excerpt: 'Fired to Hired'

July 28, 2009— -- "Good Morning America's" workplace contributor Tory Johnson offers advice, true stories and inspiration on how to find a job after being fired. Because job searching has changed from what it was 20 years ago or even two years ago, she writes, you must not only be a stellar candidate but also an exceptional job seeker to succeed in today's marketplace.

In "Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now," readers will benefit from following Johnson's strategies on ways to get noticed and hired.

Read an excerpt of the book below and head to the "GMA" Library for more good reads.

In 1993, I was a 22-year-old hotshot. Or so I thought. As a publicist for NBC News in New York, I was making enough money to have a nice life, rent my own apartment—enjoy manicures on weekends. Not bad for a girl from Miami Beach who had always dreamed of making it in the Big Apple.

I was on a roll. I had been offered a job working as a very junior publicity assistant for Barbara Walters at ABC's 20/20 while I was still in college. I jumped at the chance. Then NBC recruited me, and soon I was on a first-name basis with some of the biggest stars in broadcasting. Jane Pauley, Maria Shriver, Stone Phillips, and the late Tim Russert.

It was my responsibility to promote these superstars and their work. I called newspaper reporters across the country as well as the producers of TV shows from Entertainment Tonight to Larry King Live to sell them on what my stars were doing. And the answer was always yes.

"We'd love to promote Maria's new special." "Of course we'll showcase that investigative piece on Dateline." "What's happening Sunday on Meet the Press." I was kicking butt. And unbeknownst to me, my butt was about to get kicked.One day, an HR woman told me to report to the office of the newly appointed president of the news division. When I walked in, he was sitting in his big leather chair, and he didn't get up to greet me. Not a good sign.

He told me that anytime someone takes over a company or a division, he wants to put his own mark on things—new protocols, new processes, and a new team.

"Are you firing me?" I interrupted. He said, "You have 30 minutes to leave the building."

I went into spin mode—I told him he was making a terrible mistake. Talk to anyone internally or externally, I said, and you'll hear that I'm a great asset, that I really know my stuff, and I'm totally devoted to NBC.

He looked at his watch.

Changing gears, I said, "Give me three things to accomplish in three weeks, three months—whatever time frame you want—to prove myself directly to you."