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Burger King offers free food anyone who's been recently fired

In a tough job market, the fast food chain is offering up a tasty deal.
/ Source: TODAY

In a tough job market, many people may find themselves in the terrible position of recently being fired.

While they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, turns out there kind of is — if you don't have a job.

Burger King has announced they will be giving away free Whoppers to customers who admit they've been fired recently. The "Own Your Fire" promotion, which launched Wednesday, sounds like a great deal if you're trying to save money and can use a bit of comfort food ... but of course there’s a catch.

Courtesy Burger King

Unfortunately you can't just stroll into your local Burger King and declare that you no longer have a job to get free food. Before asking for a burger, you need to first swallow your pride and admit to what happened publicly on the job networking site LinkedIn. According to the official promotion rules, Burger King requires would-be customers "own your fire" and post the following message on LinkedIn:

"I got fired. I want a free Whopper. #WhopperSeverance."

Looks like some people aren't too worried about what others are thinking — if it will score them a free Whopper — as many on Twitter are already having fun with the deal:

While it might not be ideal to announce that you've just been fired on LinkedIn while looking for a new job, it does put it out there that you are available. After making your post public, The King will respond in the comments with a link to register for your severance package. Maybe once Whopper fortified, you'll have better luck scoring that next gig. Burger King will give away up to 2,500 free Whoppers between now and Sept. 1.

The first 100 entrants to post on LinkedIn will also score a 30-minute coaching session with a career consultant from The Muse, a site that specializes in career counseling and finding a job — a win that may not be edible but is probably more useful than that burger.