What do you do if you were fired at your last job?

Post Reply New Topic

There you go: just say that you left because of the transportation issues. A future employer would probably sympathize with not wanting to walk 16 miles.

That is all that you need to say.

Walmart and McDonald's have a lot of turnover anyway.

When I said that lying was expected, I didn't mean that you should go overboard, and claim that you are a brainsurgeon when you aren't.

Try to make it sound as if you consider the job for which you are applying to be absolutely perfect for you, but in such a way that you sound sincere.

That fact of the matter may be that jobs suck, and you wouldn't work if you didn't have to. This is all part of the collective unconscious which needs to be left unsaid and unperceived.

Think of good, particular reasons why you very much want this job (and don't say that you need the money), and make up something convincing about how this will fit in with your future lifetime goals. If you can convince yourself, then so much the better, except that the disappointment may be greater if you don't get the job.

How about, yes, I've been fired (more than I want to admit) and I'm not sure why?

And I'm about to be fired again. And I'm still not sure why.....

But I see a pattern here!

Put the name of the company down on the application. I say this because companies will not tell other potential employers that you were fired. By and large most, if not all, companies do not give references or comment on an employee's performance when asked by a potential employer. The only information that they will provide is verification of salary and dates of employment. Nothing less, nothing more. They won't get any more answers. At the very worst they may ask if the applicant is "eligible for rehire". But even then most companies won't say either way.

This policy is why a serial killer nurse was able to avoid detection for so long. A few years ago nursing home and hospital patients started dying in northeastern PA and western NJ. This nurse was able to continue killing because, when a hospital or facility would fire him, they would not explain why they let him go when asked by the next facility. The only verified salary and dates of employment. And thus even though suspicious deaths in these facilities continued, no one was able to connect the dots until much later.

So you luck out that way. And the other thing is that the previous company will almost certainly not say anything negative about you, unless you stole, engaged in sexual harassment, or did something actionable, because they don't want to be sued.

Only twice in my life have I been fired (I usually quit before it comes to that) and on both occasions I saw it coming, and my response was: fine; bye. The first time it was because I effectively told the boss that I could not be held responsible for him not knowing his job; it proved to not be a problem in getting another job, because the next one was with one of his competitors and she agreed with me. That was the second time I was fired. I think that the reason was that I cared more about the quality of the companies product than the owner of the company (of course, that is not the reason I was given) and I was a threat to her ego. On subsequent interviews I would say that the reason for leaving my last job was "personal differences" with my supervisor and would give details only when pressed, but I was never able to get another job as a programmer and ended up doing menial factory work.

My strategy for keeping a job has always been to earn your paycheck. Usually it works, but not always. Such is life for an Aspie living among N.T.s

was fired in '04 (actually downsized, but they told me I wasn't an employee any more). Went to the contracting company, and am doing the same job for less pay. Welcome to the 21st Century...0

YES! good advice! These places have helped me in the past.

Mostly I have found my jobs on my own.
I am 47 and have, since the age of 18, had 40 jobs.
This year I finally crossed the 5 yr mark at my current job... the previous longest time of employment was 3 yrs.
Many of my other jobs were shorter than that.
I have been:
A soldier in the Army
Oilfield worker (drilling rigs and well-service rigs)
TaxiCab driver
Ambulance driver (two paid jobs, one volunteer position)
Emergency room tech
Lab Assistant/Phlebotomist
Construction Laborer
Information Research agent
Security Guard
Commercial laundry operator
Wildland Firefighter
Teacher's Aide
PhoneBook delivery
Wilderness Survival Instructor
Horseshoer
Truck Driver
Commercial Diver/Tender
Photography Assistant
Welder
Pitman in a quick-oil change business
Machinist
and more

Having so many jobs, working for very short periods sometimes, I have always worried about getting my next job.
I have always worried about filling out those applications.

Somehow I have always been able to find work, except for one period of time when I spent several months looking with no success... I moved back to Texas and found work shoeing horses for a while.

What I can tell you from my experiences is this... attitude seems to play a big part in getting jobs for me.
I have only been fired from two jobs... one in the oilfields for not being home on time when the driller came to pick me up for work, and the other because of political and personal differences with my superiors (I was not the only one who had the same problems).

In some cases I have been able to just not mention those jobs.
In many cases I was vague about being let go and my future employer either didn't check or didn't care.
When I did mention I was fired (the second one was from an EMS job), I explained truthfully why I felt I was fired and how I had overcome the issues since.

My biggest asset is my ability to smile, act confident, speak clearly and in a mature manner, and dress myself appropriately for the job being sought.

It pays to do your homework depending on the quality of job you are seeking.
Take a look at the type of personnel they already have on staff.
Take a look at the work environment and try to envision what sort of attitude and skills the employer would like to see.
Talk their language and act confident.
Be honest. Truthfulness is a big plus and leaving all your emotional baggage at home is helpful also.
If you resent any of your former employers or co-workers, or even the type of job you did, don't let on about it.
Negativity will not get you any decent jobs... in my experience, that is.

From behind the scenes, I can tell you I saw plenty of app's tossed in the round file (trash) because the person dressed 'down' - such as in messed up jeans, sloppy shirt and shoes, etc., talked trash about their former boss or just had that "I hate the world" attitude, chewed gum, seemed only concerned about their benefits from the job and not what the business would get from hiring them, etc.

Definitely check in your area for job placement help through the county or state.
Also check for Adult Schools.
In our area we have this place that will help you get training in several different fields... computers, welding, medical, etc.
Some of these may have funding to pay you a stipend while you are in training, but you have to make sure you keep up with your obligations as defined by the organization.

I hope you do well soon in your job search.
I can tell you I have been dealing with self-image issues, financial issues, and general 'how I HATE dealing with people' issues for a long time because of my ADD/HD and not understanding it.
Even though I know about it now, I still have to work hard to control my impulsive actions which have cause me to quit jobs and lose jobs in the past.

There's something out there for you... I just hope you find it.

Having a skill/certificate helps a lot too. It doesn't necessarily have to be in the field to which you are applying.
Sometimes having training shows the potential employer how smart you are, how dedicated you are to following through on things, etc.

Pandabear's advice was great-use the transportation issue as an excuse, providing the potential employer is closer than your old ones! Also, whatever "reason for living" excuse you use, put a postive spin on it and say what you're doing to correct the problem.
I was fired from a job last year for requesting a blot on my record caused by my boss relying on subtle language to tell me I was messing up instead of telling me in plain English be removed from my record. I was working at another job at the time, and I don't intend to get another job in that field, so my family ( who came boiling to my defense when I was fired) says I can leave it off my application.
Good luck in finding another job. It must be awful to go through what you're going through.