I really, really need some help...Please
Hi all,
I really, really need some help. In April of this year, I was let go from my first job out of college as a marketing research assistant. At the time I was let go, the company had just lost its largest client and there was going to be an office reorganization. Because my manager at the time felt I was underreporting, I was put on a 90 probation period so I could improve my performance. 30 days into that period I was let go and this happened at the same time the office lost its largest client. I really disliked that job and was planning on quitting anyway, but that is not were the issue lies.
In July, I applied and got a job as a claim handler with a large insurance company. In the previous employment section of the application for the job I listed my old part time job which I had for 8 years and my latest marketing research job. There was a spot that asked to list why I wasn't employed at my last job and I put down 'Let go during loss of biggest client and office reorg'.
Over a month after working at my new job as a claim handler, I received a call from someone in the employee relations dept. saying that there were some differences that came up when they did my background investigation about why I was let go from my previous job. Basically, to make a long story short, I resigned from this job because my prev. employer said I was let go because of performance and I put down on my application that I was let go during loss of biggest client and office reorg.
My question is what do I do now? Do I put my last job on my resume or is it not relevant since I only worked there for a little over a month? Also, if I apply for another job, do I list my last job as a former employer? If so, what should I put for the reason that I don't work there any longer? Lastly, what do I do if I don't put this last job on my resume or as a previous employer and during my background check, my next employer finds out that I worked there and I quit after only a month, then what do I do?
Please, I am feeling very lost right now and any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at mafortino@yahoo.com
Thanks everyone!!
No, you don't have to put that person you were employed with for a month, but as you now know you will have to put "poor performance" as the reason you were let go from your initial job.
You could put the second job down, as long as you quit the only thing listed will be your dates of employment. In this case though, I think it would be better to list your initial job and the reason you were let go and go from there. It's tough out there and I have always opted to "get while the getting is good" than to be let go with some hocked up reason on my "permanent file".
Best of luck in your job search.
Spineshot07 ~
In the future, I recommend you show the reason for leaving the first job as "See Me" on applications. Believe it or not, this can actually work to your advantage.
I never liked filling in the blank on job applications with "Terminated" or "Fired", "Quit" or "Resigned"; it leaves too much to the imagination of the Interviewer. Likewise, there's never enough room to go into a decent explanation, and if you show something like "Poor Performance", it's going to shut the door on your chances with any other company. But "See Me" will, hopefully at least, open the door to a dialogue.
When the Interviewer gets to that section of the application, s/he will usually say, "Ok, you said 'See Me' here. So what happened at ABC Company?" When you get the chance to tell your side of things, tell the truth of course, but do what you can to soften the blow.
Admit you were having difficulties grasping some of the concepts necessary to fulfill your job requirements and, as a result, you were put on a 90-day Probationary Period; there's nothing wrong with that. About 30-days into the Probationary Period, it became obvious to everyone that things weren't working, so you mutually agreed to end the Probation, and you were released. In a way, you DID agree: they asked you to leave, and you agreed. At least this way, it looks like you recognized the problem just like the company did, and you were an active part of trying to correct it.
Now, I'm curious. Why did you quit your last job? Did the company ask you to resign after the discrepancy was discovered, or did you just feel like you had to? Most companies state on the application that discrepancies or omissions are grounds for dismissal, so I find it a little odd that you resigned of your own free will; typically, you would have been fired. I guess I'm looking for clarification.
You see, if the company asked you to resign ~ due to your deception about the loss of your first job ~ I think it's important for you to admit that. For one thing, it would show that you're beginning to deal with the reality that people lose jobs in the real world; I'm not sure you're dealing with that yet. It's a tough thing to face, the fact that you can get fired for poor performance; none of us want to face that fact, but it can and does happen.
If, however, you were not asked to resign, and not threatened with termination, why would you quit? If they weren't kicking you out the door, why would you kick yourself out of a paying job? Were you just too embarrassed to stay after you got caught in a lie?
Don't get me wrong; I'm not looking to bust your chops. You've been through a lousy experience and I don't want to make it worse for you. That said, however, I think it's very important that you're being completely honest with us, and with yourself, about everything that happened. Because, if you're not, you're bound to repeat this lesson until you get it right. And my sense is that you'd like to avoid that - right?
So, why did you quit?
MinPin