HELP! Lost last job due to heart surgeryHere' s a really tough one. At my last permanent, long term position I was "let go" because I had to have emergency open heart surgery! I pushed myself way too hard & actually returned to work less than 3 weeks after being discharged from the hospital! (I was getting a lot of pressure from my employer to return to work ASAP.) Obviously, that mistake of returning to work so quickly lead to complications about 3 months later & I landed back in the hospital for several weeks. The day I called them (after being released yet again) to say I could return to work the following day, they had the nerve to "let me go"!! They said it "was time to part ways". P.S. - Ironically, they give a great reference & tell people "they would re-hire me". Crazy...... I' ll spare the rest of the details, but here' s my urgent question. What do I say to prospective employers when they ask why I' m no longer with that company? I really, really hate to lie, and sooner or later (after being hired some times), it' s only natural for my surgery to come up in conversation. It was a life altering experience to say the very least. I tell interviewers the truth: That it was almost 3 years ago. I also follow up right away that I have recently had a complete & thorough check up and tell them my heart is doing great now. Does any one have any ideas? Or even some feed back? I have an important interview on Thursday. I' ve been doing temp work for the past 2 years, but desperately want a permanent position right away. Thanks for your help and ideas! These Message Boards are the best thing Monster has. BTW - if anyone wants or needs to know - I am only 50 years old. I had my surgery just before my 48th birthday. You need to coordinate this with your former employer. "He left because he had to deal with health issues" is a lot different than "We let him go because he couldn't show up for work". So talk to your former employer so that the story is the same from both of you and is benign to your job search effort. And you are right that you should immediately show that the issue is in the past. I have spoken with my former employer. They don' t say anything as to why I' m no longer there. I' m sure they know that legally they can' t say "We let her go because her open heart surgery was inconvenient for us." (Maintaining my sense of humor! Very important to do that!) Thanks for your thoughts. I really appreciate it. It is best not to mention any medical condition or disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. unless you need accommodation. This situation of being terminated for any health condition must stop, more important than hiring illegal immigrants. This is why we need affordable universal health care to protect yourself against greedy employers. Under mine and others, experiences it is best to keep your mouth shut when the employer mentions anything medical. You might be better off being a former criminal with an older than seven year felon record in some states that have this policy. Telling the truth only will hurt you, unless you can help someone else by it. It is best to say, because of the current economic situation you were laid off. If you collected unemployment, then it is a layoff, because you did nothing wrong! If they mention medical condition at your former employer, you can sue them for all there worth. All the employer can say is that you worked there during that time. Showing that you worked temp work, since many are doing it. Should be plus and your former employer was a layoff due to discrimination and nothing less. Being 50, you have a harder sell, don't loose valuable interview time over medical things. It is a lot better to say that you left because you had a health issue that needed attention and is now totally resolved, than to say you had open heart surgery. Saying you had surgery on your heart is going to scare potential employers. They' re going to worry that you' re not well, that you' ll need a lot of time off and that you' ll cost them a fortune in insurance. Better to keep it general and not get into detail. It's not a matter of what they can say legally. It is a matter that you BOTH say the same thing. And how you look at the circumstances over your termination may be different from their view. You haven't explained it enough for me to make a judgement but I'll throw this out as an example. If you claim to have left because of an illness and they claim you abandoned your job or had too many unapproved absences, the two stories just won't match and that is where problems occur. Plus NEVER assume that an employer won't say "of the record" what he won't say "on the record". Get your stories together so you don't have issues later. | |
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