Lost old job got a new interview
I have made a prank email joke on 2 of my best friends that got out of hand which cost me my job. They were jokes and that is all. They knew it but one of them didn't read the whole email before jumping the gun like sending it off to his boss and that is when it got bad. Anyways I have a new interview tomorrow and I am not sure what to do. I don't want something that wasn't intentionally to hurt anyone to cost me my career .. What do I do about getting fired over a joke I made on a friend, that was only intended for him but he paniced and emails it to his boss which called my old job and that is why I am no longer working there. How do I handle this? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks Definately do not answer the question regarding why you left your previous job with the story of how you were pranking on some friends and one of them panicked and told his boss. That will make you seem juvenile as well as irresonsible. Since it appears from your post that you were using a company email system, then that is the story you should answer with. Generally speaking, the use of a company's equipment (in your case email) for personal use or gain is grounds for termination depending on how you were using it. So, you could say that you were engaging in the use of company equipment for personal use. You now realize exactly how wrong that is and then offer your assurance that it will not happen again. For example: If you were using the company's computer email system to solicit business from a home-based business then that could be grounds for termination. If you were using the company's computers to send stupid jokes that you got off the internet that could be considered a gray area because who is to say that you got the jokes from surfing the web while at work. Unless, of course, there is tracking system on your computer that your boss can determine this and the boss has a very poor sense of humor. You could be just written up for it. If you were engaging in the above activity and it was negatively affecting your work, you could also be terminated depending on the company's policy and procedures.
I respectfully disagree. While I agree that a prank that got out of hand might seem juvenile hearing "I sent a prank email to a collegue and it got elevated to my boss. I certainly learned my lesson and it won't happen again" sound a lot less damning to me that "I was using company property for personal use." Especially if the candidate won't elaborate on what the personal use was. I wouldn't to assume he was surfing the web for porno or if he was running a e-boutique out of his cubical, but in either case, I would be relucant to hire him. I say come clean. If the interviewers have a sense of humor, it may break the ice. If they don't, that might be good to know.
I actually did the prank email from home to my friends home email . I did use the prank email site at work to a college that was aware of it and it wasn't really nothing and he was my trainer and never told me I shouldn't be doing so. I appreciate the comments and I will keep them in mind today at my interview. The reason you give a potential employer is the REAL reason you were fired and if it was because of the prank, own up to it. Coming up with any other reason will just put you in a bad light when your potential employer calls your former employer and finds out you lied about the reason for being fired. Admit it was stupid. Don't try to justify it ("everyone at the company does it") and move the conversation on to what you can do for them. It's hard to say, without knowing what the joke was. What is the reason you were given for termination? | |
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