Question on what to put on applicationsI'm a 17 year old and recently got fired from my job at Target (long story short, it was for gross misconduct) so now I'm looking for another job unfortunately. That was the only job I had and I had it for about 10 months. Now I'm faced with the dilemma of figuring out what to put on applications when I come across the "Previous Employers" section. My dad told me to write down that I left because I didn't get enough hours. He said to put that down because Target can't legally say they fired me, just confirmed that I worked there and whatever. So I've been putting that down on my applications since I got fired (only filled out 2 of them though), but I didn't get a call back for an interview or anything like that. Now I don't know if I should keep saying I quit because of my hours, if I should tell them the truth and say I got fired, or if I should just leave them off all together? Also, what will Target say when an employer contacts them? Is it really illegal for them to say I was fired? And any suggestions as to a good job for a 17 year old (haha, I'm getting desperate looking for jobs now)? Thanks in advance. At your age, I think the only jobs available would be for retail/clerical/cashiering type positions. Mainly because of your age and the fact that you, presumably, are not in a position to work during the more common school hours. Therefore, you would only be available for after school hours and either a Saturday or a Sunday. As for what to put down on your resume under reasons for leaving previous position. It is always best to put down as close to the truth as possible. If you want to put down an ambiguous statement and then explain more in detail when you are called in for an interview, you could write something like: "left to pursue other avenues" or "left to concentrate on finding a position with more hours" Something that will not outright say to a hiring authority, "this person got fired", but also something that doesn't say "I quit". I don't know what Target's reference check policy is, but most companies will not voluntarily give out anymore information than what is asked of them. If the company contacting Target asks why you left, depending on Target's policies and procedures, they may have to be forthcoming with the reason. For example: If the misconduct was that you turned your till in with a monetary discrepancy, that is serious enough to actually diseminate to another employer. If you were terminated because you talked back to a customer, I doubt anything will be said because even though that is a reason for termination, it isn't unforgivable enough to haunt you for the rest of your life. Have your father pull a sneaky stunt and, from his place of business, on his lunch break or other break, contact Target and pose as a hiring individual interested in you. If the question comes up on the application asking is it all right to contact your current or previous employer, make a notation that you would prefer contact be made after an interview.
Thanks for your reply. On my applications I've just been putting "Not enough hours" and that's it. And to go into further detail on why I got fired, I was basically changing prices on things for my friend who also worked there (he got fired the same day I did for the same reason). It was just candy pretty much every time we did it, so after they had enough of me doing it the losses came out to be around $25. I'm thinking about just leaving it off, but I think the experience will look good on my applications and make it more likely for them to hire me, obviously. I just don't know if it's worth it or not because they can find out.
You seem to think that $25 is a reasonable amount to steal from your employer. You're lucky you just got fired, not prosecuted. Most retailers take employee theft very seriously, regardless of the amount, and theft is exactly what you did. I think you'll have to avoid retail and any other job where you might be handling cash or tempted to cut prices for your friends. It's rather cheeky of you to ask for help explaining why you left Target when you won't even acknowledge that you did anything wrong. Your dad is wrong. First off, you shouldn't lie (just in general), but especially with something so easy to check. The Target CAN say whatever they want that is true or that they believe to be true. They may have a POLICY that they only give your employment dates or something but that's not a law. Even companies with very strong policiies will say whether or not you're eligible for rehire and of course in your case the answer is no. They're going to want a reference from your boss who isn't going to be able to give a positive one. So, my point is, this is going to come out one way or another and you're going to lose your chance at a job for lying. The better option is to put on your application "terminated- will explain". Then in an interview, you're going to have to explain what you did and what you learned from it. Did you learn that stealing is wrong and what you did was stealing and that you're lucky that they didn't prosecute you? If not, then you're not ready for another job right now. I recommend you look at things that don't involve such responsibilities such as landscaping, construction helper, etc. Tess I never said that $25 is reasonable, I just said that's what it amounted to in the end. And I'm not sure I understood the last line of your post completely... I'm not asking for help explaining why I got fired from Target. I know all too well why I got fired. I know what I did was wrong, to deny that would just be stupid of me. I don't know where you got those impressions. I even offered to reinburse them the money but they said I didn't have to because the guy didn't know how to put that into the register the proper way (there is a certain way you have to add money registers there). Obviously, through all this, I have learned what I did was stupid and even if I do work at another place as cashier I'm certainly not going to do that again because it's just not worth it. And to the last reply, I knew about the rehire question, and I have a plan to work around it by saying I left without giving them 2 weeks notice (Target policy is that if you do that, you are ineligible for rehire). But that would only work if they say they wouldn't rehire me without adding details. I guess I'll just leave them off my applications from now on. Leaving Target off your application isn't going to help either. Just because you don't acknowledge that you worked there doesn't mean that no one can find out. If you have ever seen a credit report it lists who you worked for in the past, your previous address, etc. When you fill out a job application you list your ssn#, drivers license #. You received a paycheck with state and/or national taxes deducted from it. There is information out there that can and will tie you to Target. You can't hide the fact that you worked for Target unless a company doesn't do background checks.
Good point about the SSN #, I never thought about that... Wow, getting fired is really coming back to bite me in the ass right now, haha. Stupid thing to do to say the least. Thanks for the replies.
I agree with your Dad. Yes you did wrong, your young and that was stupid. You were not criminally charged, your a minor under 18. My state employment source advisor told me it does not pay to be honest. He has many stories on how dishonest and rotten the employers are. This is small potatoes compared to what HR and upper management does on a daily basis. Consider age and disability discrimination, among others. If you were older, you would not have done this. You learned from a mistake, some people learn the hard way. "Say not enough hours or that you were too busy with school activities." Your father shows much wisdom. You need to be honest, but nobody gets anywhere telling the complete truth. I just find it really sad that no only were you dishonest which created this whole mess in the first place, but you're looking for other ways to be dishonest to get around it. That doesn't bode well for your future and really, your parents should have taught you better, oh, wait, it is your parent that is suggesting you lie. I forgot. I predict a rocky employment future for you until you get your head around the fact that no one wants to hire a liar or a thief or a fool. Lots of employers hire people that have made mistakes and learned from them.
Tess | |
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