I was fired, now I cant get a jobHi Everyone, Well I think my Subject line tells it all. I was fired from my job. I wasnt really given a clear explaination as to why they were firing me. I think it was a personality issue between myself and one of the owners. It wasnt like we didnt quite click and he was the type of person that if he didnt like you.. you are all done. And here I am . No matter how well my interviews go, the moment I tell them I was let go, the interview is done and my resume is in the garbage. I have 20 years experience but this particular job was a management position and I need to use them as a reference. I dont think it is wise for me to say it is a personality issue because it makes it seem like I am hard to get along with which couldnt be further from the truth. I am trying to be honest and tell the interviewer that I am not really clear as to why I was let go. Its just doesnt seem to matter what I say. I simply cant find another job and unemployment is running out. Any advise is appreciated.
Thanks!
daylilie, How long have you been out of work? Why don't you contact the human resources dept and find out the exact reason for your termination. At least find out what they will disclose to inquiring employers. Once you have that information you will be better able to handle the interview questions. I assume you have your references in order and at least one from this employer - not the owner but someone like another manager or a project manager. Someone who could speak of your abilities from 1st hand experience. Keep reading the posts and do a search on fired/termination and you will find lots of advice as to how to handle interviews. Monster has some good links too. You are absolutely correct, do not ever say anything aboo.ut a personality conflict. That is fatal. Hi..
well the problem is that it was a privately owned company and my manager was one of the owners. There really isnt anyone else I can give as a reference than him. The HR person is a paperpusher and not really HR that most companies are used to having. The Hr person was against me getting fired but had no say in it at all. Its like they woke up and decided to fire me that day. Im really between a rock and a hard place!!!
I have some questions for you.
I have been fired after working some 17+ years in a major corporation. I was unemployed for 3 years before I landed my current job. I needed to pay bills so I took a meaningless low paying job to make ends meet. But during that time, I revamped my resume, improved my interviewing skills, attended career fairs and sent out hundreds of resumes to companies I wanted to work for. My rejection rate was at 90% and I got discouraged but I marched on. Like a soldier who was shot up, I kept on moving forward keeping the faith that some company needed my skills. When I received my first annual appraisals, my corporate executive director told me, "I cannot believe so many companies passed you up. I wish you came to us after being fired because you are a goldmine". So keep the faith and keep on applying. OCsurfcity hit the nail on the head.
Finding a job is a war and interviews are battles. You can lose the battle but still win the war. After you get a no thank you from a company, take a critical look at what you did right and wrong. Even during some interviews I have asked people what they like/dislike about my resume.
After 9/11 me and a buddy were laid off along with 12K in the company. The company offered a sort of placement service, which I took. Also I took a look at my skill set to see where I was lacking and went back to school for a few courses. If someone offered interview help or any kind of job search help, I signed up. I had created this carefully crafted routine and used it like clock work. Each morning I searched the job boards. This would also included fed/state and college web pages. Every job board that had my resume, I would go in once a month and make a small modification and saved it. Basically add a space and remove it. This way it perked to the top all the time. I searched industries that did what I knew and applied, sometimes via their web site. Even if they were not looking for help I sent a resume. When I applied for a job I made a copy of the ad and which resume I sent them and any notes. Also in their file, if I interviewed with them I had a copy of the thank you letter and interview notes. If someone called me and said you applied/interviewed a few months ago, I could find everything I sent them. I had a clean suit in a plastic bag and multiple copies of my best work. If someone called me and wanted to interview me that day, I was ready. Every Sunday I reviewed what I did last week. If something wasn’t working, I changed it. These are all skills I learned in these seminars. One day I got the call and BAM. I am now making more money then I was making before and it is the greatest job I have ever had. I thought it was a fluke but my GF said um you were prepared and aggressively looked for work. I was doing this so long it was ingrained. When preparation meets opportunity the result is success.
Now the tail of my buddy. He said didn’t need any help because he knew the best way to do it and he thought those places were worthless. I offered some of my strategies but he wasn’t interested. For a while he did find some interesting job leads. When I asked him how he found them all he said was um you know and changed the subject. If I got a job lead and didn’t get the job I shared it with him and gave him inside information. In the job seminars you give info you know and everyone else gives info they know. Basically my buddy is an island and is a one way street.
So now I every so often look around at jobs to see what is out there but am not actively looking. I have the thought train of if I lost my job right now, what do companies want to see on my resume. My buddy well he is doing some contract work here and there but is not employed fulltime. They keep doing the work here as a contractor and maybe we will offer you a job later on. We need to know why you THINK you were fired so that we can help you frame it in the best light. Was this your first managment job? Aside from the personality issue, what do you THINK was the reason? And it wouldn't hurt for you to call them up and just ask them what they'll say if someone calls asking about you. You may be surprised. They may agree to just say that the job was not a good fit for you. Give us some more info and we can probably help. Tess I was told that they thought, with the way my job had evolved that I could no longer 'connect the dots" ( dots that I had been connecting for almost 3 years with no complaint and big bonuses) when I asked what dots in particular because I wanted to know why I was being fired, and I was not answered. I asked 1st and the questions were brushed off. When I asked the last time, the owner said nothing. After about 30 seconds of watching him stare at his desk I said it didn't matter at that point because it wasn't going to change his mind and I wasn't going to get an legitimate answer as to why I was being fired. There was no warning, I was not told I had done anything wrong. The Hr person came and told me as I was packing that he knew that I was more than qualified and able to do the job . He didn't agree with them firing me but not wanting to lose his job , couldn't say more. So I was fired for the mysterious dots I was told I was not connecting. I knew my job thoroughly .. completely 110% even with the way the job had evolved. I created the procedures in how to handle the evolution!! I did it in my sleep..my hands tied behind my back. I lived and breathed that job. So anyway.. because I was not given a clean cut reason just a lot of run around, I have been telling interviewers that the job responsibilities had changed and they felt I no longer fit the position. my resume has been redone by a professional resume writer who works for the state. The thing is that I feel like the interviews are going well until they ask that question.. and then the whole tone of the interview changes. I have contacted the HR department at my previous job and asked what they would be saying, but didn't get a response. hope this helps. I really appreciate all your feed back. OH..and I have an interview tomorrow.....
Ok, you can make this simple. You were terminated because there was a shift in management and direction. You and your boss mutually agreed that you were no longer a good fit for the direction that they wanted to go. End of story. Don't make it complicated, don't get defensive. It is really a re-org. Your position isn't going to keep doing what it did for 3 years, it is going to do something else that requires someone else. Doesn't have to be a big deal. You should check and see if they will say that you were terminated or "laid off" too and see if you can negotiate for them to say "laid off due to re-org" or something along those lines. Call the HR department and ask about it. That's what really happened here (personalities aside). Those kinds of terminations are not a reflection on you at all. Don't go hat in hand begging either. Just matter of factly, what will they say? "Oh, terminated? Well would you say this instead because after discussing it with my lawyer, his opinion is that this better reflects the actual situation and we wouldn't want to be inaccurate right?"
Good luck! Tess Tess, thank you! I am going to be memorizing that line all the way to the interview tomorrow. When I emailed the Hr person, I asked if they would be ok in saying that my position was phased out, which is just another way of saying what you said. . Unfortunately there was no reply which really surprised me. I will keep it easy and nonchalant. I am doing a personality check on myself before I go also. losing that job was a huge blow to me, and I'm sure that I have been radiating some sort of negativity unconsciously. I brought new clothes.. going to color my hair.. just work on feeling good so when I go in there, I have a bit of a pick me up.
thanks!
Your job loss is a clear case of some kind of discrimination which is why they could not or would not give you a definite reason why you were being fired. They cannot tell you because they know that they've done something very illegal and discriminatory! I'll bet you are at least 50 years old! Mark my words! Now do what everyone has suggested you do and good luck with that interview!
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