I wanted some opinions/suggestions on how others explain their negative situations in regards to being fired when perspective employers ask you why that happened.

You don't.

Give a reference of someone who will lie for you.

That might work for smaller corporations, but I got fired from a Fortune 500 Company that just had it's 80th something birthday. People are going to want answers for that. I don't feel lying is a solution to a problem. It creates more problems, but thank you for your suggestion...it's more than I've thought of - :)

Is there a way you can turn it around to a positive? I'm all for honesty, but tactfully and to your benefit. If you can be brief about what happened, and the elaborate on what you learned or gained from it is what they will be most interested in hearing. they know people are human and make mistakes, and they are most interested in how you dealt with them and/or what you learned. If you got as far as an interview, you are a good catch and they know that too, so make yourself shine as much as possible, and smile while you say the good stuff.

And yes, a positive reference or two from your previous employer would be a great asset as well.

don't put down on your resume you have been fired! then you don't have to explain. If you have been fired, take that job OFF your resume. BTW, how old are you?

how long were you there?

wha type of position was it

Cam - I'm 23 and I was there for over a year in a claims/customer service position.

You have to lie, you can never say that you were fired or anything other than saying your position was eliminated due to a department / company reorganization. Since this is really happening more than ever these days, it shouldn't be questioned.

It is too bad that you have to do this but even with rising unemployment, employers treating employees more & more like they are disposable where you are one mistake away from being fired, and this general contempt shown if you are not working or have any gap in your resume (I have been asked about a month gap from back in 2005 this year) you have to if you have a 'less than perfect' linear work history.

If you were at a place for less than a year and cannot 'cover' that time with a previous or subsequent job, then say that position was temporary thru a temp agency and the assignment ended.

Is there a way you can turn it around to a positive? I'm all for honesty, but tactfully and to your benefit. If you can be brief about what happened, and the elaborate on what you learned or gained from it is what they will be most interested in hearing. they know people are human and make mistakes, and they are most interested in how you dealt with them and/or what you learned. If you got as far as an interview, you are a good catch and they know that too, so make yourself shine as much as possible, and smile while you say the good stuff.

And yes, a positive reference or two from your previous employer would be a great asset as well.

It would be nice if you can do that but it seems like there is always this paranoia and suspicion on the part of the hiring manager or HR when you don't have that perfect linear work history.

It depends if the job you are interviewing for is the same kind of position as the one you got fired from. First of all I would question myself as to why I would want to work the same position if I got fired from.

If the positions you are applying for is very different then it may be okay to admit you were fired

Example when I apply for a nursing job I can get away with the fact I sucked at customer service because sitting on my fanny wasn't some thing i was good at doing Am employer who wants a nurse who will be doing more walking than sitting this may not be seen as an entirely bad thing


I do tend to not mention some job experiences like the one that ended in me wearing hand cuffs that can really look bad on the resume - I don't lie I simply do not mention it - I am able to cover some of my time there with the part time temp work I did with my friend's nursing registry

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I applied for unemployment yesterday, so we'll see how that goes. I'm going by the unemployment office today, now that I have a rental car since someone thought it would be entertaining to smash a concrete block through my window, AND they didn't even take anything...wtf and that's costing me 500 dollars - thank god for insurance. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to someone with the unemployment place that will have suggestions as well. I'm therapist told me to call the place I just got fired from and simply ask them what they are going to say when perspective employers call to find out why I was fired and then try to put a positive spin on it. That way I at least know what they're going to say which takes a little bit of the anxiety out of it. It's just not the easiest phone call to make...well at least I wouldn't have to speak to my supervisor...just my HR rep.

I'm just trying to gather as many suggestions and as much free advice as possible because this is my first time being fired and I've never had to explain anything like that. It's mostly been about "so what great stuff did you do?"

I got fired for tardiness/calling in sick/taking off work to take my mom to the doctor/taking off work to take myself to the doctor; all of the above was not a problem until the night shift was being eliminated and I had to be at work by 845am. Those are the same hours that doctor's offices are open, so I feel there wasn't really anything I could positively do about the situation except abandon my mother, and forget about my own illness issues. Some of those days were covered by FMLA - like when I had the "issue" with the Prozac, but the stuff with my mother could not be covered under FMLA because she does not have a diagnoses yet, at least that's what Employee Health Services told me.

Honestly, I don't see a positive spin unless they can look at all the good things/responsibilities I did at this company.

Mead - Actually I don't want to do insurance anymore...I'm more of a people person; me sitting behind a computer in a cubicle all day just isn't my cup of tea, especially when I feel like I'm helping corporate america screw someone instead of actually helping them when they need it.

That might work for smaller corporations, but I got fired from a Fortune 500 Company that just had it's 80th something birthday. People are going to want answers for that. I don't feel lying is a solution to a problem. It creates more problems, but thank you for your suggestion...it's more than I've thought of - :)

I worked for GE for 10 years, which I believe is a fortune 50 company.

Noone is going to do a ton of investigations.
There is nothing inherently wrong with lying.
Like any other decision in life it should be weighed on cost vs benefit.
In this case the cost of lying is that some stranger will potentially throw your resume in the trash, the benefit is a potential job.

On the other hand you can tell the truth and guarantee your resume ends up in the circular file.
Don't hobble yourself unnecessarily for some misguided notion of morality.