How to Explain During an Interview That You Were Fired
Finding a job can be brutal; just getting your first interview seems like a huge hurdle, even if your resume isn’t easy. And if not? Here’s how you explain to a potential employer that your past job ended badly.
Fast Company recently posted an article on how to explain the gap on your resume, but a gap doesn’t necessarily mean you got fired. You could have taken vacation for any number of reasons, from health to family and even other work. When I was in my early twenties, I worked as an administrator, then I started working in restaurants. When I wanted to return to office work, I had time to report back.
But sometimes there are gaps associated with firing, and they are more difficult to explain. This means that you have to prepare your answer ahead of time, according to Fast Company interview with Michelle Mavi, director of internal recruiting, training and content at recruiting agency Atrium:
“You have to be ready to talk about it. If the interviewer feels reluctant or reluctant to answer questions about whitespace, it creates distrust and distance that will work against you. This does not mean that you need to go into details. “
In an email with Lifehacker, Jonathan Sormagen, founder of Resume Advisor , shared some additional tips on how to get this conversation going.
You shouldn’t bring it up
You have to be prepared, but that doesn’t mean you have to start a conversation. Perhaps you are so worried about the question that you are in a hurry to answer it before it is asked. Remember, you don’t need to explain that you got fired once to someone who never asked. However, Soormagen warns that there are some positions in which they are required to investigate you rather formally:
They will think that you just left, especially if there is no break between work. However, if you know they will do a background check and discuss your recommendation, then it might be better to explain that you were fired.
Assess the situation – if you are going to raise it yourself, do so after you have had the opportunity to talk about other, more successful positions. Let them get to know you a little before spilling all the tea.
Positively influence the situation
There are reasons to leave that are not due to the fact that you are a terrible, terrible employee. Sormagen suggests saying that the job you got fired from was “not suited to your long-term career goals,” or something else neutral.
Think of some other ways of explaining what happened that won’t be negative, and be sure to end on a good note by noting that “you were grateful for the opportunity they gave you.”
Don’t blame
Positivity is essential; most people have been laid off at some point in their lives, so this cannot be an obstacle to the job you are trying to get. Talking a lot about the taste of your former employer, however, it is probably a deal-breaker, according Soormaghen:
Don’t say anything bad about anyone. This will show your professionalism and composure. Plus, you never know who they might have talked to or who they knew from the past.
And you also don’t need to denigrate your past work by explaining. It may be entirely your fault, but there is no reason to advertise it. If there is a way to discuss your failures, let alone how bad you once were (and hopefully not), use that language instead. Here are some scripts from Soormaghen:
Try to link any failures to explaining the big picture. For example, “the project was not completed within budget and timeframe, ” as opposed to “ I was unable to deliver on my project results .”
Do not lie
Maybe you can’t figure out how to properly time your fired. Soormagen is still hesitant to tell people to lie, although he more or less says that you might not be caught if you do:
In general, lying is never welcome. If they decide to check the reviews, they will most likely find out that you were fired. Most of the time, however, they won’t check more than 2 of your last assignments. And given the longevity – depending on the size of the company you were fired from, it is possible that your boss / manager / etc. has already left or moved. So for positions created over 5 years ago, it is difficult to verify and there is more room for leniency with your answer.
But if you are hired and your boss discovers one day that you were dishonest, this is likely to be another layoff that you have to explain in your next interview. Honesty is always the best policy.
To be self-confident
Of course, you got fired once. This is not the end of the story. Employers want to know how you are learning from the past and improving. Soormagen advises not to enter interviews worrying about the past:
Be honest, confident, and self-possessed so that the interviewer doesn’t notice previous layoffs. Focus on the positive aspects of this role and the future.
Firing does not have to be life imprisonment; it is just a flash in your long career history.