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So my 'career' is in IT and I was unfortunately just terminated after 10 months for violating the acceptable use policy. Basically I should not have done something that I did on a company computer. This is neither here nor there, however, I worry for the future of job prospects based on some things I've read. The company in question considered it to be serious enough to fire me in question obviously as the sector is highly concerned with security. I don't want to get too specific unless I really need to but I guess what I can say is, if I was strapped to a chair and forced at gun point to explain what I did it would probably turn off a lot of potential employers from considering me as an applicant.
Of course, I don't have time/resources to turn my entire career around while looking for something to keep me going, so I need to accept that for now I'll be looking for another IT job.
One issue is, when I was being terminated, I asked my two bosses on the phone if I could use them as references. They said it was fine however one of them pretty much stated if someone asked him if they would rehire me, that he wouldn't lie and would have to say no (even if he personally would). I also plan on filing for unemployment benefits and doing so may mar that relationship since there was something specific one of the managers said that I want to use to attempt to bolster my 'argument'. To my knowledge all information I would be sharing with my workforce commission would be passed to the employer.
Obviously going forward it may not be best to use a supervisory reference that would be put in that position. I have coworkers from the company that I could reliably put down as a reference.
But considering that I was only at the job for ~10 months (my work history is otherwise okay-ish, many 1 to 2 year stints with my most recent before this being about 3.5 years) I am obviously going to be asked why I left the position.
It feels so cringe telling employers that it just wasn't a good fit. I could certainly just say "it wasn't a good fit and I'm fortunate enough to be able to support myself while looking for a better fit for my goals" but again I guess I'm still worried about potential calls to that employer, or being grilled further if I'm too vague.
I'm not looking to be scolded or anything like that. I've got enough self loathing/self guilt tripping for myself to go around for plenty probably. I am kindly seeking advice on how best to navigate this. I'm somewhat experienced with interviewing, so I know the basics of "well, just be general/vague and don't disqualify yourself" but since you guys have a bit more context surrounding the situation maybe there is some extra counsel that would be beneficial.
It depends on how much effort the potential employer puts into background investigations. You may have to accept a job from a lesser employer until you reestablish yourself. Don't go bottom of the barrel because that's a red flag as well.
This means you broke the law or a policy. Usually the process involves an investigation and a dismissal or, if it's really clear what happened and no circumstances will make a difference, just a dismissal. Your answer needs to provide as little detail as you can get away with and needs to demonstrate some self-reflection. You want to make sure that the company knows that whatever it was, it won't be happening when you work for them.
For example, "I broke a policy related to use of my company credit card. Everything got sorted out, but unfortunately my manager didn't have any option left other than letting me go. I wasn't as careful as I needed to be and that is never going to happen again."
Here's the formula: Vague recap of what happened + how it was positively resolved +here is a nice way of saying that I was fired and that it wasn't discretionary + this is what I learned.
When you prepare and practice your answer to "why did you leave this company?" you should be ready to answer follow up questions. I mean, the recruiter might just take your initial answer and move on. But anticipate what else they might ask. What did you do with your credit card? Were you charging personal items to your company? Were you doing a good job otherwise? What would you do differently if faced with the same circumstances?
Lying about being fired is not a good idea. Your potential new employer will eventually find out from checking references that you’ve been fired and might reject you if she finds out you lied about your termination. Although you will have to tell potential employers that you’ve been fired, timing is extremely important. Business Insider suggests that you avoid revealing this information in your resume or cover letter and instead focus on your accomplishments and skills in these documents. Save explanations regarding why you left your previous position for the interview. Briefly explain what happened and redirect the discussion to the skills you bring to the job you're seeking.....
If you’ve been fired for cause, it will be a little more difficult to paint your termination in a positive light, but it can be done. For example, if you were fired because you were late too many times, you might explain that you now know that it wasn’t a good idea to take a job with such a long commute. If you clashed with your supervisor, you might explain that you and your supervisor had different goals and viewpoints, and you realize you weren’t a good fit for that particular type of position. No matter what the reason, acknowledge your part in the firing, explain what you’ve learned and mention how you’ll avoid a similar situation in the future.
If it really matters then anyone who would have serious advice can PM me for more specifics. I just prefer to keep certain aspects anonymous since this is technically a public forum.
Last edited by fiestamango; 06-25-2022 at 11:23 PM..
If it really matters then anyone who would have serious advice can PM me for more specifics. I just prefer to keep certain aspects anonymous since this is technically a public forum.
If you understand that much, then why did you come to a "public forum" to begin with?
You could say you misunderstood a policy and failed to get clarification before violating the policy. Then say your former employer had a zero tolerance policy and terminated you despite your work being good. That's true of a lot of companies. My employer will fire you for using the company credit card for a personal expense. Period. Even senior managers have had that happen to them. Then, you can turn it into a "learning experience", especially if you are younger.
Do you know what your former employer's policy is on references or what they will say when contacted for employment information? Mine prohibits supervisors and managers from providing references, and will only confirm the employment dates. If
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