Comments on: So You’ve Been Fired!

By: Darlene McDaniel

Darlene McDaniel — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:49:36 +0000

Hi plss, Thank you for visiting bizzia Careers this afternoon. Let me start by saying first, you are wasting your time posting your resume on Careerbuilders and Monster. That was how we used to get a job before the social media/social networking swirl we live in today. Do you have a profile on LinkedIn? If so, how active our there are you with massaging your networking and connecting to people who are decision makers? You can not continue to push your resume and cover letter out there and hope someone will call you. It doesn’t work like that anymore. The name of the game is networking, both in person and electronically through the world of the internet. I don’t know if your former employer is being contacted. I doubt it. That doesn’t usually happen until they, organizations are interested in offering you an opportunity for employment. I believe that your resume and cover letter are in the proverbial black hole of the internet. You will not find a job at the level you are looking for through traditional methods of job seeking. I will send you an email, please forward your resume and cover letter and I will review it. I will give you my take on it and make a few recommendations. You can take them or leave them, but I believe you are marketable without even seeing your resume. It is a matter of your job search strategy that is in your way. We will speak again. Thanks for stopping by!

Darlene

By: plss

plss — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:23:45 +0000

Hi Darlene. I was terminated almost a month ago after 22 successful years at a large California bank. Over the years I had received great performance reviews, awards, promotions and even my VP title. My record was clean and I had taken no losses, prior to the cause of my termination. I was dedicated and reliable, honest and dependable and had earned a great reputation. Then the roof fell in when our Priority Department took a large loss due to a case of identity theft. I was involved in a minor role with one of the three transactions making up the loss. I was terminated along with three other bank officers. Three of us,including myself, were also managers. This has been a devastating experience but I gamely posted my newly created resume on Monster and Careerbuilder as well as directly at some bank and other company websites. I have applied for positions in various industries, not only banking, and I think my resume is presentable, but I am receiving no call-backs and I am wondering if my former employer is being contacted and is stating I am not eligible for rehire. I am, as discussed in earlier blogs, prepared to tell the truth of my termination, but how do I get the opportunity? I appreciated the earlier mention of answering the “Fired?” question with wanting to be given the opportunity to discuss in person, but how do I get past whatever roadblocks my previous employer has erected? Or, am I being overly sensitive and maybe I’m not being called back due to my qualifications or other reasons? Finally, I’ve read everyone’s great blogs but I am still confused what to answer when asked why I left my previous position. Termination seems to be my first, and most honest response, but others have said just that “It was time to move on” which is true also but clearly not totally honest and certainly won’t be believed in these economic times. I have many positive references thanks to my years of networking, will this help my cause? Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

By: Darlene McDaniel

Darlene McDaniel — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:51:37 +0000

Hi Tiffany, Thank you for visiting bizzia Careers. I apologize for my delay in responding to your comment. First, you will need to say terminated. That is better than saying fired. As far as what to say. You want to be as brief as possible and yet be clear about what happened. You absolutely must take responsibility for what happened, even if it was the other person’s fault. You must be accountable. Any blaming of the other person, will kill your chances in the interview. I don’t have anything to send to you, however, you are welcome to send me an email about what you are saying and I will help you craft and answer that will help you on your next interview. You can send me an email at darlingmcdaniel@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Darlene

By: Darlene McDaniel

Darlene McDaniel — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:20:18 +0000

Hi Emily, Thank you for visiting bizzia Careers. I apologize for my delayed response to your comment. I wanted to think about it before responding. First thing, YES, your response is good. There is no problem saying that it was a mutual agreement. One thing I would recommend is that you do is verify how the organization coded your termination. Will they say it was mutual? Are you coded as not rehireable? That is important information for you to know so that you are consistent with information they will find out about you.

I would definitely keep pursuing teaching opportunities. If you love to teach and you enjoy teaching older kids, than that is what you need to pursue. When you discuss the issue with the previous school, you can say that it was not a good fit. You can say that your desire is to teach middle school/high school age children and you now know those are the opportunities you should pursue moving forward. I would keep looking for substitute positions as well. They can lead to full time employment. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Darlene

By: Darlene McDaniel

Darlene McDaniel — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:06:32 +0000

Hi Melissa, Thanks for visiting bizzia Careers. The first thought that comes to mind is don’t leave the job off of your resume. Why? Because you will need to explain the gap. The problem is – in order to explain the gap you will have to make up a story that is untrue. Which therefore puts you on a very slippery slope. Don’t go there. You have to work through your job search with that loss of the job in play when interviewing with for job opportunities.

I suggest you choose a different group of hotels outside of the Kemmons Wilson Co. and I suggest you use networking to your advantage. Start talking to people who know people you need to know. You can network your way into a job opportunity. LinkedIn is a great place to start networking, however it is not the only place. Who do you know in the industry that is an ally and that would be willing to assist you with getting your foot in the door.

My second suggestion is to take your skill set and apply it in a different industry. Who else can use your skill set and that will be willing to pay for what you bring. The last thing I would recommend is that you get very clear about your accountability in the situation that led to your job loss. It is important that you are clear about your accountability. I am assuming you have had some interviews, though I am not sure based on the information you shared. If you have, and they are not producing job offers, than there is an issue about what you are sharing in the interview in and around this termination.

If you are interested in my assistance as a coach, I specialize in working with job seekers who have been terminated, please let me know. I am available for 30 minute sessions and 60 minute sessions. You can send me an email at darlingmcdaniel@gmail.com.

Good luck in your job search!

Darlene

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:30:53 +0000

I have over 20 years of experiene in hotel management and was fired from my last job due to their “going in a different direction.” I was granted unemployment as they had no substantial reason for the firing but I am sure that my record with them is listing me as not rehirable. Problem is, this employer is the Kemmons Wilson Co., founders of the famous hotel chain, and anyone in this business that I am applying with would give great credence to their recommendation (or not). If I do not list the job, I am asked to explain that period of unemployment. I have not been able to obtain a job since that termination in 2007. What would you suggest?

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:36:51 +0000

Hello!
I have a teaching degree but have only taught 1 year at a private high school. My husband is military so it’s hard to constantly find new jobs. That being said, when we moved to our new home here in Nebraska I was hoping to find a job teaching immediately but I’ve been applying to school districts within an hour radius for almost 2 years now! About a month after we moved here, I realized I wasn’t going to find anything right away even though it was August, so I obtained a job at an elite private preschool working with 4 year olds. My degree is for middle and high school students but I thought little ones might be more fun and help me keep up my classroom skills.

All that being said, this past week I was “asked to resign” after being on a probationary status for using “negative reinforcement” such as telling students they will lose “center time” if they continued their negative behavior. I’m used to older students and I guess I’m just not warm and fuzzy and willing to give rewards for negative behavior. They said they appreciated my loyalty and work but they could tell I was just trying too hard and it shouldn’t be that hard to teach little ones. Of course I was trying hard, I was on probation! Anyways, I worked for them for almost 2 years now so I don’t really know what to put on my resumes. I also, like most of the posters here, feel like I’m in limbo. I have a degree that’s almost worthless since there aren’t any teaching jobs, there isn’t a need for subs and the only jobs open are for preschool. On my last application for a school district this week I answered the “Have you ever been FIRED or ASKED TO RESIGN” question as “Yes, but XYZ school and I had a mutual parting because we both believe I would do better teaching older students. Is that a good answer?

Sorry this is so long but I guess I just needed someone to listen. I applied for Unemployment but don’t know if it will be approved since I was on probation and asked to resign. I’ve always loved teaching and had great rapport with my students, co-workers and staff so I feel very hurt and they make me seem like an ogre. Okay, enough whining but thanks for listening!

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:23:30 +0000

Hello Darline I am stating the same questions that many other ppl had stated before about applying online and what would be a good way of saying that Iwas terminted.

I had an argument with another employee and I was suspended for five days and when I came back they fired me. I had great attendence and I was not on a final and to mysself I felt that it was wrong. This is Ikea a very well knnown stown store. I had previously work for home depot my first job..I had left home depot to go to ikea. When I seem to interview at other retailers such as best buy, the children place. etc the first thing they say you work for Ikea and why did you leave.

from that point on I tell them the truth but I think I talk alot

I was just wondering when ask that question is there a better way to say i????? and would there be a better way then writing terminated on my application.

would you be able to send me the e-mail that you send other people on here pertaining to what to say on the application process

Thank you

Tiffany

By: Darlene McDaniel

Darlene McDaniel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:00:24 +0000

Hi Val,

Thank you for stopping by bizzia Careers. I don’t know the specific laws for CA, however I do know that an employer could and I know employers do tell if an employee is not rehireable. Unfortunately, every organization is different. So I can’t speak for your previous organization. My recommendation to you is that you contact HR and the union rep and see if you can’t work through the way your termination has been coded. If they refuse, than you need to decide if you have enough to warrant hiring an attorney. Than you need to decide if you are ready and willing to fight with the organization. I also found a website that may have information for you regarding unemployment in CA. Here is the link: http://www.edd.ca.gov/UIBDG/. Please come back and share your story. I would like to hear the outcome.

Darlene

By: Val

Val — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:21:48 +0000

I was recently asked to sign a resignation or be fired. My union rep advised me to resign to avoid the negative comment on my file. However, when I applied for UE, I was denied, the letter stating I was “discharged for misconduct.”

Here’s the situation. I’ve worked at a pharmacy with a clean record for 8 years. Then a customer came in and was being very verbally abusive to a coworker. When I asked him to stop and leave, he would not. He continued to be abusive and I pushed him away from my coworker. There is a “no contact” policy at my workplace and the installed camera caught the push, but unfortunately did not catch the customer’s actions. I was led in to HR by a detective, explained the situation and after my union rep advised me, signed a resignation. That was all I signed. Nothing more was said to me about UE or anything. In filing for UE, I stated I resigned, but instead of “voluntary termination” my employer reported a misconduct charge to UE and my UE was denied.

I live in California and it is my understanding that my former employer can only give dates of my employment and salary to any other potential employer. Is this true? Can my former employer say I am not “rehirable” as well or state I was terminated? Also, since there is a letter of resignation ONLY (on which I stated I resigned and the date ONLY), is the pharmacy engaging in illegal activity by telling UE I was terminated for misconduct? Please help me.