next »

[Greg]

I was wondering, how do you handle a situation where you were fired from your previous job.  How do you address this during an interview?  Do you tell the truth and hope it doesn't hurt your chances of getting the job?

[freeform]

I'd usually say that negatives should be addressed by you on your terms - i.e. you bring it up and tell them - but I think this is one where you wait until asked.

If you can rightly say it was a difference of opinion then do so.

If you were in the wrong, you just need to address it, turn it into a 'what you've learned / changed' kind of thing and hope for the best.

[ftdale]

Depends, doesn't it? If you were fired for not doing what you were hired to do, then you're in the wrong profession. If you were fired for something which was no fault of yours, then there's nothing to be ashamed of, and no need to hide anything. I know things aren't always so black and white, which is why I use this thread to point out that it's better for you if you keep it to black and white, instead of venturing into grey areas.

[Betty]

That's a very tricky question to answer.  I think the best way to handle the question is to first, never bad mouth your previous boss during the interview.  This will not look favorably on you. What you really need to do is be honest about the reason for being fired, but do it in a way that doesn't look bad on you.  An example is, the company was going through some changes and it wasn't working out.  The bottom line is to express that you learned from this experience and it has changed you into a better person. 

[attagirl]

I agree never ever bad mouth your previous employer, but explain the situation if necessary and what led to you being fired. If it is something you did then play it down as much as you can and do not spend much time on it.

[Chevy]

I'd usually say that negatives should be addressed by you on your terms - i.e. you bring it up and tell them - but I think this is one where you wait until asked.

If you can rightly say it was a difference of opinion then do so.

If you were in the wrong, you just need to address it, turn it into a 'what you've learned / changed' kind of thing and hope for the best.

I think all of this is exceptional advice. Being able to be honest and convince a potential employer of your sincerity and ability to change are huge when talking to them. I think it's also a chance to look at the semantics of the issue. When I think of "being fired" I think of losing a job due to doing something vastly wrong or inappropriate. I know that other people think of any manner of leaving a job other than by their own choice as "fired". I guess I mean you may want to look at whether you were one of many people who lost a job, was the company downsizing, did they lose a contract, etc? That way you are really examining your culpability in losing your job.

[MaryG]

This is a tricky situation. I would say honesty is always the best way to approach it but with delicacy, if you are saying bad things about a previous employer than the interviewer will not hesitate to generalize that to what you may say about their company down the road. If you disagreed with a company policy it's probably all right to explain that along with why you disagreed.

[attagirl]

Chevy.... your points are very good. You may consider that you were fired when indeed you were laid off, which to some people could be considered the same as fired. Which ever way you look at, do not assume that others look at it that way either. I think that if you have an explanation that will help them to decide differently as to your actions that led to being fired you may find out that it is never as bad as you think.