The interview is going splendidly. You seem to have exactly the background they're looking for. You've built a good rapport with your interviewers, and you have a good feeling about the corporate culture. Then comes the question you've been dreading. "Why did you leave your last job?" The short answer is that you were fired. To this day, it still hurts to even think about it. But you have to answer the question. Your challenge lies in how to "spin" the answer to avoid coming off as a whiner.
Tempting as it may be, you know you can't lie because, as my colleague Michael Neece always says, "Experienced interviewers have well-developed BS detectors."
The truth is: Your old employer let you go because you and your boss didn't see things eye to eye. It was a case of mutual frustration, and in the end, they felt you were the expendable one.
This is where the concept of "spin" comes in handy. Put simply, "spin" is a way of explaining something negative so that it enhances, rather than detracts from, your objectives.
So, pretend you're a hiring manager and you've just asked the candidate: "Why did you leave your last job?" Below are two possible answers. Notice how the first sounds negative, emotional, and whiny, while the second sounds positive, factual, and professional. That's the wonderful world of spin.
Negative, Emotional, Whiny
It was a really hard job, and I got a new manager who didn't really like me. I was doing my best but he just kept criticizing my work. The frustration kept mounting and he knew it, but did he do anything about it? Nope. Then the business had a bad quarter, so all departments had to make budget cuts. He took the easy way out and canned me.
See how this lays most of the blame on the boss? Note especially the phrases "didn't really like me" and "took the easy way out." It doesn't say how the job seeker might have been proactive and tried to correct the situation. Such a negative answer might leave the hiring manager seeing this person as a malcontent who likes to complain.
Here's the answer with the positive spin:
Positive, Factual, Professional
Well, I worked very hard at the job I was doing and I was working with a new manager. I checked in with him every couple days to be sure I was meeting his expectations and that we were on the same page. But it seemed that objectives for me and my department were never well defined. One day, not long after the quarterly revenue reports showed companywide losses and management had ordered each department to make budget cuts, he pulled me into his office and told me things weren't working out, so the company was letting me go. I was upset, of course, but as it turned out, the time off has allowed me to assess what happened, what kind of company I want to work for, and what I needed to change within myself to achieve success going forward.
In this example, the job seeker doesn't disparage the ex-boss, and recounts the firing through the use of objective facts (" … he pulled me into his office and told me things weren't working out, so the company was letting me go … "). Then it gets better. The job seeker explains how he looked within himself during the time out of work to make personal improvements that would apply in future professional roles.
The Lesson
When you're presenting your credentials to a would-be employer, you are your own salesperson. You need to emphasize the positive stuff and minimize the negative as a way to stay on your chief message: that you are the one who can solve the hiring manager's problems.
If you can put a positive spin on an otherwise negative answer, the employer just might conclude that you not only have the right skills, you have a positive attitude, which is something just about every organization wants throughout its ranks.
Have you handled a similar situation in your work life? Tell us about it!
Thanks for your help on this. Should I need to explain why an employer fired me for falling asleep on the job (4 am on patrol duty and having failed to turn my portable radio up to hear calls from the staff....accidental, unintentional dose off) then what might be the best spin to attach to the facts? And the time I was fired from another job, whose employers insisted I had made a grave, possibly intentional mistake on some customer orders, which I know I did not make, but I believed that I was being framed in order that they may find reason to can me for whatever reason. What spin can I place upon that?D
Hi John!
Your answer should focus on these two approaches:
(1) Assume personal responsibility for what you did wrong. (2) Emphasize what you learned and how it made you a better employee. Or maybe the patrol duty job in the middle of the night just wasn't working out for you and you just HAD to work days (assuming you did or do now) and have become better for it.
Bottom line: Don't lie, give them the facts rather than opinions, don't get emotional, and tell them how you learn from your mistakes.
Good luck! ~ Rick
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP ON THIS ON JOHN I was fired from a job I've had for over 30-years for violating company policy by looking at labs results of my college student son. I've never had any problems in all my years with the company. HOW DO I PUT A SPIN ON THIS ONE? I'M STILL UN-EMPLOYED 7-MONTHS LATER. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
John, thanks for the info on this. My hubby was fired from his job of nearly 30 years and ultimately what it came down to, tho the company would NEVER admit it in a million years, was that they didn't want to have to pay his senior salary any more. Even the unemployment hearing officer admited that to him. The reason he was fired was SO absurb and arcane that the hearing office could simply not believe it. (The company, btw, tried to fight him getting his unemployment benefits). The officer also told us that the company has a bad rep where its employees are concerned and it was clearly all about them not wanting to pay him. The company, btw, has also been downgrading the salaries for the last 3 years and he became a target.
When he has gone on interviews and he explains the "official" reason he was fired, all have simply shook their head in amazement and even said, "Are you KIDDING? For THAT?"
He now has a job, abeit at 1/2 the salary, tho his salary is now about the same as what other managers are now making with his old company. He's working less hours (formerly 60-70) and has less stress and much better beneifts. The old company, btw, has MAJOR morale problems and practices extreme micromanagment by intimation. Needless to say, I think he's realizing that getting fired might just have been the best thing, cause he would have never left on his own 'cause he was a "company man" to the core.
my previous employer just simple took me off the schedule. i was the assistant manager and for the next 2 pay periods i was just told that i was not on the schedule , but never given a reason why. after i got the hint i applied for unemployment benifits. when my previous manager was asked by the employment commission, he said that i was suspected of embezzlement, which the officer did not agree with because i did get my benifits. also i was told by another potential employer that he also told them the same thing. although that was never brought to my attention or brought up on any charges this is hurting my job search that he may continue to say this. please help