This addresses my current situation, "sort of". I was fired, my supervisior's behavior was inappropriate and when I didn't consent, he tried to force me to resign, then fired me. It has been nearly devastating. My employment search has not been successful, and I wonder if this whole negative situation I experienced is still lingering around to haunt me. I'm rather at a standstill in what I should do to resolve an apparent negative situation that I did not porfessionally cause.

@Deb --

Wow, that's a classic "damned if you do, damned of you don't" situation. If you say it was your old boss's fault, you look like a blamer, but if you don't explain, it implies that you did something wrong.

But I think some of tips #3 and 4 above could be helpful. Ask your friends and family for recommendations, advice, or leads. And (awkward as it sounds) contact companies that have staff members in roles similar to your old job. Ask for the HR department, politely spell out your situation, and ask them if they can offer you any advice. Something like this:

"My name is Deb ____, and I wonder if I could ask for your professional opinion. I'm not looking for a job, just advice. I was recently terminated as a [job title] because, to make a long story short, my former supervisor behaved inappropriately and when I didn't consent, he tried to force me to resign, then fired me. Since your company has similar positions, I thought you might have some insight as to how I can explain the situation to a prospective employer without sending up red flags or making myself look bad."

Hope that helps. Best of luck. I'm sorry you're going through this!

Julie

Mine was a situation where the job I had was a two-year contract position. When I was done, nothing was ever said one way or the other. I thought things were fine and asked for references, which they were willing to give. Seven months after the position ended, I discovered from a friend that one of my references was giving me a bad recommendation. He didn't know who -- just that it was happening.

I had already been doing some work through a temp agency and was partway through a 4-month placement. I scrapped all of my references and chose different ones, including one person from the 4-month position. I landed a new job within two months of making that change.

@ Melissa

Wow, how unfair for someone to be blindsiding you like that. If the person wasn't comfortable giving you a good reference, they should have declined your request. (And, they should have addressed the issues directly with you while you were working there.)

I guess the lesson is that you have to be more specific when asking for references, and not assume.

Luckily, you landed on your feet!

Thanks for sharing that experience!

Julie

I have been outof work for the past 8 months. This has been a devastating experience as I have worked since I was 15 years old and am now turning 54. I left my last job as a Director of ED had such high hopes. I have been in an administrator position for the past 8 years and a nurse for over thirty years. I found myself caught up in a situation where I was accused of things I did not do - no specific situations. I was given a 30 day final written that came definetly pulled me straight down. I was put in a situation of be fired or resign. I got to close to a situation that the ED Doctors were practicing that was conflict od interest and they wanted me gone. Long story short I feel that I have been "black-balled". The past Medical Director authored a letter to my previous staff and physicians that cited me and other people who had since left the hospital in a less favorable light. This is his own opinion however I know it has affected my interviews when they check references or know collegues who worked there. I go through what seem like great interviews and then am told I am not to be considered. My question is: In interviews I am asked the question as to why I left my old job - my answer has now been I could not support the direction senior leadership was going. I am concerned about the people I put on my reference list - as some require the input of last supervisor. I have two inportant interviews coming up next week and want to be as porfessional as I can - any ideas?

Deb - Your situation is very simular to mine - I really feel you are the professional. Moving forward it is always important to try, as hard as it is, to let the negative flow off. I feel it has been the hardest thing I have ever done - especially keep popping back up after each negative incident. I know the judicial system is difficult to be on our side with "he said she said" situations. I wish I had the answers as I am still trying to stay in the game for survival.

In Janurary, I was fired from my job as a asst manager of a store after a year and a half of employment. At the beginning of the month I called corporate office and reported my manager for cussing me out and getting in my face because I would not work an eight hour shift off the clock for him so he wouldn't have to pay me over time. A few days after I reported him someone from corporate came down and talked to all the employees except me, including my manager. A few days later he said that I had stolen something from the store that cost $5 and he was going to press charges on me for theft and that I was fired. Now when jobs call him to check my work history, he tells them that I was fired for major theft and then I do not get the job. What can I tell these jobs before hand that will not look like I am making up excuses. I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING FROM HIM THEM OR ANY TIME DURING MY EMPLOYMENT.

@ Tabatha

What a rotten situation! I have a couple suggestions that might help.

1) Try to eliminate the problem by not providing your old boss as a reference. If you really need someone from that job, perhaps you could list a former coworker or a member of the HR department instead. They could vouch for your work record during the year-and-a-half.

2) If for some reason you MUST provide his name, then (awkward as it may be) try calling him directly. Don't be confrontational, just ask if he could see his way clear to providing a reference that won't sabotage your chances at finding a new job.

3) If the old boss is truly making dishonest claims about you that are directly preventing you from obtaining employment, perhaps you need to consult an attorney. There's no law against giving a bad reference as long as it's factual, but it sounds like he's telling lies to cover his own misdeeds.

Best of luck.

--Julie

The comments here and scenario's are helpful in trying to sort this all out in a professional way. Molly, our stories are very similiar, I too worked @ a hospital. I know of several other (women) who also resigned or were termed within a six month period. It's ugly. Fighting it is almost hopeless, and we're 'stuck' with what do we do from here? I go back and forth as to whether I should remove the employer off my resume' or leave them on...My attorney did provide me with a suggestion.~ Leave contact information off your resume'. In an interview if/when asked why you left, have an explanation planned which touches lightly on the situaton. In all honesty, I am considering, " corporate restructuring" and leaving it at that. No blame, viably the truth... and leave it at that. Now to handle the fact that they provide a 'bad' reference, I'm going to provide them with the contact number of someone who 'was' my supervisor prior to all this nightmare. Unfortunatly, I cannot utilize their HR dept. simply because this person worked in that capacity. Certainly is a struggle! Anyone who can come up with any additional suggestions, PLEASE POST! Thanks! Good luck, to all of us!

Do you have any examples of people who have been actually been hired after being fired for poor performance recently? I keep seeing advice on how to handle the interviews, but in this economy it seems less likely that it will work. Basically I'm looking for some hope that I can still get hired again someday...

@Anonymous

You can see from the comments above that you're not alone. In fact, I think almost everyone who's ever worked has been fired at one point or another, and we've all gone on to be hired again. So of course there's hope!

It's humiliating to get fired, but it's not the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes, and file this lesson in your experience bank.

And follow these steps when it comes time to explain your situation in an interview:

1. Describe the situation very briefly and factually. 2. Explain what you've done to correct the problem, or what you learned about yourself. 3. Reassure the employer that there is no risk of similar problems in the future if they should hire you. 4. Redirect the conversation back to your qualifications for the job.

This is a setback, not a failure. You'll do better in your next job, which is out there somewhere. Go find it!

Best of luck,

Julie

I worked for a really great company in a really great job that had so much potential and interesting aspects. Unfortunetly, my boss was impossible! If you can even call her that. It's been recently that she decided to change her title in her email signatures to Supervisor when it's not in her title. Maybe you can better explain this to me better than HR did. Oh, and the next person in command is the VP! HR told me that she has only the right to use the title of Supervisor for administration purposes like hirirng and setting up new trainees but that she can't fire anyone. I worked with her for 4 years and tryed many times to get over her incompentencies as a leader and a co-worker. What really frosted me was the number of times she burnt me. I know now that I could not rely on her for a reference that I deserved. I found that because of my knowlege and hard work that she tryed to keep me there. There were times when I thought we could work together and then one day the straw broke over the camels back and I left. It was 2:15 pm Friday, Feburary 15/10. I went back the following Monday morning to try to come to a resolution and keep my job. When HR told me they would not have me back. I was crushed. I have applied 42 jobs these last 3 weeks and have only received 2 responses. I'm freaking out! Not to mention HR has blocked my emails from getting through to my co-workers and I really need a refrence. What should I do?

I was asked to resign from a federal job due to the fact that I filled out a form for child care myself instead of having HR fill it out. They said I had comitted forgery, I actually thought it was no big deal, I am a single mom and I needed a child care to take care of my 2 year old son so I could go to work. My hours were 4am to 1230 pm and I thought if I put my real hours they would not watch my son, so I indicated on the form that my hours were from 7am to 4pm. I wasn't out to hurt anyone or avoiding to pay the school I just needed day care. That was almost 3 years ago, is it true that after 1 year they clear the bad papers out of your file? Because I did resign instead of having them fire me, will I ever have a chance to re-apply?

@Sheila

Sorry to hear you've had such a tough time lately. If there is a former co-worker you know would be a good reference for you, I would try making contact by phone or snail mail. The other thing that stands out to me is the number of applications -- 42. My advice is to go for quality, not quantity. You need to stand out from the crowd. Find a job description that sounds like it will fit you really well, and edit your resume and cover letter to target their needs specifically. If you take the time to focus your documents on just the jobs that you're truly qualified for and enthusiastic about, you'll likely get more responses from fewer applications!

@Irene

I don't know whether they "clear the bad papers out of your file" after one year, but it doesn't seem likely. As for re-applying, there's no reason not to try -- all they can say is no. It's tough when you're in desperate need of childcare; I hope you can find a situation that will work for both you and your son.

Best of luck to both of you.

--Julie

Hi Julie, I was let go from my previous job with the intention to leave. How can I explain that I wanted to leave due to red tape overload coupled with significant increase in workload? I was a performer in all my previous jobs and never got terminated except for this one. Is it appropriate to say that the knowledge and skills in the project team were limited and project resources were not well leveraged which resulted in significant increase of my workload? The introduction of unnecessary time-consuming procedures also introduced red tape overload (i.e. documentation, decoding 300+ numeric IDs in the business requirements to the real business terminology, etc.) and counterproductive efforts. Is it appropriate to say that the project is unorganized? I just want to be sure that it won't be negative by stating these facts. Also I thought of saying "to apply my skills in a different capacity in an environment that is congenial, structured and team-oriented." But I also took time off after being let go to care for my family? How should I explain the reason for leaving? Thank you very much.

Hi Jennifer,

That sounds like a lousy situation and I'm sorry it happened that way! While I applaud your efforts to use very professional language, your message still comes through loud and clear. ("I worked with a bunch of bumbling, incompetent fools!")

So, no, I would not advise that you mention their lack of knowledge, skills, and resource management, and I would especially avoid mentioning the increases in your workload.

Even though your story is all-too-common and completely true, there's still a good chance that an employer could come away with the impression that you just couldn't cut it when the going got tough.

However, I DO like where you're going toward the end. I think it would be appropriate to say you'd already been thinking of seeking a new opportunity to "apply your skills in a different capacity in an environment that was more congenial, structured, and team-oriented," and that you took time off to care for your family after you left the previous job.

Just make sure you emphasize that you are now ready to commit long-term to a full-time position, and you're enthusiastic the new opportunity.

One last thing... trust your gut. If you sense a strong rapport with the interviewer, and s/he seems like a no-BS type, then maybe you can be more candid about the past. I'm just giving you general guidelines. Best of luck!!

--Julie

I was terminated after 10 years of service based on performance after 9 years of stellar evaluations. It was a new manager of 3 months who was the driving force behind my termination, although I cannt prove it, and he hired his best friend and former co-worker to take my place.

Was there anything I could have done to bring action against the employer?

How do I explain wrongful termination to an employer?

thanks

@Bill R.

It certainly sounds fishy that the new manager immediately found your performance lacking when previous managers had been very satisfied. But I think the key line in your statement is "I can't prove it." Although I am not, in any way, an employment law expert, I do know that bringing action against an employer for discrimination requires fairly solid proof.

As for how to address the termination with prospective employers, I think the key is to be honest, while resisting the temptation to rant about how unfair it was.

Also, it's important to avoid using words like "wrongful" or "discrimination." Why? Because those words strike fear into the heart of every employer ("If he thought the old boss discriminated, will he make the same claim about me?"). And, frankly, it makes you sound like a victim.

A better way to go is to calmly and honestly state the facts, without emotion. Let the facts speak for themselves. You were employed there for 10 years. Your evaluations were stellar for 9 of those 10 years. When a new manager was hired, you were terminated within 3 months and quickly replaced by a friend of the new manager. It was tough, but it gave you the chance to move into a new opportunity, and you're very excited about this job with this company. Then, ask a question about the new position and leave the past in the past.

Employers understand that personality conflicts happen and not all terminations are the employee's fault. No matter how much they may deserve it, badmouthing former employers only makes you look bad.

Best of luck!

--Julie

I was fired at due to poor performance. I was an accountant at a top 10 public accounting firm and it was my first job out of school. I was with the firm for 18 months. Because I barely spoke to anyone in the firm, I don't think I will be able to obtain any references. Being reclusive in the office also had a negative impact on my professional development, in that my skillset is considerably lower than others at a comparable level. I know better now and I want start over in the same field. However, I'm still battling low self esteem and worried that things will not improve, or be able to properly market myself to any future employer. Any Advice?