Terminated from Employment…Now What?

Being terminated from employment can happen to anyone, regardless of how well they do their job. Companies downsize and people get laid off, even if they’re valuable employees. Personality conflicts or differing opinions about how your job should be done can lead to being fired, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that being fired is your fault. Of course, sometimes you just make a mistake that’s too serious to bounce back from—it happens to many people.

If you lose your job, for whatever reason, it’s easy to become discouraged about your ability to find a new job, particularly if you were fired rather than laid off. The important thing is to pick yourself up as quickly as possible—don’t spend too much time dwelling on the fact that you’ve lost your job. Instead, focus on what you need to do to find a new job. If you’ve been fired rather than laid off, you’ll also need to think about how to address this problem during job interviews.

There is no need to mention having been terminated from your previous job in your resume or cover letter. Write your application documents the same way as you would if you had willing left your old position—focus on the professional skills and attributes that will benefit a new employer.

However, when filling out application forms, it’s important to be honest if you must state why you are looking for a new job. If you are hired and subsequently found to have lied on your application, your new employer has legal grounds for immediate dismissal.

Once you get to the interview stage, the subject is definitely going to come up—it’s very likely that you’ll be asked why you left your last job. When this happens, honesty is crucial. If you lie, it’s likely that you’ll be found out, as most companies will check references and contact your previous place of work. It’s also important that you avoid bad-mouthing your former boss or employer—the interviewer will wonder if you might do the same to them in the future.

Prepare for the interview by practicing your answer to this question—try to frame your answer in a positive way. You could, for example, say that your skills were not a good match for the company, or that you did not fully understand your boss’s expectations of you. Finish your answer with a reference to how this experience has made you wiser, and that you are confident in your ability to meet the company’s needs and expectations.

Also, please review our Tools to Find a Job section.  If you need more help, please consider using a Career Counselor.