Talking About Being Fired

Even if you’ve never personally been fired, we all know someone who has. Do you own up to it? Is it a black mark on your career? How do you discuss it so that it doesn’t hurt your chances of gaining future employment? These are tough questions. Before we jump into answering them, there are two very important things you need to do first: work hard to lose any anger and figure out what you learned. Then, you can begin to tackle the delicate topic of talking about being fired. Here’s our approach:

Do You Admit it?
Maybe. Hiring is not a standardized process and that means each employer will screen you differently. You don’t want to advertise that you were fired on your resume, but some employers may ask less probing questions than others. If this happens, use it to your advantage. If you were fired from a job several years ago, an employer probably won’t ask your reason for leaving. If you were fired from a recent job it’s trickier. If they ask why you left, you should be honest. That’s why it’s important to work through your anger and define what you learned from the experience before you begin—so you don’t bring this baggage into an interview.

What language do you use?
Saying “I was fired” carries a lot of weight—in a bad way. Saying “I was laid off” isn’t exactly true because it implies your previous employer reluctantly made that decision. Saying “I was let go” is safer language to use. It’s more ambiguous and less “explosive” (literally).

Why Were You Let Go?
There are so many different reasons to fire someone and the hiring manager is looking for you to put their mind at ease. Sure, if you were fired for theft, harassment, tardiness, or some other nefarious purpose, that’s going to come to light in a reference check and employment verification—and it will hurt your chances of being hired. But you can also be fired for other reasons. Maybe you weren’t a culture fit…or maybe you were hired for a job that turned out to be something very different. If you were working in sales and you’re an introvert, that’s naturally not going to be a good fit. But if you’re applying for a data entry job, being an introvert could be an asset to your productivity. Take great care to present your termination in a strategic way that explains what happened and positions you for success in a different role.

Does Being Fired Hurt Your Chances of Being Hired?
It can. When your employment ends—whether you quit, were fired, or were laid off—the clock starts ticking. The main goal after any separation of employment is to minimize gaps in your work history. The best thing you can do is find a way to close your gap in employment while you’re looking for a new role. This means listing your employment as “to present” for as long as possible (like through the end of your severance agreement if you were laid off). If you’ve been unemployed for more than a few months, consider adding volunteer work or finding a friend or relative who will let you help them out in their business so you can avoid a lengthy gap in your employment history.