In need of Job Advice
 

I am posting this in Chit chat b/c more people will see it, and I am in serious advice need.

A month ago I got fired. Let me explain the situation so you'll have a better grasp. I worked for a small new mortgage company. My manager is/was nuts. I had several situations with her where I would say something to her and she would either twist what I said, or turn some meaningless conversation into some big deal and go to the President/ VP of the company. I had no prior experience in the industry and they loved her from her first day on the job. When she wasn't immediately having some wacked out moment, we were actually "friends". I know now to use that term loosely. But this is probably the reason I repeatedly would lower my guard. Incidents one and two, have past, and this is what happened to get myself fired. I was sharing an office with "Sarah". The President of the company had come into our office said some harsh things to Sarah, and she was crying and very upset. When our manager returned from lunch she had come into our office, when I said President was mean to Sarah. Later that afternoon I was pulled into a meeting in the presidents office with him and Manager. He tells me at this point that he was told by Manager that I had said he was rude and offensive. (Nope, did not say that.) and that I was causing drama in his office and was immature, and was being terminated.
I was shocked, since just that day at noon was being told I was being promoted Jan. 1. At the termination meeting, they both (manager and President) did tell me that my work was wonderful, but because of this incident with my disrespect for president I was no longer employed.

This really upset me, as I work very hard and have never been FIRED before. I am still dealing with the emotional aspects of it.

Now, I have learned my lesson about this, in the office place unfortunately, Don't get involved/ open your mouth. and Watch your back (this does sound unecessarily pessimistic but there is other circumstances that I don't write as it doesn't pertain to current question). I should never have said anything, and stayed out of the situation but president made Sarah very upset, and being her friend I thought I was helping. I have learned I wasn't.

I have been interviewing and have to admit I've been fired, and I believe this has kept me from actually landing positions that I feel I would have, had I not been fired previously . My question is 1. Do I have to admit I was fired? From an HR standpoint can my old job tell prospective new employers or can they only confirm employment. Secondly, it being such a stupid situation that got me fired....what do I say/ how do I explain this in interview. I need any help anyone can give, need job ASAP and am very frustrated with trying to interview/ look for new work, and this big black X on my past, which I don't feel is necessarily indicitive of my work skills/abilities.

Thanks for any help, I apologize for the length.

You do not need to disclose the fact you were fired. In Missouri and Kansas (not sure about other states) the company you worked for can only verify the information you gave the future employer. They always have the ability to say positive things if they feel like it, but they are unable to say "yeah we fired usfstudent for..."

How long did you work for the mortgage company? Was it a short enough time that you could omit listing it on your resume?
You can really use just about any reason for leaving the company--from "it was a mutual decision" to "they eliminated my position"

How long have you been gone from the previous job? Can you neogiate for a letter of recomendation, job placement counseling at their cost?

Good luck!

This advice comes from a variety of my experiences: working in lots of offices, being an office manager and interviewing people, and what I know of employment law (I just graduated from law school and I'm not a lawyer yet, so this is NOT legal advice, you should consult a real attorney for that, blah blah blah... ;) )

DO NOT LIE. However, you should definitely put some seriously positive spin on the situation. You probably don't want to leave the job off your resume, especially if you worked there awhile - it would be a big hole and look like you didn't work.

If asked about why you left your previous position, say something like "I enjoyed the work at first and learned a lot at XYZ Co., but in the end we weren't a good fit and now I'm looking for a position that's more [whatever you're looking for]." Then MOVE ON. The important thing in any job interview is that your time is limited and so you don't want to waste time on negatives. If it does come out that you were fired, make sure to let the interviewer know that it wasn't because you did anything horrible (i.e., it wasn't for embezzlement or blowing up the building), it was really a simple difference of opinion, you've learned from the experience, etc. and MOVE ON TO SOMETHING POSITIVE.

Now, here's a little insight you may not know: I would bet that if an interviewer contacts your previous employer, they're not going to say anything bad about you. Not if they're smart. Your state laws will determine what they can say, but they will most likely say much less than the law allows. The danger of lawsuits has scared most companies so now all they will do is confirm that a person worked for them and the dates. Therefore, if you don't tell all the dirty little details during your interview, chances are, your previous employer won't either.

One strategy to consider is getting a friend to pose as a potential employer and call your old boss and ask about you. A little underhanded, but it's one way to know for sure what they are saying. Just don't play too many games - i.e., just get your friend to tell you what they said, don't listen in on the other line and then yell "Busted!" at them if they get nasty.

Finally, remember that LOTS of people get fired for LOTS of different reasons, and it's not the end of their life or career. You are young and have lots of opportunities. This is just a little bump on the road.

Best of luck to you!

I worked there for 6 months. From June to Dec. But I just graduated last Dec. (2002) I have however been back in school getting pre-requistie (sp?) credits for a Master's program I'm applying to since last summer. There were no skills I learned that I didn't already have in terms of an office, everything I learned there was pretty industry specific and its an industry I don't want to get back into.
Can I leave it off my resumes and when they ask what I've been doing saying going to class????

I think it's ok to leave it off your resume if it gave you no experience and you were doing something else during that time.

Question:
When an employer does a background check on you, can they see the other companies you've worked for?

Isn't a background check used to see if you have a criminal record?

"background check" is a vague phrase. Some places may use that to imply criminal records check, others check your credit report, some call your references, some make you do a blood test. OR it could be a combo of the above.

Is there anyone you can contact for specifics?

I would assume that many background checks could discover your job history.
They do background checks through your social security number which is attached to your tax records which are attached to your employment records. I had always heard that even if you leave off a job on your resume or application that some company's background checks can find out about it. My friend's company did an extensive background check on her. They looked into her school records and job history. Someone from the company called her and asked why she hadn't included A&F on her job history and she just said, "I didn't think my experience there was relevant to the job requirements here and I was only at Abercrombie for 2 months." I'm assuming that they found that through her social security number but maybe someone who knew her worked for the company and mentioned she worked at A&F. I dunno. I don't think the background checks can see if you were fired, though.

ETA:
I just wanted to mention that Credit Reports are becoming a big thing for companies to check up on.