Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief for Vogue Magazine, is quoted in Alastair Campbell’s book, Winners: And How They Succeed stated,
“Everyone should get fired at least once in their career.”
Surprisingly,being fired or terminated from a job is not that uncommon – 1.7 million people lost their jobs in June of 2018.
Being Fired Is Not Unusual & There are Many Reasons Can Be Explained
In fact, according to a U.S. Department of Labor JOLTS report, an average of 56,000 people were laid off or fired each day, in the first half of 2018, including weekends and holidays.
Since most of us (but not all of us) in the USA are employees “at will” without laws or regulations, a labor union, or a contract protecting us, we can be fired for any reason — or for no reason at all — by our employers.
So, if you’ve been terminated or fired, you’re in good company. But that doesn’t make answering the question, “Why did you leave your last job?” any easier.
There are several reasons for being fired that can be explained:
- Being fired for poor performance
- Being fired for misconduct
- Being fired for not being a good fit
- Being fired for tardiness
- Being fired for attendance
- Being fired for personality conflicts
- Being fired for business reasons
- Being fired for no reason
Best Ways to Explain that You Were Fired (Terminated) During an Interview
It’s best to talk about the situation positively as a learning experience.
Show That You Learned from the Experience
If your departure was somewhat amicable due to the position not being a good fit, a lack of communication over job responsibilities, or failure to recognize warning signs during the interview process, it’s best to talk about it from a “sadder but wiser” perspective.
“Sadder but wiser” is also a good approach when the departure wasn’t particularly amicable.
When possible, sandwich your response between two positive statements. Don’t dwell on the experience. Answer the question, briefly and positively (examples below), and move on.
Stay Positive
As you prepare for your interview after you’ve been terminated, do your best to stay positive. Remember all the good things you have accomplished in your career and life.
Don’t beat yourself up or adopt the mind-set of nobody-will-hire-me because you’ve been fired.
Keep in mind, that most everyone you talk to has likely been terminated at least once in his/her career, or if he/she hasn’t been terminated, they know several good people who have been terminated. Being fired is a “speed bump” in your career that has happened to literally millions of people who have gone on to have great careers.
The main thing to remember is no matter how bad the situation was, don’t say anything blatantly negative about the employer. No trash talk in a job interview or networking situation.
Chalk your termination up to it being a learning experience, and take pride in the fact that you persevered through a challenging situation and did your best for as long as you possibly could.
Sample Answers to Explain Why You Were Fired
A few answers that you can provide for specific situations include:
(1)Philosophical difference or bad fit.
(Positive)
When I was originally hired as the [job title], the description and expectations of the job were very different from the job that I actually ended up doing. It was apparent from the start that there were some communication problems and philosophical differences, and I struggled early on.(Negative)
My supervisor and I realized that it wasn’t the right fit for either one of us, and fortunately it was a cordial departure.(Positive)
Since then, I’ve done some volunteer work, clarified my own professional goals and expectations, and worked on improving my communication skills.
(2)Disorganized work environment
(Positive)
I’m able to work independently with little supervision, and I work best in an environment when I understand what the expectations are. Even if the routine changes, if you tell me what I need to do differently, I’m happy to oblige.(Negative)
The nature of the work I was doing in my last position didn’t suit my strengths. There was little direction from the supervisor, tasks were not explained very well, and it seemed like the place was in a constant state of flux. So things didn’t go well.(Positive)
What I’ve learned from that experience is to try to ask more questions, clarify the requirements and expectations, make sure things are in writing, and try to make sure that I have the information I need in order to do a good job.
(3)Hostile work environment
(Positive)
I work best in a team environment, and am accustomed to being in an environment where everyone supports and encourages one another.”(Negative)
I realized very quickly after I started working for my last employer that there was a significant amount of internal conflict within the organization and a high percentage of turnovers.(Positive)
I performed the best that I possibly could in that situation, and many of the employees complimented me on my work ethic and skills, but in the end, it was just too difficult of an environment to overcome.
(4) Commission sales role
(Positive)
I wanted to give sales a try because I feel that it really suits my personality. I’m an outgoing person who can easily start conversations, make connections with people, and I have never meet a stranger.(Negative)
This is a highly competitive industry and the employer and I underestimated the amount of support I would need. It took me a little longer than anticipated to build momentum and generate leads, and I just wasn’t able to make up the deficit of getting off to such a slow start.(Positive)
I received some great sales training and advice, learned a lot of good strategies, and am thankful for that experience. However, my boss and I both realized that I would be able to perform better in a different kind of sales or business development structure.
Bottom Line with Explaining Why You Were Fired
Stay positive and confident. Learn from this experience, and move on.
More on the Transition from Fired-to-Hired:
- How Employers View You Being Fired
- Resume Example: Just Fired
- Laid Off or Fired?
- Beating the Job Search Blues
For more about handling behavioral interviews, panel interviews, and telephone interviews, as well as preparing for job interviews, see the article list on the right.
Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:
Questions About You:
- What Is Your Greatest Achievement or Accomplishment?
- Tell Me/Us About Yourself
- Why Should We Hire You?
- What Do You Want?
- Why Do You Want THIS Job?
- What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
- What Is Your Greatest Strength?
- Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?
- What Is Your Current Salary?
- What Are Your Salary Expectations?
- When Can You Start?
- Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
- Smart Strategies to Answer to Behavioral Interview Questions
Handling Special Career Situations:
- Why Did You Quit Your Last Job
- After a Layoff: Why Did You Leave Your Job?
- After Being Fired: Why Did You Leave Your Job?
- Explain Your Gap in Employment
- How Employers View You Being Fired
Questions About Them:
Questions for You to Ask Them:
- Do You Have Any Questions? — choose from 50+ good questions to ask them
- 5 Absolute Must-Ask Questions for the End of Your Next Interview
- The Second Interview: 5 Key Questions to Ask
- 45 Questions You Should NOT to Ask in Job Interviews
Interview Preparation:
- 3 Steps to Interview Success: Build Your Interview Checklist
- The Winning Difference: Pre-Interview Preparation
About the author…
Beth Colley CEO/owner of Chesapeake Career Management Services has guided over 1,200 job seekers to career success since joining the careers industry in January of 2000. She is a Certified Master Resume Writer, a Certified Career Management Coach, and a Certified Brain Based Success Coach and an active member of Career Directors International, The National Resume Writers Association, and Career Thought Leaders.
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