Should I mention I was fired?

minnie_mouse

Heya,
The job i had before last I was fired for incompetance, Il believe half the problem was the company for the amount of work I had to do andthe other half of me, as I adnt the skills to do some of the work. I asked for refrence and was told it wasnt company policy to give it and that I could use him(manager) as a phone refrence. I have no idea what he;d say to people on the phone so havent used him.

Every interview book Ive looked at says the same thing be truthful at the say at the interview you were fired and you;ve learnt from the experience etc Ive been doing this for interviews and dont think its done me any good.The job I have curently i had no real interview for it so thet dont know.

Im going for job I would really like nxt week in a diffrent industry to the one i was fired from. I have it already on my application form where i was, as some people suggested leaving it off but its too late for that. I was there 6 months and going to say it was a contract for that time and thats why i left. I feel being honest has gotten me nowhere in the past? any suggestions? can they call up my employer ans ask him even if I dont have down in my refrences?

pwd

I'd avoid using the words "fired for incompetence" anyway. Not exactly selling yourself there.
Just say the role required a higher skill and experience level than you had, which is fair enough.

Wishbone Ash

minnie_mouse wrote:

I could use him(manager) as a phone refrence. I have no idea what he;d say to people on the phone so havent used him

Generally, employers either give a good reference or refuse to give one at all. It's unusual to get a 'bad' reference.

(Some employers have a policy of not giving any references at all regardless of merit. They are under no legal obligation to do so.)

jim_bob

if your worried about the ref your previous employer is going to give you why not get a friend to ring them up and ask for one, that way you know exactly what he says

tmalmb

I would agree with PWD, don't mention you were fired, simply say the role wasn't for you and you pursued a job elsewhere. Above all else don't discuss your short time in that company to much at your interview simply word it like "short stint in X company in the role of "X". You realised the job wasn't for you and moved onto Y company

Peter Collins

minnie_mouse wrote:

Heya,
i incompetance Il andthe adnt refrence wasnt refrence he;d havent you;ve curently i thet nxt diffrent i ans refrences

You weren't a typist in your previous job I hope...

rediguana

I, too, find that being honest in interviews has brought me to where I am today (ie. nowhere!). Don't say you were fired. I recently got a job but it wasn't easy as my previous THREE jobs had been in unrelated fields and they all had been of six months duration. In recent interviews it's been spin-spin-spin, and finally my half-truths and exaggerations have paid off.

As someone sagaciously suggested above, say that you made a decisive decision to leave said job after a few months because you had made a mistake in choosing it. This is good, insofar as you appear to have the self-awareness to realise when something isn't working out and the decisiveness to make the necessary change.

I wouldn't necessarily put them down for a reference, though there are legal ramifications to giving someone a bad reference. Still, you can be damned with faint praise easily enough. If you can avoid using that diabolo company, do.

A friend of mine used his girlfriend as a reference. That worked out pretty well for me. Um, I mean for him...

BostonB

Only but relevant experience on a CV. No ones interested in anything else. If you don't have enough experience and need to include this job, then leave it as one liner. I don't believe small gaps on a CV are important to anyone these days. Unless its a HR drone. If questioned its as you say, you weeren't suited to the role and it didn't work out. That can happen to anyone.

timmywex

what you should say is that you were laid off because the job required a higher skill level or qualification than you had

minnie_mouse

Thanks guys for the advice, Id prefer to be honest but I do feel it will bite me in the ass. I have mentioned on the application form that i worked in the company for 6 months and role i did, It really dosent have alot to do with the job Im going for now, I had to put it down as not a whole lot of work experience or for very long periods which dosent look good. They require two names for refrences, For the two r I have given 2 other names, does that mean if I havent given the company I was fired from as a refrence does that mean they cant call them and ask for a refrence.
I was going to say it was a 6 month contract but It might work out better if i say as rediguana said the job simply wasnt for me or my abitlites.

Cake Fiend

rediguana wrote:

there are legal ramifications to giving someone a bad reference

Only in that the complaints have to be provable, AFAIK. E.g. if the OP consistently failed to do what was asked, and there is a record of this, then the manager can say this without fear (i.e. tell the truth).

timmywex wrote:

what you should say is that you were laid off because the job required a higher skill level or qualification than you had

If you weren't made aware that your skills/qualifications didn't meet the requirements for the position before you started, I'd make sure to mention that.