lost my job

thefires

i list my job of 10 years due to a argument with my boss I ended up striking my boss and losing my job , they gave me a reference with if a company ring up they will just say I was employed there ??? It's a written ref that says this is not a reference just a statement of employment for 10 years

How do I explain to a recruitment agency or an employer what happened ??

_Brian

Your best bet is to say nothing and hope the letter of employment will pass. Its likely anyone doing a thorough job will contact your last employer directly by phone.. Then its down to what they say, and that depends on how bad things got and how honest the person on the phone is..

Some people will tell you that's its illegal to give someone a bad reference, this isn't true. Its perfectly acceptable to tell the truth, but anything you say needs to be able to be substantiated if challenged - and in this case it would be.
when ringing for a reference I would always ask - was there anything in the employees behaviour that I should be aware of, you'd be surprised what comes out "off the record"

So I'd say keep quiet and see how it goes.. If it starts blocking you getting jobs then maybe think about an alternative strategy.. There is no way that your going to tell your story and somehow convince them it wasn't your fault, it won't happen again or any such, best not mention it.

Good luck.

Mrs OBumble

Good advice there OP.

You need to have a story which an employer might believe about why you left your job. Maybe you had to care for a sick family member. Maybe you were made redundant. Maybe you were going to to go college (but had to drop out again because it wasn't for you). Maybe they changed the bus timetable and you simply couldn't get there any more.

Don't give this explanation up-front. But you need to have it prepared, and practiced so you can talk about it and they will believe you.

RossieMan

lie? thats not good advice, seeing as they'll just ring your old employer for a reference.

Perhaps try and smooth things over with the boss? explain your mistake and try and get a decent reference.

fin12

I know a person who was fired from the place I used work for stealing and got a job again like a year and a half later, Im not really sure, maybe you just use somebody else as a reference

Mrs OBumble

RossieMan wrote: »

lie? thats not good advice, seeing as they'll just ring your old employer for a reference.

Perhaps try and smooth things over with the boss? explain your mistake and try and get a decent reference.

There's pretty much no way to smooth things over after hitting the boss!

I don't advise lying in a way that can be caught out.

But if the OP wants a job at all, they need to have some explanaation at the ready. S/he can't tell the truth: no one's going to hire someone who might thump them!

nc19

Tell the truth and explain yourself.

I've come close to giving my boss a broken nose several times tbh....

Stavro Mueller

nc19 wrote: »

Tell the truth and explain yourself.

I've come close to giving my boss a broken nose several times tbh....

If I knew that about you I'd not want to take you on either. While there are undoubtedly awful bosses out there I've come across employees who either have a very short fuse or create drama where there is none.

Anyway back to the OP's issue. Is there anyone else in the company you can use as a referee? I think that is the main issue. You can always make up a family circumstances type excuse for leaving but that's secondary. As an alternative strategy would you think about starting your own business?

Qualitymark

Perhaps take up some volunteering and look for temporary work, so that you have other references.
It might also be good to do an anger management course, for your own sake and because if someone asks you about striking :eek: your boss you can say that you've taken steps to change.

Gone West

nc19 wrote: »

Tell the truth and explain yourself.

I've come close to giving my boss a broken nose several times tbh....

Great advice if you want to live a life without lies or deceit. A practice which I highly recommend. Check out the books on radical honesty, changed my life for real.

However, in the spirit of honesty, if you want a new job you need to not tell the truth about why you were fired. You didn't lose you job, you were fired. You need to listen to the first and second posts in this thread. You left to take care of a sick family member or similar, end of story.