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3 month probation review - terminated

  • 08-04-2022 1:33pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 48


    I have just had my 3 month probation review. I work in credit control and the main part of my job is to ring clients who are in arrears. From that point of view everything was great and I enjoyed that. However it also meant that clients who have not been in contact regarding their arrears in a number of years were contacting their business advisors and making complaints. This led to myself having problems as it affected some of the advisor and sales peoples commission etc. I tried my best to see it from my side of things that it was part of my role but it seems I was too successful for my own good. My manager who is young and inexperienced did not want any trouble within the teams. In fairness to me, I got on so well with almost everybody else.

    While I did great from a collections point of view, I was told by my manager in front of HR today that we cannot keep getting complaints from some members of staff and therefore my probation was stopped today. I am shocked and angered by this as I worked long hours but also a part of me is saying that you may be best out of there. They clearly admitted that they have nobody to do the job and from the collections point of view.

    I am wondering in the circumstances is it best to take the job off my CV or how the hell am I going to advise people why I am going to be soon looking for a new job? I don't want to seek a reference in the circumstances as to be honest, I feel so bad about what happened today.



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Comments

  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    A credit controller is more than just collecting money.

    If you can't collect without affecting future sales or without causing problems with the sales managers, then the method you are using isn't compatible with that particular company.

    Some companies will be crying out for someone like you as their credit controller, but unfortunately for you, some companies rely more on customer retention rather than old debt collected.

    Just leave the job off your CV and apply away. There are a good few jobs out there in the field and you should be fine.

    Best of luck.



  • Registered Users Posts: 9,909 ✭✭✭Furze99


    If you want to, I'd escalate it beyond HR. Credit control is important part of every business. Yes some businesses might make a strategic decision to write off certain invoices from the POV of keeping an otherwise good customer sweet. But that should have been made very clear to you if you were on the phone chasing account payments. Sounds fishy to me.



  • Registered Users Posts: 10,434 ✭✭✭✭28064212


    3 months work looks better than a blank space, even if it ended abruptly. I'd leave the job on your CV, but have something prepared for the inevitable questions. Trash-talking a previous employer is rarely a successful strategy - something neutral like "at the end of the 3 months probation period, we agreed that it wasn't working out and should part ways". Have some details ready if they follow up further - the job wasn't what I expected, we had different interpretations of the business strategy, in-office issues, whatever. It doesn't have to be 100% true, just that you can't be caught out on a lie. You also need to be able to spin it to positives - what did you learn, what will you do differently, etc.

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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,462 ✭✭✭bennyineire


    Nope I disagree, questions will be asked why only 3 months in a job.

    Just fudge your dates slightly on your CV



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I second that.

    Or even say that you took time off to deal with a family issue.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭I am me123


    Also, some jobs are only temporary contracts,e.g. 3 months or 6 months long, no guarantee of being offered another contract at the end of that time. Nothing untoward about mentioning such jobs on CV if you clearly mark the position as 8 week temporary contract,for example.

    Much better than leaving a gap that you will likely have to explain at interview.



  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Thanks to everybody that has replied. It is appreciated in the circumstances. It is something that I need to think about over the next week or so. I was in such shock when writing this on Friday. However I do agree with the above comment by Furee99. I have gone to the CEO and President of Finance of the company who I both know. I doubt that I will get my job back but I wrote a detailed explanation of what happened on Friday and that the reasons given should have had little influence in the decision especially since I only worked there 3 months unless there is something that I do not know about.

    At the end of the day after talking to a few guys in the business, I may have been a victim of my own success. I was getting in the money but in order to do that I had to step on some peoples toe's and make decisions that p****ed them off. As per the above comment, if this was a problem then I should not have been employed in the first place.

    At the end of the day, there are things that you cannot control. I have been schafted despite my hard work and need to move on.



  • Registered Users Posts: 18,051 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    You stepped on so many peoples toes that your own employers want you gone, and you still think you did well?

    Fair enough. As others have said, a few months gap in the CV is better than only lasting a few months. I know I would see being let go after 3 months to be a huge red flag that would need a good explanation, better to leave it off the CV.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,100 ✭✭✭manonboard


    OP, very sorry you got covid and it took you nearly 3 months to recover. It can be a hard hitting virus, and im really glad you are fully recovered and excited to restart things after exactly 3 months of recovery :D

    Its nice to know you are immune for a good while now and wont affect other employees, or be at risk of illness anytime soon :D

    :D:D

    I would never put 3 months job down on my CV. Fudge the dates. Lots of reasons why someone takes a little time off from work.



  • Registered Users Posts: 25,594 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Agree with last poster.

    Except maybe not you with the covid - could cause awkward questions about your health, esp if you get it later.

    But it was really rough on your uncle, RIP, who was so grateful that you were able to move in and look after him for his last few months.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Well my job was within collections and my job was to collect the money owed...so yes from that aspect I did do well. That is obviously the role I was employed for.



  • Registered Users Posts: 9,909 ✭✭✭Furze99


    Sure and it's not exactly a 'sexy' job but a very necessary one for most businesses. Unless they have money to burn for some reason.



  • Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    There’s usually a balanced scorecard approach for debt collection between getting the money and preserving future business relationships - I’d say this wasn’t pointed out to you enough and the team sound like a shower of individualists - I’d try and get agreement with the company that it was by mutual consent that you parted ways- in fairness you were good at debt collection - what sort of training or guidance did you get - was all this a shock or did you get warnings along the way?



  • Registered Users Posts: 18,051 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    If credit control was just about hounding people for money then we would just go straight to legal letters every time. But it isn't.

    Credit control is not just about getting in all the money, it is getting in all the money while still keeping the customers you want to keep. If you can only do half of that then you aren't good at your job.

    And if you can't see that then you will make the same mistakes again.



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I agree.

    It sounds like the style of work you were performing was more suited to the position of debt collector. That's a big difference than the responsibilities of a credit controller.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,426 ✭✭✭maestroamado


    A sale is only a sale when its paid for...

    I expect you may very well get a good reference and if its bad bin it...



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Oh I agree, but a customer is only a customer if they continue to buy from you.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,426 ✭✭✭maestroamado


    I was at a meeting a few years ago and we were all invited to share a thought and it was copied to the team of us to discuss... one of the guys spelled sell "sel"... there was a bit of a skit around the table... it turned out his figures across the board were one of the best...

    At the end of the discussion the boss said... lads we don't pay you to spell we pay you to sell... the joke was on us...



  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Thanks. I agree with you. No I did not get any warning along the way. The 2 month review went brilliantly. When I asked on Friday did I do anything wrong that deserves this they said no. I did have a talk with my manager about rocking the boat and effecting peoples commission etc. It was just their decision that they felt was right for the business. However nobody is doing either collections or credit control so it will soon go back to it's bad old ways. Good luck to them. It came as a massive shock. If their was they should have had the guts to tell me to the face. You are very right. They were a group of individualists and there was a lot of arguments between team members on policy and structure. For that I am glad to be out.



  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Let us get this very straight. If you were to think that credit control is what you say then there would be no funds collected and I would not be doing my job. I know that you have to be careful and in fairness to me the majority of clients were happy that at least somebody was talking to them and trying to solve their issues. There were one or two that were unhappy and reached out. My main problem is that I had to deactivate accounts which meant that it affected the commission of members of the grow or sales team. However if a client was not contactable or paying and using the service, I needed to cut them off after a few warnings. Vodafone would cut you off if you did not pay wouldn't they? I was simply doing my job. If people don't pay it is my job to deactivate them. The company advised me that from the beginning but it seemed my manager was coming under pressure as it effected figures. If this was not the case, they should not have employed me simple as that.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 18,051 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    You think you are right but the employer thinks different, simple as that.

    Leave it off your CV, even trying to justify it will not end well for you.



  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,940 Mod ✭✭✭✭GoldFour4



    Post edited by GoldFour4 on


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭witchgirl26


    OP I get what you're saying but did you discuss the deactivation with the account managers for those customers or just put it through on your own? While the customers may have not been responding to you, they could have been responding to the account managers and working with those people in your own company could have helped resolve the issue. Credit control is not an easy role and its definitely one that requires a good level of communication between the credit control team, finance in general and the sales team so that the customer can be retained (if that is the company's wish) while still collecting the money owed.

    Look at it this way. You're the customer - lets call you Adam. And you've been dealing with account manager Ben for years. You've hit a hard time & the debts are piling up a little with the company. Suddenly you're getting calls from credit controller Clive. You don't know him at all & are possibly dealing with other things within your own business/life. So Adam thinks "hey I'll call Ben and talk to him about it when I get a chance". But before you get a chance, you find your account deactivated. No call from Ben as your account manager as a heads up and he's the one that you deal with. So yeah you're going to be annoyed and call Ben giving out. And Ben's going to be annoyed because he wasn't looped in on this decision to deactivate the account. And Clive never discussed the difficulty in getting in touch with Adam with Ben as his account manager at all before taking this step. Who do you think is the problem in this scenario? Clive should be working with Ben on getting to a solution for Adam. Not giving out that Ben is only annoyed about his sales commission.

    The truth is you don't necessarily know the work the sales guys have put into the customer relationships over the years unless you're engaging with the sales guys about potential problem customers. If Clive had had a quick chat with Ben about Adam he may have learned that he's a difficult customer to get onside & can be late with payments/arrears but that Ben can work around him & set up a call with all 3 on it.



  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Thanks. Yep I did discuss them. I put it on a Slack Channel and went thru the necessary proceedures. You are right though. Credit control is not easy. Getting funds in and then although colleagues say they agree with you at the beginning, it is only once that it affects their figures that things change. The bottomline is that I want to continue in this area but I have learned that I need buy in from all sides in writing so as to ensure that I do not have these problems in the future. Working in a company where nobody has done this role beforehand, where there is no clear proceedures in place, can lead to misunderstanding. I wish that I had done this in the beginning. I have however learned from this sore experience. I will more then likely leave it off my CV as well.



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭witchgirl26


    If you've no previous experience in credit control but want to apply for other jobs in it, I wouldn't leave it off your CV at all. It's still experience. Just maybe put that it was a temporary role due to a large number of arrears in the business which you were charged with trying to solution. Bill it as a short term role that ended & leave it at that. And just don't use them as a reference unless you need to.



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,228 ✭✭✭✭Flinty997


    I think a white washed CV sticks out as a red flag more than a short term job that doesn't work out does.

    It's like CVs that embellish their experience and role, it's obvious when the other experience doesn't fit with it.



  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Dumb question to ask maybe. What do you mean a "white washed CV"?



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,228 ✭✭✭✭Flinty997


    Anything less than perfect work experience or grades.

    We look for gaps and make assumptions if there's a significant unexplained gap, we don't necessarily ask about it.

    Post edited by Flinty997 on


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,228 ✭✭✭✭Flinty997


    Be interesting to test two cvs with the different approaches and see which one gets the better response.

    Which is something you can try with different cvs and see which one works best.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 48 chrisfroome


    Exactly what I am doing now at this moment of time Flinty! Thanks. A bit worried about my Linkedin profile as there is only 1 version of that. Looking at ways to work around that



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