Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application.

Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (Full Version)

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defiantbadgirl -> Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 8:26:03 AM)
Most job applications are online now and I've read that companies use screening software. If an online job application asks if I've ever been terminated as a yes or no question, can I honestly answer yes without my application getting booted by screening software? I was terminated from my last job because I needed several surgeries for cancer and my FMLA ran out. I was terminated from an outbound telemarketing job where I was setting appointments for salesmen to show homeowners siding, windows, etc. Their reason for terminating me was the salesmen weren't successful in getting sales at enough of the appointments I set up. (I thought my job was getting the salesmen in the door and the selling part was up to them.) When looking at my job history, can potential employers tell whether or not I was terminated? If they contact my past employers, can they legally tell them I was terminated or only that I worked there in the past? (I've heard it's illegal and I've heard it's not). I don't want to tell potential employers i have a history of cancer because they might refuse to hire me because of that. Also, what's the best way to explain my termination from the other company without putting myself or the past employer down? Should I just lie and say I've never been terminated?

MasterCaneman -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 8:34:08 AM)
Answer: "Resigned for personal reasons" and check the "do not contact" former employer box. Technically, under ADA, an employer cannot use your illness as a reason not to hire you. Technically. I've had the same issues because of my back injury, and they always managed to loophole a way around that. If you do okay them to contact your former employer, that entity should have the brains not to say anything more than "yes, she worked here" and "yes or no" if asked if they would hire you again. Period. As an interesting sidenote, my GF has had issues with a former employer badmouthing her after her termnation. She wouldn't follow my advice to get a PI to run a sting on them to get what they say on tape (perfectly legal in NYS-I checked), and thus form the basis for a defamation lawsuit, but that's how you get the ball rolling on one.

stef -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 10:00:04 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: MasterCaneman Answer: "Resigned for personal reasons" and check the "do not contact" former employer box. The former is horrible advice and the latter is meaningless because they'll still check.

anniezz338 -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 11:30:44 AM)
I'm not for sure on this but I have heard they can ask your former employer if you are eligible for rehire. Terminations are usually not eligible for rehire. I feel for you because this is a difficult thing to get past with all the new grads and others seeking employment. Maybe you can leave those positions off of your resume if they were not for too long a period. Sometimes long periods of unemployment can also be detrimental to getting new employment.

PeonForHer -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 11:44:12 AM)
quote: Should I just lie and say I've never been terminated? Let's assume that if you tell them that you were fired, you won't get the job. If you don't tell them you were fired, they may or may not find out that you were fired; the company from which you were fired might not tell them; or tell them that yours was only a temporary position; or call it a redundancy, or something else. Me, here in the UK (where things might or might not be different), I've generally concluded that the best strategy is to feed them crap. [:)]

MasterCaneman -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 11:50:31 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: stef quote: ORIGINAL: MasterCaneman Answer: "Resigned for personal reasons" and check the "do not contact" former employer box. The former is horrible advice and the latter is meaningless because they'll still check. Okay then, what should she put on her resume/application? And I know the last is meaningless, but it's an employer's market now. And by the way, I got that advice from two HR people who do this day in and day out.

mnottertail -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 11:55:54 AM)
As a telemarketer being fired or let go for no reason whatsoever is a very large and inexclusive club. Sure, put it on. Don't check the do not contact. hey downturn in business, it happens. A real character builder. Thats all I would say about that. But I spent most of my life in an industry where if you told the slightest untruth on a job application and they found out about it, you were fired on the spot. (IT)

stef -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 12:44:15 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: MasterCaneman Okay then, what should she put on her resume/application? The truth? Shocking concept, I know.

kalikshama -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 2:42:12 PM)
I do not include former employers that I do not wish contacted on my resume. These are few enough and of short enough duration that the gap is not noticeable.

JstAnotherSub -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 2:53:43 PM)
Sure, start off with a lie. Then, when they find out you lied after getting hired, they can fire you on the spot. Seriously, the fact that you are asking this blows my mind. Be honest and let the chips fall where they may. Lots of folks have been fired, and no one can ask you about your medical history.

shiftyw -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 3:03:14 PM)
Its legal to ask if you were fired. As someone in a difficult position already (no matter the cause), lying is not likely to help your case. However...does this new job require similar things as the old one? Other than your attendance, we're you an excellent employee to work with (not bringing drama to work, worked well with co workers, worked hard while you were there)? If you were a great employee in every other regard, and this new job isn't the same sort of position, and you are still on ok terms with your old employer, the truth should be just fine (although it sounds like you are not on ok terms with them). I'm not the morality police and you can do as you please, but lying always makes a bad situation worse, in my experience.

ThatDaveGuy69 -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 3:50:43 PM)
Tell the truth - yes, you were "let go". It happens. There are always areas on your resume that you can "tailor" to suit a specific job, but you can be damn sure that an outright lie will come back to haunt you.

LadyPact -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 4:32:21 PM)
If I recall correctly, the tap dance on this is that your former employer can verify the dates that you worked, rate of pay, and what were the terms of ending employment. (Fired, quit, laid off, etc.) They are also allowed to say whether or not they would rehire you. If you were fired, they can say the official reason for your termination, as long as they can prove it's factually true. For example, when your FMLA ran out, you were probably in violation of the company's attendance policy. (Why you were missing work doesn't play into it. Just the fact that you weren't going to work, were tardy, or were leaving early with a frequency that was over and above the acceptable attendance standards.) Something else you might want to keep in mind. Most applications include a section that will say if you have falsified any of the information given, it can be used as grounds for immediate termination, if the new employer has hired you based on the information that you have provided.

littlewonder -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 5:04:16 PM)
tell the truth...period! And don't even think about talking negatively about your past employers. Those interviewing you will think you will talk bad about them as well and that you are just a rude and angry person. Be honest but polite and gracious. I left my last job because it was horrible and I despised my boss. I just couldn't put up with her after 5 years. When the interviewers would ask me why I left I would just say, differences in work ethics, irreconcilable differences, clash of personalities, or something along those lines, in a polite voice and an upbeat attitude. Not once was anything ever asked after that. I've never once been fired from a job so I don't really know much about that but I think LP is pretty spot on. Don't ever lie!! You will get caught and it will only make it worse and word will spread with other employers.

LookieNoNookie -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 5:09:57 PM)
Hell yeah I've been fired. Best thing that ever happened to me (three times...might have been only twice...it's late). I found out I'm a misfit. Someone who can't quite grasp the rules. It's not my fault. I was built that way. It worked out just fine, thank you very much :) (And, for the record....no one's figured out in all of those 30 some years that....I don't know shit...so....I'm getting away with it so far).

njlauren -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 8:46:59 PM)
I have to agree with others, it is probably better to tell the truth. If they ask if you were fired, say yes, in one job difficult life circumstances made keeping the job hard, on the other one, that you were let go because the team you supported was canned. As others have pointed out, if they get wind of you not telling the truth, they can and probably will terminate you. It could mean some jobs don't come through, but I generally think being honest is the only way to get over the hurdle. I had a job after a relatively long break in my career (was laid off after 16 years at one firm, got another job that lasted 3 months, didn't work out, got fired), and got the job I currently have, coming up on 7 years. The fact that I was continually employed and that was a blip prob won't hurt me, employers understand some things don't work out. I can't promise you that some idiot in HR won't see that and reject you, but a lot of people have been fired from jobs, and most HR people understand that things happen, a new boss takes over who is psycho, or wants to hire his cousin goofy, whatever....:)

DarkSteven -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/2/2013 8:53:39 PM)
Give a call to your previous employer. See if the two of you can get a story together that both of you agree upon. Perhaps they'd allow you to resign retroactively?

MasterCaneman -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/3/2013 9:15:30 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: stef quote: ORIGINAL: MasterCaneman Okay then, what should she put on her resume/application? The truth? Shocking concept, I know. I'm a former used-car salesman, so there ya go. And I've worked with and around people for whom "truth" is a malleable concept, so I'm belabored by that experience.

MrRodgers -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/3/2013 10:49:45 AM)
"No more or less than most anybody else."

crazyml -> RE: Answering "Have you ever been fired?" on online application. (12/3/2013 1:10:50 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: mnottertail As a telemarketer being fired or let go for no reason whatsoever is a very large and inexclusive club. Sure, put it on. Don't check the do not contact. hey downturn in business, it happens. A real character builder. Thats all I would say about that. But I spent most of my life in an industry where if you told the slightest untruth on a job application and they found out about it, you were fired on the spot. (IT) I'll have a slice of this please, waiter.

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