I need some advice.

Anonymous

March 28,2023 at 5:31PM UTC

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I need some advice. I lost my cool in a meeting after several meetings with a vendor that would give detrimental advice to our company.

I was responsible for the P&L from a marketing perspective, and the vendor would frequently blame us for their poor coding of our e-commerce site. Our website had a 16-second load time (not even kidding), and it was told to us that it was because of uncompressed giant images and javascript, which the vendor created.

Fast forward to multiple meetings where the vendor had blamed us for our slow website and then for selecting the wrong content management system (which they were partners for and recommended in the first place), and the vendor finally claimed that if we removed Google Analytics, our website would load fast. This sent me over the edge. Google Analytics is asynchronous, and the site loads as the tracking script loads. It was the least of our problems and was informing our paid ad optimization in Google Ads. Many websites use Google Analytics without a 16-second load time.

I lost my cool and acted unprofessionally. I called the vendor "stupid" for not knowing what an asynchronous code was in a conference room with the COO and VP present. I was fired when I returned from my first vacation of the year. I wasn't that upset because I wasn't going to excel at digital marketing with a website that slow. There was no future.

Fast forward to today, and I am trying to apply for jobs. I had the interest of the company in mind, and my loyalty was there - it just came out wrong. How can I recover from this, or what is the best way to handle it when asked why I was terminated? The owner is well known to try to ruin peoples' futures. Is it better to beat him to the punch and own up to it?

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Jennifer WeaverMarch 28,2023 at 7:54PM UTC
As a person who lost their cool with a boss a few recent years ago, and was later fired, I can tell you that it was very difficult to move forward. The blame I put on myself was pretty tough. Through therapy I worked through the horrible situation I was placed in and my role in how it affected me. I learned a lot about control and response but that didn't change the fact that it happened. My suggestion is not to bring it up, and simply say you had a difference in opinion on a major project, which is true. You can and will move on from this. Good Luck.
AnonymousMarch 28,2023 at 10:37PM UTC
Say nothing of it. Apply and interview and when asked say that it was a great learning experience but that you would like to grow with a new role with more authority over hiring, P&L, and decision-making.
AnonymousMarch 29,2023 at 2:20PM UTC
Every body makes mistakes , however since you know your anger cost your job ,make sure you learn to take criticism with cool head. That will go long way when you learn how to handle it. I don't think why and how you left the company is material, its your choice to say it or not to next employer. If your choice is to disclose it you have to be sure to say how you are going to handle it when you face similar situation, what was your learning from this and what you did to fix it.
ReachingGoalsMarch 30,2023 at 1:20PM UTC
Be honest in interviews. State what went wrong and how you could have handled the situation differently. Maybe find some communication classes/videos on line so that you can show you have made a concerted effort to improve.
AyianMarch 30,2023 at 2:46PM UTC
You don't have to go into details to convey the nuts and bolts of what happened. "The vendor provided bloated code and after several meetings, I called them out on their poor recommendations and data bloat in front of leadership from my organization. The vendor's suggestions and code were and would continue to cause real financial harm to the organization. I was later dismissed and I believe it was due to my standing up to the vendor's representative."
AyianMarch 30,2023 at 2:47PM UTC
Also, since you know it is unlikely to be a great review, get a friend to stand in as a coworker for a reference if you need that company's input to have enough references. If you don't need them, just don't include them.
AnonymousApril 2,2023 at 12:06AM UTC
This happens more often in the corporate world than it is publicly acknowledged.
Standing up and being loyal to the company's goal, mission, and vision does not mean being disrespectful when expressing a different opinion. I applaud you for not contributing to the "ethical drift" and " blame culture" at work. Archive the experience under the category Two wrongs do not make one right (losing coolness/retaliated against). Sometimes being passionate, enthusiastic, and a problem solver can be misunderstood. In your following job interview, state that you are looking for a partnership with the new company to achieve mutual goals, the last job was not the right match, and it is okay and beneficial to both sides. Ultimately, you learned a lot about that experience thanks to that company and vice-versa. Now both you and the company are free to be appreciated rather than tolerated. Being there, done that. It is a blessing in disguise.