How to handle the dreaded fired questions on applications?

25 Comments

1. AnonymousSeptember 3,2024 at 3:03PM UTC

   I think they are looking for if you were fired for cause. Volunteering for a layoff isn't being fired.

2. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 12:24PM UTC

   What about "cause" where your manager lied /fabricated cause to retaliate against you? that's really hard to prove.

3. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 5:18PM UTC

   You'll never win that argument with an employer, it's a he said/she said thing they want no part of. Could you leave that job off your work history?

4. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 8:03PM UTC

   Exactly--and managers side with managers even though there are some horrible ones out there. If I did, since it's most recent, I would have a 2 year resume gap. I'd rather just check the no box on the very few applications that ask it. The state determined there was no VALID reason, so technically, the answer is still a no.

5. AnonymousSeptember 3,2024 at 3:08PM UTC

   I am now, but previously would fudge it. As I've grown (and being in HR for the last 15+ years), I've realized a few things: 1. No one is perfect. Sometime people end up in a job that really isn't a good fit for who they are or people run into a stretch in their personal life that affects there work, or some other something or other happens. 2. Whether we want to believe this or not, people talk. I lost out on a role about 15 years ago, because a woman I worked with 20+ years ago was married to a guy who was a colleague of my husband's friend who go me an interview where he worked. In in the early 2000s, I was asked to resign from a job. This woman worked at this place at the time I did. She shared information she had no business sharing and I lost out on that role.

6. AnonymousSeptember 3,2024 at 7:32PM UTC

   It’s seems like you were not actually fired that you left both companies of your free will, however I would not recommend lying on an application it can usually does come back to haunt you, I think normally there is a place for comments , comment on why the separation occurred

7. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 12:39PM UTC

   I'm struggling with this one too because my last employer was firing people left and right around the time they were also doing layoffs, and I've read articles saying more companies were basically terminating people for BS reasons to avoid laying as many people off to save on severance and unemployment, plus it makes their stats look better. If more companies fire people for more minor issues than they would in a better economy or fire them to retaliate when they don't take abusive behavior, that's not a reflection on what they can offer other companies, but there still is unjustified stigma and IMO that's a valid concern for application questions when so many people are looking.

   Isn't this a knockout question, especially if there is no place to explain? I don't see yes as an option if you want to stay in the running, as much as I hate that the only "right" answer could be construed as lying. There is no option for how this situation is not always clear-cut either.

   My more experienced "advisors" outside my last company basically said I had to choose between saving my ability to say no, never fired, or making them fire me to collect unemployment since the market is so bad that one might really need that. Many others have stuck it out for that reason; for me it was a daily battle to not just rage quit. I did indirectly tell them to fire me by not quitting and pointing out the double standards and abuse I was subjected to.

   That last employer also literally LIED to the state when I filed for unemployment, and luckily I'd "saved the receipts." The state ruled in my favor that the termination was not justified, and the company had to pay out despite what they tried to do. If you are legitimately fired for cause in my state, you can't collect.

   So how does one answer that?

   Obviously not with the above, because then you'd be labeled too much drama if you did get past the yes.

8. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 2:09PM UTC

   Employers don't like to do "layoffs" because those employees are automatically qualified for unemployment benefits. If they fire someone and can show cause (depending on the state), the unemployment claim can be denied (It happened to me, where my company appealed, but I won the appeal).

   While employers don't pay unemployment directly (the state pays it and administers the program), employers buy "unemployment insurance" from the state to cover the cost of any claims. The company's insurance premiums go up for each claim that former employees are approved. This is why they don't want to do layoffs. When a person is laid off, they automatically qualify for unemployment.

9. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 12:40PM UTC

   Does not the application ask you to explain the reason you were fired?

10. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 1:26PM UTC

    Often folks use "fired" synonymously with "being laid off." I don't see applications asking for being fired. More often, I see job applications asking for criminal offenses or why you're not at a previous employer anymore.

    I agree with you to be honest. There's honest and being too honest. So, if you weren't fired for cause, find another response (e.g. org. restructured, moved, growth opportunities, etc.).

    To answer your question, some companies will pass over your application if you answer a certain way.

11. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 1:53PM UTC

    Yes, be honest. I was laid off twice, and once, the company tried to claim fired for cause because they didn't want me to file for unemployment. They lost the appeal. Like another said, I always see "Have you ever been involuntarily terminated" rather than fired, and I always answer yes. If they ask for details, I put "reduction in force" for the layoffs. In your case, I would put "mutual agreement due to the job not being a good fit with my experience and career goals." If the qualification requirements changed since you started, include that explanation.

12. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 4:28PM UTC

    OP: Thank you and the reason I'm asking is that it's a check mark question with Yes and NO options. Since there isn't a way to address the situation, is this a way to automatically remove candidates?

13. Changemaker828603September 5,2024 at 12:44PM UTC

    It is tough. I usually answer "no" on those questions on an application, because usually people do leave before being terminated. If asked directly about it, spin it positive, "I just decided the environment wasn't a good fit for me". If pressed, I just go on to talk about how I prefer work work in an environment where people work as a team to accomplish goals. And what a great team member I am..

14. GirlBossanova934974September 5,2024 at 12:48PM UTC

    First off when you were "fired" by your former employers at YOUR request, this was NOT a firing. It was a LAYOFF. IF you had been fired aka terminated for cause, you would NOT have been eligible for unemployment. The employer would have disputed the claim and the State would have agreed. GOING FORWARD, do NOT check FIRED on your job applications. Layoffs are NOT the same as FIRINGS. These days, very few care about layoffs.

15. AnonymousSeptember 5,2024 at 4:44PM UTC

    'Have you ever been fired from a company.'

    Options are Y or N without an other or being able to elaborate. That's why I'm worried about it being a kick out question. I don't have issue explaining the situation but I don't want to be ruled out due to a form's question.

16. AnonymousSeptember 5,2024 at 6:52PM UTC

    I would always answer, no if it meant getting the interview, and then the job.

17. AnonymousSeptember 6,2024 at 12:37PM UTC

    Just be truthful, easy answer. AND fyi, not all that quit aren't eligible for unemployment, learn your states view on this. There are other reasons that will be approved if you quit.

18. BarbaraSeptember 7,2024 at 12:57PM UTC

    I’ve never seen a job application that asks if you were fired. Really? I’ve been asked in an interview why I left my last position.

19. AnonymousSeptember 7,2024 at 4:24PM UTC

    OP: Thank you so much for all your feedback. I've been debating this issue and while I don't like to lie, feel that since it's a one-line yes or no without an other or feedback line, I'll say no and be forthcoming if asked.

20. AnonymousSeptember 7,2024 at 1:55PM UTC

    Simply say you left due to organizational changes, or that you were offered a new position that aligned more with your goals to further your career. There's nothing wrong with that.

21. AnonymousSeptember 7,2024 at 5:59PM UTC

    I've never seen a job application that asks if you were fired and in Massachusetts if you ARE fired, you cannot collect unemployment so I must be missing something here.

    The one job I was "fired" from, I don't allow them to be contacted as a reference and if anyone asks why I left, I say it was a "bad marriage" and that "it's a great company, it just wasn't a great company for me". That way you aren't bad mouthing them but you are being honest.

22. AnonymousSeptember 8,2024 at 8:37PM UTC

    OP: Thank you all and this was one of the few applications that the question was asked point blank. As others referenced, I was worried that it would automatically reject but glad to be forthcoming if asked.

23. AnonymousSeptember 9,2024 at 12:07PM UTC

    Thanks for asking this!

24. Kaytlyn TomassiSeptember 9,2024 at 12:25PM UTC

    Recently fired. Ive never seen that question on an application, but if I’m ever asked this during an interview, I plan to say simply that “my position was let go”

25. AnonymousSeptember 10,2024 at 12:52AM UTC

    If you were fired you likely wouldn’t have been eligible for unemployment benefits. So likely they didn’t code it that way - so I would answer it as a no

    not to mention most empmojers can’t give any info out on that anyway. Just start and end dates