# Got fired, what should I tell potential employer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921 "2006-12-13T03:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doberman\_Pinscher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@Doberman\_Pinscher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doberman_Pinscher)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/1 "2006-12-13T03:39:49Z")
I had a very promising interview last week and listed my current employer on my resume… I go back for a follow up interview later this week. I just got terminated today. I understand this employer only contacts your previously references once you get an employment offer, so now if they contact them they will say I no longer work there. What should I tell the new potential employer? Should I tell them I resigned and make up some story or something? ---
**Author:** ![PuppyChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PuppyChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PuppyChow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/2 "2006-12-13T03:46:33Z")
Don’t lie, because it will look even worse when they find out in the end that you were actually fired. Fess up, be a man, and be honest. Personally, I never lie because I have a terrible memory. It’s hard to keep up after a while, because the initial lie always morphs into a web of lies. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/3 "2006-12-13T03:48:28Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] What should I tell the new potential employer? Should I tell them I resigned and make up some story or something? [/QUOTE] I’d say definitely don’t make up a story. Just off advice I’ve recieved, it is better for you to tell them and let them know ahead of time. I imagine if you got terminated for a decent reason, it shouldn’t be a problem. If it was for embezzeling millions, you might have some trouble. Imagine, if you tell them you resign, then they call and find out you were terminated. They might offer a job to someone who has been terminated. They might not offer the same to someone who lies about the last job…just my .02… (On preview, exactly what **PuppyChow** has said) Brendon ---
**Author:** ![Doberman\_Pinscher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@Doberman\_Pinscher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doberman_Pinscher)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/4 "2006-12-13T03:56:45Z")
I thought most employees only verify dates of hire and not specifics of employment? ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/5 "2006-12-13T04:01:43Z")
I think it depends on the state, but my mom works in HR and she says she cannot say why the person was fired unless they committed a crime which is public record (embezzelment counts). If you use your former boss as a personal reference that’s a little bit of a different story, though. I’d check your local laws. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/6 "2006-12-13T04:02:31Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] I thought most employees only verify dates of hire and not specifics of employment? [/QUOTE] Still it’s best not to lie, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/7 "2006-12-13T05:52:44Z")
Don’t lie, but for heaven sakes, why give them too much information. “My last day with Company XYZ was Monday.” ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/8 "2006-12-13T06:14:59Z")
I was fired in January and the advice that I received was to step up the plate before the potential employer found out through some other means. Be up front but not derogatory toward your previous employer. The best defense is a great offense or something like that. None of the potential employers that I interviewed with led me to believe that being fired was a deal-breaker. Good luck with the job hunt! ---
**Author:** ![Wordworker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Wordworker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordworker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/9 "2006-12-13T08:02:52Z")
Definitely don’t lie. Try to put the termination in the best light possible. For one job from which I was fired, I simply said that the employer and I had different expectations from the position. (I was fired, on the surface, for not performing well. I, and my immediate supervisor, begged to differ.) Do not lie. You stand a very good chance of getting caught. Besides, the way I see it, I’d rather work for an employer who understands that firings happen, and doesn’t unfairly hold them against me than lie my way into a company that has unreasonable expectations anyway. My being fired never prevented me from getting a job. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/10 "2006-12-13T08:31:18Z")
I would say, “I have been strongly persuaded to pursue other avenues of employment.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/11 "2006-12-13T08:53:21Z")
What was the reason for termination? I’ve been terminated: - because I had been hired for a specific task and it was over (several times) - because I’d spent several years in a special project, my old job had been deleted meanwhile, and then the company didn’t know what to do with me (an interviewer exclaimed “ah, structural issues!”) - because Central said to fire everybody who wasn’t perma None of those is an Unmentionable, as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/12 "2006-12-13T12:10:02Z")
^^ what’s already been said - let them know because most likely they’ll find out anyway. There are plenty of reasons people get made redundant and employers understand that, so just own up and explain what happened in a matter-of-fact way and most likely they’ll understand. Unless you got caught shagging a goat on the board room table of course, then you’re on your own. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/13 "2006-12-13T15:08:56Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] I thought most employees only verify dates of hire and not specifics of employment? [/QUOTE] That’s a matter of company policy, and not nearly as common as people think. Most employers are in fact happy to discuss reasons for termination. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/14 "2006-12-14T02:54:28Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] I thought most employees only verify dates of hire and not specifics of employment? [/QUOTE] We only answer questions about dates, positions, and (rarely) if the person would be eligible for re-hire. At my company, you are only eligible for re-hire if you resigned and gave 2 weeks’ notice, so that’s fairly rare. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-fired-what-should-i-tell-potential-employer/383921/15 "2006-12-14T05:16:58Z")
[QUOTE=garius] Unless you got caught shagging a goat on the board room table of course, then you’re on your own. [/QUOTE] Surely shagging a goat on the board room table should be grounds for a strong warning, but immediate dismissal seems kind of harsh.