Do you tell prospective employers that you were fired?

My position was outsourced to another state and I wasn’t willing to move my family to that state.
My position was cancelled due to budget cuts in my company.

There are many ways to sugar coat the loss of a job. You need to come up with something that is comfortable to you to use.
Never cry at a job interview. That would be the kiss of death.

Hopefully they won’t ask. Tough spot to be in.

Tell them. They will find out anyway.

No. You either find an HR person or manager at your old job who will back you up when you say you were laid off and use that person as the contact, or you leave the job off your work history.

It would be hard to leave off. I’ve been there for 22 yrs. Sigh…

It probably won’t be so raw and painful in a few weeks, but I don’t have a few weeks. The bank is expecting the mortgage on the first, and i have never paid it late. Not even sure what happens if you pay late…

Gotcha. Sorry this has happened to you.

Have you considered filing for unemployment and, in the process, contesting the firing? From your other question it sounds like you think you have an argument that you did not violate the policy as it is written. If you think you can press this, you might consider giving it a shot.

You would say you were laid off on your UI claim. The company will probably reject your claim, and you will appeal the rejection, either with the help of a lawyer or on your own. If you win you’d not only get the UI but also a solid basis from which to say you were laid off and not fired, or fired with lack of cause (depending on how things work out with the appeal).

My roomie did this recently (and won) with NY state, and apparently a process like this is pretty common – many companies will reject an initial UI claim simply because many people do not know to appeal.

You can get unemployment if you’ve been fired, but not if you’ve quit on your own volition. Most states now prefer you to register online where you will be given an account. If you qualify, you will have to fill out an online questionnaire every week in order to continue your unemployment benefits. You need to register immediately after dismissal from your last job as there usually are no retroactive payouts.

Be sure to claim any documented work you get while on unemployment. Your unemployment benefit will be adjusted downward according to how much money you earn while searching for a permanent position. Anytime you fill out a tax form for work, you are documented. State agencies query the IRS and they will catch up with you eventually if you cheat. Lying on the weekly questionnaire opens you up to a felony charge which might put you in the unemployment line permanently. And you will be fined way beyond any money you’ve received under false pretenses and if you can’t pay it, you will go to jail.

Be up front about your dismissal during the interview with your prospective employer. You want them to hear your side of the story first, rather than be approached later when you’ll be on the defensive because you withheld an important detail that they have access to anyway.

It’s true that the former employer opens themselves up to a suit if they opine as to your dismissal, but when asked, they can and will say that you were dismissed. With no other details to go on, this will surprise, disappoint, and even excite the imagination of the prospective employer. You definitely want to remove any possibilities of surprises and disappointments by being straight with them in the first place.

Tell the truth. 22 years at a company speaks for itself that you were a solid employee and to point out that you were let go and replaced with a less expensive hire is nothing all that unusual in this crappy economy.

You can’t get unemployment if you were fired for misconduct. If the company claims misconduct, apparently the unemployment people believe them. I am appealing, because the truth is on my side, and I’m curious how they plan to prove misconduct that never happened, but whether or not I get unemployment is the least of my worries right now.

I need a job, not unemployment. I am a horrible liar, so I can’t just say I was laid off, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what to say that will not disclose the pain and betrayal I feel to be summarily dismissed for something I did not do, which will just make me look like a whiny little baby. I understand that they don’t need a reason, and if they give a reason it doesn’t have to be true. I am left with not actually knowing the true reason I was fired. I only know that the given reason was concocted for the express purpose of denying the unemployment claim, which sucks, but I guess that’s corporate America for you.

Since I don’t have the luxury of time to stop hurting so much before I go out there, I need a plausible, truthful thing to tell people who ask “why did you leave your last job,“that will not guarantee that I will not get the next job. I feel like bringing the last 22 years of stellar written reviews, and being completely honest by saying “I have no idea why they fired me,” but it couldn’t have been performance issues, but then I will just look like I was not self aware. All i know for sure is that the new manager did not want me there.

@gemmasgma I would go back to this company and ask for a letter of recommendation and if they balk, threaten them with a defamation of character or age discrimination lawsuit for these trumped up reasons to have let you go.

You should always file for unemployment, and let the UI staff investigate and determine whether or not you should be paid. I had a similar scenario a dozen years ago or so, and UI was granted to me. Oddly, I don’t remember what I told people in interviews. Those were the most miserable years of my life. I can’t imagine that I lied, though.

Surprisingly some writer at Forbes said to never admit this. I can’t believe someone who’s supposed to be an expert on such matters would write something so poor, because with extensive background checks your potential employer is going to find out anyways.

Getting fired isn’t a rare occurrence, or something that only happens to other people or those types of people. Many employers have very high standards today, and expect you to multitask. Sometimes shit just happens to, like vehicle problems, transportation issues, arguments, troublemakers ratting you out or lying about you, etc, etc.

I was fired once. I would recommend being upfront and honest about it when you need to, but yes try to downplay it (depending on what you were fired for). It wouldn’t be the first thing I’d put on my resume though. Make your qualities, skills and what you have to offer the company stand out first.

In your case I would just be honest, and simply admit that you don’t really understand why you were terminated, but try to do this without badmouthing. I don’t know the exact details of your case, but your situation is better than mine. It still makes you look good that you were with the company for such a long time. I would also talk to the people at your local state career/job center. These people usually go out of their way to help you out, and will give you advice.