| You were fired from your last job. Of course you | | | | You also want to avoid using terminated when |
| need the income, so therefore you are now looking for | | | | possible as well. Your best approach is to just explain |
| a new job. Whether you are the in mist of your job | | | | the situation in a couple of sentences. Depending on |
| search or already landed a few interviews, one | | | | the situation at hand, you could say: I made a mistake |
| question may be haunting you; you know the chances | | | | and was not given the opportunity to correct that |
| are high for the job interviewer to ask why you left | | | | mistake, and so forth. |
| your last job. You were fired. Does this automatically | | | | DON'T confuse being fired with being laid off. Due to |
| make you a bad candidate? Not necessarily it all | | | | today's economy, lots of companies had to layoff |
| depends on how you answer the question and here | | | | employees to save money. Being laid off is different |
| are some helpful dos and don'ts. | | | | from being fired. When it comes to layoffs, typically the |
| DO answer the question honestly. If you listed the | | | | less needed positions and the newest employees are |
| position you were terminated from on your resume or | | | | eliminated; rarely does it have anything to do with work |
| job application, the hiring manager can easily call your | | | | performance. When it comes to being fired from a job, |
| former employer and ask. So if you were terminated, | | | | you are typically let go because of bad performance. If |
| you want to tactfully say so; don't lie and say you | | | | you were laid off, state so. |
| were looking for a new challenge. | | | | DO not ramble. For that reason, you want to practice |
| DON'T use the word fired. Now, it is okay to say "I | | | | answering this question ahead of time; have your |
| was fired from my job" when talking with friends and | | | | answers preplanned. When you ramble on and on, it |
| family, but the word just sound so bad and negative. If | | | | seems like you are trying to justify your actions that |
| you want to label it, terminated is a much better | | | | led you to be fired. Your best option is to put a positive |
| phrase to use. | | | | spin on things as much as possible, own up to any |
| DO choose your words carefully. As mentioned | | | | mistakes you may have made, and keep your |
| above, you want to refrain from using the word fired. | | | | answers short and sweet. |