Free Career and Job Search Advice

Cleaver08

I have had a very successful career (and solid resume) for the past 12 years, working for 3 different companies during that time. I have always been a "top employee".

Recently, I was involved with a company for a few months that was a complete nightmare.

They didn't have a training program and you did not have someone working with you on your projects. When I started working for companies in the past, I had people working with me as a team on specific projects. I was on my own at this place. You were expected to learn from other employees that, for the most part, were not willing to help you or were too busy to help, because they were working on their own projects. And if you asked three different people the same question, you would get three different answers. So, you had to do the best you could and learn from repetition and trial and error, picking up bits and pieces of information from random people.

The manager was a horror. This person would yell and scream, talk about the employees behind their backs, find fault with everything you did, not give proper support to certain employees, etc. If you were new, you did not have a voice and if something went wrong it was automatically the new guy's fault and it was not open for discussion. The system was supposed to catch mistakes, but when the system failed the new guy took the blame...the issues were bigger than one person.

It was a very abusive situation. I could not have tried harder and I could not have had a better attitude given the situation. I just kept my mouth shut and did my job, but it was a hopeless cause. I did get up to speed and thought things would improve, but ended up being blamed for a mistake that occurred (that the manager made). I tried to make the best of it, but ended up getting let go for something that was not my fault.

Now I feel like this experience will over-shadow the successful career I have worked so hard to develop. Would it make sense to tell prospective employers that it was a bad situation and I had to quit? I just feel so bad saying I was let go. It makes me sound/feel incompetent, which is far from the truth. On top of that, I understand you are not supposed to go into detail regarding what happened or you come across as "bad-mouthing". I just fell into a really bad situation and I don't think I should have to pay the price for that. I mean, even if I did quit, these are the types of people that would probably say they fired you anyway (or say that you are not eligible for rehire) just to spite you, so what's the difference?

Any advice on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated!

Randy

Ever watch the old "Andy Griffith Show"? Remember Barny's "Nip it!"?

Time to put that to good use.

You tell future potential employers that YOU left (no future advancement, talk of impending cut-backs, i.e., lie) and when you offered your resignation, your former employer did not take it well at all and told you to leave immediately. You then explain that you have no problem with them contacting that former employer but you are somewhat worried that they, the former employer, might want to make it sound like they terminated your employment.

(already most people here are shaking their heads...I know that...it's okay)

The point is this: You've "nipped it." You given potential employers every reason in the world to give YOU the benefit of the doubt. You told them "a" truth--that it was an ugly/regrettable/unavoidable situation--but not "the whole" truth which, as far as I'm concerned, makes it the purest of "business relationships."

The whole hiring process is stacked in the employer's favor--we pee in bottles and agree to background checks and often investigations into our credit history and on and on, all to dispel what amounts to a "presumption of guilt" that we're not worthy of being hired.

Remember that the future employers you're going to talk to have been in the same situations--they know it from "both" sides. They KNOW they've lost good people because of bad situations. They, him, her, it, absolutely know and understand how spiteful, petty, and vindicitve employers can be.

So do something that helps THEM hire good people: Give them that "reasonable doubt" to consider you for employment. They have their silly "rules" about considering you not much better than a leper for having been terminated. Remove THAT and they'd probably find no other reason to NOT hire you because if there's one thing you do have to understand, the purpose of a job interview is to find any reason whatsoever to NOT hire the person. They are looking for reasons to DISQUALIFY you from employemnt consideration. The "ideal candidate," the one who gets hired, is the one who gives them no such reasons.

(okay, let the beatings begin.... Crying or Very sad

)

Cleaver08 · Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject:

Thanks Randy...you always give great advice that makes sense. Any takes from the others would be greatly appreciated as well.

I'm actually thinking about doing some bartending for a while. I am sick and tired of the corporate shenanigans and sick and tired of getting "bent over the kitchen sink".

It would be nice to not have to deal with all of that for a while. It would be nice to not have to be interrogated, have to piss in a cup, etc. I just want to go in there and do my damn job and get paid without all the riff raff!!!!

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