The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Job application: reason for quitting
solidsnake69
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I was recently terminated from my job at a retail store for forgetting to pay for a $20 pair of reading glasses. I had worked there for 15 years and am now applying at one of their competitors. I'm stuck at the "reason for leaving" field of the application.
Should I confess that I was fired for basically stealing or take a chance and lie?
Should I confess that I was fired for basically stealing or take a chance and lie?
solidsnake69 on
0
Posts
My advice would be; put down that you were terminated, and if you get an interview explain yourself to the hiring manager.
"I worked there for 15 years without incident, I'm not a thief, I was using a pair of reading glasses one day and forgot to put them back on my way out, if they'd allowed me I would have gladly paid for them, and I learned from that mistake not to be careless with my store's inventory"
Honestly if you put down that you were fired for stealing your not going to make it to the interview to be able to explain yourself. If you try to explain it in the interview it's going to depend on the person doing the interviewing and the other people applying for the job.
That's what's going to really hurt you. Maybe the area you live in is different, but in the my area there is a lot of people looking for work. Anyone that doesn't have to explain about not being a thief is going to have an advantage over you, if you choose to tell the truth.
Generally on an application you sign something saying "I swear that this is all true".
But yeah, I'd just write down "Discuss in Person".
... of a financial nature
edit: Just read another thread with a similar situation. Apparently the whole "Discuss in person" idea is not as origional/creative as I thought it would be. It basically means "baby did a bad, bad thing."
So go brutal honest on the paper work or just word the reasoning so that you still get the interview at which point feel free to explain away as you see fit.
I think that covers the general bases. I'm going back to lurking.
Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Yes, that's so they can fire you with cause if you lie on your app. Lying/omitting/fudging the reason you left your last job, when applying for a retail position, the worst that could happen is you don't get the job or you lose the job later when you get caught. You'll be fired for cause and that will be that. You're not going to get sued or end up in prison.
I do think that you are always better off being honest on an app or resume, but to always keep in mind that you are trying to sell yourself to a potential employer. It's not a place to bare your soul, but to give them a reason to call you in for an interview.
If the OP puts down terminated due to theft or even terminated, it's going to hurt the OP's chances of getting an interview. Even "Discuss in person" is not a good idea.
There really is no way to tell someone you were fired for theft without them cocking an eyebrow--even moreso in the 2" space beside "Reason for leaving" on an application.
When you left your previous employer, what happened? You say you worked there for 15 years but they fired you for accidentally taking a pair of reading glasses home? Did you leave on absolutely terrible terms, or did they terminate you simply because their company policy said they had to?
Perhaps they will be willing to call it something else if other employers ask? Seems kinda shitty that your potential for gainful employment is seriously tarnished by a simple mistake.... after 15 years no less.
If it does...well, honestly, I'd feel free to leave that section blank. Prepare an answer if you need it...but run it by someone you know and trust with these things to see if it sounds weird. I don't think employers want long elaborate explanations about these things.
Put that you worked there for 15 years, accidentily left with some reading glasses without paying, and were terminated due to company policy. If/when you talk to them make sure you hint that you learned something by this mistake. (like just what kind of a fucking shitty company does that after 15 years of work, christ)
And it is technically illegal here for an employer to give a bad reference as well, but it still happens. I'd never suggest leaving a spot blank on an application, but this might be the OP's best option here, if the alternative is "Fired" or "Discuss in Person."
I'd think he'd be sooner to get an interview if they think he somehow missed that blank. Either way, shitty situation. I'd call up your former employer and talk things through--try to get this thing at least squared away so they will tell people you're a good egg.
Because seriously, that's what happened. They were waiting for somebody to trip up, and oh hey look it's the person that has worked here 15 years and is expensive for us. Double word score!
It doesn't hurt your new employer if you really are a good employee. They want to find someone who will do a good job. If you indeed are that person, what does it matter how you left your old job?
Lie.
IMHO, this is the simplest and best answer. "Discuss in Person" suggests that it's a long, involved he-said, she-said story that a potential interviewer or HR person may not want to hear. Leaving the space blank suggests you can't fill out the application correctly.
"Irreconcilable Differences" can be interpreted many different ways, meaning that if the company otherwise things you're a good candidate, you'll at least get an interview.
Big mistake. If you're caught, not only will you not get the job, but your former employer will be pissed about it. If you get the job and they find out later (current and/or former employer), you can be fired, and then you'll have two black marks on your resume.
Irreconcilable differences is probably better.
Exactly.
And if push comes to shove, as the recruiter, I could always call your old job and find out the details on my own time.
Just saying. :P
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
"Hey, you lied on your resume years ago and, even though you're a great employee, you're fired."
No. No reasonable manager is going to cut a good, long term employee loose just for that. The manager should understand that shit happens and people have to recover some way. If the world didn't work this way, everyone who ever got fired would never be able to get a new job. It costs a lot of money for a business to find, interview, hire and train a new employee. Managers look better when they have low turn-over rates.
Do not lie.
And no reasonable manager would cut a good, long term employee loose for forgetting to pay for a $20 pair of reading glasses.
OH WAIT.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I was thinking the same thing.
I was thinking this same thing.
Paging Paul Harvey.
A good deal of places would.
As a general rule of thumb, "Just lie, it's not like you're going to get in trouble" is advice that most people learn not to heed in their teens.
They 'can' but they probably 'wont'. Look at it logically.
Take it as a given that if the phrase "Fired for stealing" hits the new potential employer they'll go with someone else.
-If the old company says that he was fired for stealing and he's honest about being fired for stealing he will not be hired.
-If the old company does not say that he was fired for stealing and he's honest about it he will not be hired.
-If the old company says that he was fired for stealing and he lies about it he will not be hired.
-If the old company does not say that he was fired for stealing and he lies about it he may be hired.
Honesty in this situation is the WORST policy.
After 15 years of service, I felt it was time to further explore my career options.
Let it go at that. On applications they usually ask if it's ok to contact your last or current supervisor. You can just say "no". Assuming you have other references.
There are several spots on most job applications that are designed to weed out applicants. This is one of those spots. If you say you left your job and this perspective employer cannot contact them, that's a red flag.
OP: What about calling your previous employer and posing the question to them? What will they say if a new employer calls to ask about you? After 15 years, fired for "accidental theft," would they tell employers you were terminated?
Lying is horrible advice.
Really, you might be better off leaving the job off your application and saying you've been mowing lawns for 15 years :P
"I notice there's a long gap in your job history. It says here that for 22 years you went... Kerouac on everyone's ass?"
Yes, but he IS a thief. Accidental, apparently, but he IS a thief. That's the problem. :P
Edit: I am not advocating lying, just being contrary. I would recommend simply leaving that section blank, as though it were a mistake, and mentioning it during the interview.
Un/fortunately, we just have to take it at face value for now and run with it.
You could come up with something weasily and technically accurate, like "terminated for inappropriate handling of store merchandise," or something, which makes it sound like you were playing the store's video games, or something. Which sounds pretty accurate - I'm guessing that you're not technically allowed to use store property, even if they might typically turn a blind eye to it. In conjunction with your 15 years experience, it might help your case. The more niggling detail you go into, the more it's going to sound like rationalization. Be terse. Be matter-of-fact.
His company labeled him a thief. Ive never done hiring in a retail situation, but I imagine applicants that have "I was shitcanned for stealing from the company" on their application aren't viewed too kindly.
If his old boss will tell anyone that calls that he was fired for stealing, he is basically fucked no matter WHAT he puts on the application.
I know it's a far cry from moral and ethical, but it's the best shot at future employment.
Raises an important point and something the OP will probably have to think about himself. Oftentimes a company doesn't want to keep an underperforming/ill-fitted employee, but can't just terminate them without strong, documented reasons. This is really common in large retail chains that will get slapped with discrimination lawsuits practically anytime they fire anyone. The boss could have wanted to let OP go for whatever reason, and finally just taken the accidental theft as the necessary, documented instance to cut him loose.
If that's the case, OP needs to think about how he's going to handle the possibility of having no positive references from a 15 year job.