Even if you’re the best employee in the history of paid work, you might get fired at some point in your career. Sometimes, it’s no one’s fault: you turned out to be a bad fit for the role and vice versa. Other times, you might have made a mistake, and paid a steep price for it. But the worst scenario is the one that’s not your fault at all – but that still potentially haunts your job search afterward. In this week’s round-up, we look at what one career expert advises job seekers who’ve been fired, plus how to repair a damaged professional relationship and how to give tough feedback.
(Photo Credit: Death to the Stock Photo)
Evil HR Lady at her blog: Do I Have to Disclose That I Was Fired?
A reader writes in to ask Evil HR Lady for advice. The reader was fired, after a brief and extremely unpleasant stint at a job in which he or she was bullied to the point of developing medical issues. After inquiring about short-term medical leave, the reader was terminated. The question: must the reader now disclose said termination, when interviewing for other positions?
“…[W]hat do you have to disclose? Well, on your resume, nothing,” Evil HR Lady writes. “Since this job was a short one, you can even leave it off your resume if you wanted to. Remember, resumes are marketing documents not your life on a platter.”
However, there are a few things to be aware of, in terms of what might come up later in the job-search process. Short answer: never lie. For the longer answer, with tips on how to handle the process gracefully and get the job despite this bump in the road, see her post.
Dorie Clark at Lifehacker: How to Repair a Damaged Professional Relationship
“If you’ve spent enough time in the workforce, you almost certainly have a trail of damaged professional relationships behind you,” writes Clark. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad manager or employee; it’s simply a fact that some people don’t get along, and when we have to rely on each other, there are bound to be crossed wires and disappointments.”
The good news is that you can mend most professional relationships. Clark’s tips, which originally appeared at the Harvard Business Review, include recognizing your culpability and pressing the reset button.
Sarah Landrum at The Introvert Whisperer: How to Give and Receive Critical Feedback
Which do you hate more: giving critical feedback or getting it? For many, it’s a toss-up. Of course, we’d love to live in a world where neither was necessary, but that’s just not reality.
The good news is with a little insight, you can change how you deliver (and receive!) tough feedback. In Landrum’s post, she offers a host of tips, including this one that will take the sting out of any critique:
“We all make mistakes. Although it could help the person you’re sharing feedback with to hear that, it might be stronger if you can relate to them by sharing some of the mistakes you’ve made in the same area. This will make what you have to say more relevant and won’t alienate that person’s feelings about their own shortcomings.”
Tell Us What You Think
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