Job applications; Fired or Laid Off?

it may indeed a better way of saying why you are out of work.

 

If the company and you agreed to you getting laid off then put that on application but they may say you were terminated if the employer ask.

 

Problem is, those dishonest companies that will say something like that, then say something totally different once prospective employers start calling. My very first job in high school was working at a boat dock in eastern Tennessee, i was fired after 3 or 4 months because i caught my so called supervisor smoking pot on the job. I never turned him in, but i told him i wouldn't lie for him of asked. He eventually "fired" me without letting the owner know while he was on vacation for the winter season.

 

If you have a good reputation with other employers and not too many jobs then being fired isn't going to hurt your chances with other companies.

 

My question is.....was the job you were terminated from a transportation job? If it wasn't then why not tell the truth and laugh about it? Usually, honesty is the best policy....but spin it in a positive way. If both parties agreed to "Laid off"/downsized" or "my position was eliminated" then I would hold my head high say "...I truly enjoyed my position there but....."

Right before I started trucking I found myself in a corner cubicle doing telephone sales and being micro managed by a.....uh....person......who thought she was all that and a bag of chips. I could do nothing right in her eyes. After CDL school and interviewing I told employers "I was not thriving there so I decided to get my CDL and follow a career I have always wanted to pursue."

If you are changing to trucking, I wouldn't worry about it too much. They need drivers too badly to worry about it.

 

I would put laidoff on the application, but they may dig and ask a few questions about it, especially if they feel there is something not right after speaking to your old company. If that is the case, just tell them, after I was hired the responsibilities of the position changed, and I was no longer a good fit as I did not have the skills necessary for the position. After struggling in the position, I approached management, and we came to a mutual agreement I was not the right person for the position. At the time I was not in a financial position to quit, and we agreed it would be in the best interest of both to lay me off. I doubt they will pursue it further.

 

Very well said!

 

Why put anything other than the truth... pursued other opportunities.

Whether you are fired, laid off, quit, etc, you have left, and unless you are independently wealthy, you are pursuing other opportunities.

If they ask for more details, then talk to them and explain it with a positive spin, but you have a much better chance of doing that face to face, them the person reading an application, or resume and setting it aside with no further research.

 

Valid point! I think we were assuming a face to face interview.

Never good to assume.