“I fell asleep at my desk.”
“What?!”
“It was only for five minutes!”
This was a conversation I recently had with an acquaintance when he angrily and defensively told me why he was fired during the probationary period of his new job. It was a job that he really loved, so I was surprised when I heard the news and wanted a sufficient explanation to how this could happen. Yeah,falling asleep in your first two months on the job is a pretty valid reason -- even if it was only for five minutes -- to get you fired.
He continued the conversation by adding that he had an immense workload and had been working from home until late at night and would then head back to the office in the early morning. Digging a little deeper from the initial “I feel asleep on my desk” reason, I saw that the issue really stemmed from a lack of communication on workload, job expectations, and prioritization of projects.
When you get fired from a job, you’ll be dreading the, “So why did you leave your last job?” or “Why don’t you have your last employer listed as a reference?” questions. Maybe, you’ll be lucky and this stain on your resume will go unnoticed, but don't count on it. To deal with this minor crisis, you’ll need to shake off the ego hit, rid yourself of any bitterness, and dig deep into the real reasons of why you were let go.
For example, my friend definitely shouldn’t answer, “...because I fell asleep.” Is that the action that led to his dismissal? Yes. However, what led to this happening? What was the string of events that led to this tiny desk nap? Now imagine he answers like this instead: “I was overwhelmed with the amount of work and onboarding process to the company. I didn’t have a good sense of my project priorities and instead of establishing a line of communication with my manager, I stuck my head down and tried to finish everything. I realize now that this was not a sustainable strategy and led to an attitude and performance in the office that reflected my overwhelmed status. This event made me realize how key establishing communication is, and I’m ready to move forward with this valuable lesson learned.” This is a much more analytical answer and gives an honest account of what led to his dismissal without ruining the interview.
In this example, our sleepy friend identifies his weaknesses, honestly confronts the situation that led to his dismissal, and shows the important lessons that he’s learned. Employers want to know that you can learn lessons from your weaknesses and then implement them going forward. Napping guy could even lay out a plan of action and tell the potential employer that he would want to set up bi-weekly or weekly meetings to go over expectations, priorities, and performance to ensure that the line of communication stayed open and would prevent the previous situation from happening again.
So, if you find yourself in the situation of getting fired. Don't worry, the world has not ended. I mean, if you just had a bad day, an unfortunate match in interests and skillset, or a less-than-stellar relationship with your boss and colleagues, then you can recover and have a great interview process and a new career opportunity.
Here is what we recommend you keep in mind:
Step 1: Be honest with yourself. This is when you dig deep to figure out what exactly happened to lead to your dismissal. Don’t focus on the final action or the “straw that broke the camel’s back.” Take relationships for example, couples usually don’t break up because someone forgot to lock the door. Maybe that’s what caused the final fight, but there are other underlying factors that led to the severity and finality of the fight that have nothing to do with the actual door. Find out what those are. You’ll be able to learn more about yourself and capabilities, as well as demonstrate in your interview that you have the ability to objectively assess and analyze situations.
Step 2: Keep it concise. Now that you’ve done some introspection to figure out what went wrong, don’t dwell! Don’t dwell personally and don’t dwell on it in your interview. If the question about you last job doesn’t come up, then you are in luck! But if it does, have a concise but comprehensive statement as to why you left your job and then try to move on with the interview. It can be tempting to start coming up with defenses or excuses, but that could drag on and make the interviewer question your ability to take responsibility. Remember, as your potential manager or boss, they probably identify more with your previous boss than you.
Step 3: Have a plan of action. When you present your lessons learned from your previous job, offer a plan of action! Employers want to know what you think and how you take action. Whether that’s setting up check-up meetings with your future manager or even taking the proper steps to address issues in your personal life that reflected in your work, take action. Showing initiative and a go-getter attitude are really valuable traits in the office.
