30 People Who Got Fired Explain Why It Was Totally Worth It

Bored Panda reached out to Dawn Moss, the founder of “Your Interview Coach” who has been helping both candidates and hiring managers through the recruitment and selection process since 2013. 

When asked what are some of the most common reasons employers may fire their employees, Dawn said that there are three main reasons: poor performance, misconduct, and sickness absence.

“One of the most common reasons is poor performance,” the recruitment coach told us. “Typically, most jobs will have a probation period. This is a set period hiring managers get to assess the new employee’s performance. Hiring managers will have certain expectations depending on the job.” Dawn said that if an employee doesn’t meet those expectations, then it’s time to have a serious conversation. 

Another reason the employee may be expelled from their job is misconduct. “There are several behaviors that would be unacceptable in the workplace.  It could be anything from swearing, bullying, harassment, discrimination, stealing, industrial espionage, disputes about Intellectual Property (IP), and the list goes on…”

And when it comes to sickness absence, most companies will have an absence management policy in place. “If too much time is taken off due to ill-health this may result in dismissal, or medical retirement,” Dawn said.

We also asked if you should hide the fact that you were fired from your previous job. “This is going to be a tricky situation,” Dawn said and added. “No one wants to admit to being fired.  However, I’ve always said, honesty is the best policy.”

“If you don’t admit you’ve been fired and the new employer finds out later, then you may be dismissed anyway. It’s not worth the risk,” she said. Dawn also suggested thinking carefully about how you are going to handle this question; “Why did you leave your previous job?  If you got fired, admit it, and take responsibility, and talk about the lessons you’ve learned.”

Moreover, it’s probably best to “not go into lots of details and try not to waffle on and on.  Keep it short, concise, and factual.” Dawn also reminded that bad-mouthing the previous employer or your previous manager is also a bad idea since “that’s only going to reflect badly on you.”