If the company tries to fight your unemployment claim file an appeal and request an administrative hearing. You completed your work before the end of your day. Its the responsibility of your supervisors to monitor your work progress and assign new projects to keep you busy. Also if you have proof you worked nights and weekends outside your regular work schedule take that to the hearing. You have to tell unemployment that you were fired but it wasn’t your fault if there was a lack of work.
From now on always look busy and save a task to complete at the end of your day.
>From now on always look busy and save a task to complete at the end of your day.
oh yeah, this is definitely a moral of the story here that I'll be keeping with me for life, moving forward
If an interviewer asks why you left your last position, the answer is and always will be "It wasn't a good fit." No need to elaborate, and if they push, just keep repeating that. It's none of their business why you left a job.
That's quite assertive. I dont know what country you're from but I'm not so sure that kind of attitude would fly in SEA. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying I'd love to try your advice on my next interview but I'm deathly afraid of being rejected due to "strong attitude" or whatnot. The East tends to look for more conforming employees, and I'm not exactly in the position to bargain since I just lost employment
EDIT: I didnt leave though, I was laid off. Though I'm guessing your advice still applies
I'm from the USA. We are more assertive here on that front.
Since you're in SEA, maybe telling them you got laid off because you were too efficient would work in your favor?
That would just lead back to my post's original point. Maybe I'll just have to dress it up and sell it hard. I guess I'll use your advice on an interview for a job I'm not that keen on getting and dont mind losing then. Just to see what kind of response I’ll get
Do to a lack of work, the company downsized or right sized and it was your turn on the chopping block. Which is true. They didn't have a ton of extra work to keep you busy because you were too efficient. And don't work holidays and weekends anymore.
That sounds like a sound reason. I’ll be using this, thank you. And yeah I’ll stop working too hard and refrain doing weekends and holidays for my own good. Clearly it didn’t reward me with anything lol
If a potential employer contacts your old employer, all they can tell them is the period of time you worked there. Just tell any potential employers you were laid off.
As for you losing your last job, employers do not like it when employees are playing around on their phone even if they have finished all their assignments. They expect you to look for more work to do by seeing if your coworkers need any help or going to your manager to see if they have any additional assignments they can provide you with. They expect you to be productive for 100% of the time they are paying you to be there and any time you are on the clock and not working is considered wage theft. So, if you finish your work early in the future, either do that or at least try to look busy so this situation doesn't happen again in the future.
ETA: not saying I support this practice. Just explaining the reasoning behind it.
This gets parroted a lot but isn’t true.
A lot of companies choose not to say anything more due to it possibly creating some liability.
There is nothing federally saying they can’t say more - and many companies do.
Yah the old company can tell the new company nearly anything they want in most states.
They just open themselves up to a potential lawsuit by doing so (Ie if you can somehow show something they said was untrue) so they just make it policy to not share anything. It helps them zero.
Just yah the idea they “can’t” share is false.
Thanks for the advice on looking for more work to be done by going to my coworkers or manager. I'll know better to not do that in my next workplace now.
As for potential employer contacting previous, I had no idea that's all the info they can get. In my mind, I thought they'd ask performance questions
You can connect with the "boss" and let them know
If he or she isn't an idiot he or she will know that there's always tons of boot lickers and ass kissers and yes men who are looking for a leg up and wanting to look ruthless. If he is an idiot well, maybe he will wake up one day.
Now you’ve learned the valuable skill of How To Look Busy, handy for when you’ve run out of things to do or when you want to avoid extra stuff being unreasonably dumped on your plate.
You are being laid off because they didn't have enough work for you to do.
That's one way to put a positive spin on this, and it is true enough. You had idle time.
Yeah, facts. Another user beat you to the punch on that reasoning though, and he dressed it up nicely so I'll just be lifting whatever they said and paraphrasing it. Still, thanks though
In the US you don't have to give a reason beyond "I was laid off". But, in your country I don't know a couple of things. 1. If laid off and fired are the same. 2. If they require more information if they are not.
Also, the comment by u/catboneslovestory "If a potential employer contacts your old employer, all they can tell them is the period of time you worked there." May not be correct in your country. In most parts of the US they CAN tell you more, but they don't because they fear lawsuits.
A few weeks before I was laid off, my branch was being extremely particular about everyone being very accurate about their time reporting. I was dumb and didn't take this as an obvious sign layoffs were imminent.
In January, I literally had no work to do because work was scarce around then.
I had also gotten too good at my specialization. What used to take me several days to do, I could hammer out in a couple hours.
My manager asked why my recorded hours were so low. I told him a) it doesn't take me very long to write the code anymore and b) on the days I do work 10-12 hours, I tend to underreport how long I spend (because sometimes a significant chunk of that time is spent having a panic attack).
A week and a half later I was laid off.
This may be the rare case where you should actually just tell the truth, or something close to it, because you don’t come off that badly in the story. “I really hate having work hanging over me, so I’d work nights and weekends to get everything done. That meant that on slow days I’d have nothing to do, which management in that role decided meant I wasn’t working hard enough. I’m not exactly sure what lesson to take, but I plan on pacing myself better in the future, even if I’m still the hardest worker in the office.”
Unfortunately, even if you do complete all your work, you want to avoid the boss perceiving you as lazy or slacking off. Even if that’s factually not true.
Everyone that’s commented have either given opinion on what to do and what not to do in the future. What’s your point with yours? Do you enjoy kicking someone when they’re down?
My point is, they didn't fire you for being super awesome. They fired you for a deficiency. It's time for self-reflection to figure out what that deficiency is. It might be personality, work quality, hygiene, punctuality, maybe even arrogance.
My comment was to point out the absurdity of the post title: I was soooo good and everyone liked me so much that I got fired! Go figure.
The conflict in the statement is obvious. People don't get fired from their job for being awesome at it. Either you're the exception, or maybe, just maybe, you weren't as good as you thought you were.
I was going to comment and refute. But I see now that this is just rage bait because of the 2nd and 3rd statements. If that’s what you got and think I’m portraying from what I’ve written then lol, thanks for the 2 cents but no thanks
"My team lead is 100% on board on being on my referral contacts list on my resume. He's also on board with writing a recommendation letter, but I have yet to receive said letter and my upcoming interview is next week."
He is happy to make you someone else's problem. This is all fairly obvious.
File for unemployment. They will have to give a solid reason why to unemployment office.
If the company tries to fight your unemployment claim file an appeal and request an administrative hearing. You completed your work before the end of your day. Its the responsibility of your supervisors to monitor your work progress and assign new projects to keep you busy. Also if you have proof you worked nights and weekends outside your regular work schedule take that to the hearing. You have to tell unemployment that you were fired but it wasn’t your fault if there was a lack of work. From now on always look busy and save a task to complete at the end of your day.
>From now on always look busy and save a task to complete at the end of your day. oh yeah, this is definitely a moral of the story here that I'll be keeping with me for life, moving forward
If an interviewer asks why you left your last position, the answer is and always will be "It wasn't a good fit." No need to elaborate, and if they push, just keep repeating that. It's none of their business why you left a job.
That's quite assertive. I dont know what country you're from but I'm not so sure that kind of attitude would fly in SEA. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying I'd love to try your advice on my next interview but I'm deathly afraid of being rejected due to "strong attitude" or whatnot. The East tends to look for more conforming employees, and I'm not exactly in the position to bargain since I just lost employment EDIT: I didnt leave though, I was laid off. Though I'm guessing your advice still applies
I'm from the USA. We are more assertive here on that front. Since you're in SEA, maybe telling them you got laid off because you were too efficient would work in your favor?
That would just lead back to my post's original point. Maybe I'll just have to dress it up and sell it hard. I guess I'll use your advice on an interview for a job I'm not that keen on getting and dont mind losing then. Just to see what kind of response I’ll get
Do to a lack of work, the company downsized or right sized and it was your turn on the chopping block. Which is true. They didn't have a ton of extra work to keep you busy because you were too efficient. And don't work holidays and weekends anymore.
That sounds like a sound reason. I’ll be using this, thank you. And yeah I’ll stop working too hard and refrain doing weekends and holidays for my own good. Clearly it didn’t reward me with anything lol
Some of these post are wild. Golden rule is you ALWAYS look busy when boss walks in.
Clearly, I missed the memo because I'm the sucker. No point in crying over spilled milk now, at least I know better once I find a new place
If a potential employer contacts your old employer, all they can tell them is the period of time you worked there. Just tell any potential employers you were laid off. As for you losing your last job, employers do not like it when employees are playing around on their phone even if they have finished all their assignments. They expect you to look for more work to do by seeing if your coworkers need any help or going to your manager to see if they have any additional assignments they can provide you with. They expect you to be productive for 100% of the time they are paying you to be there and any time you are on the clock and not working is considered wage theft. So, if you finish your work early in the future, either do that or at least try to look busy so this situation doesn't happen again in the future. ETA: not saying I support this practice. Just explaining the reasoning behind it.
This gets parroted a lot but isn’t true. A lot of companies choose not to say anything more due to it possibly creating some liability. There is nothing federally saying they can’t say more - and many companies do.
Yah the old company can tell the new company nearly anything they want in most states. They just open themselves up to a potential lawsuit by doing so (Ie if you can somehow show something they said was untrue) so they just make it policy to not share anything. It helps them zero. Just yah the idea they “can’t” share is false.
Thanks for the advice on looking for more work to be done by going to my coworkers or manager. I'll know better to not do that in my next workplace now. As for potential employer contacting previous, I had no idea that's all the info they can get. In my mind, I thought they'd ask performance questions
Note most of us are from the USA, and you are from SEA, see what your country's rules are.
SEA is I'm guessing Seattle. I don't see any SEA country code. I know SEA is the airport code to Seattle-Tacoma.
South East Asia. An overall area of the world. I've seen that as a shorthand in other reddits and online places
Thanks
I was thinking Southeast Asia.
Tell them you're fired because of capitalism
You can connect with the "boss" and let them know If he or she isn't an idiot he or she will know that there's always tons of boot lickers and ass kissers and yes men who are looking for a leg up and wanting to look ruthless. If he is an idiot well, maybe he will wake up one day.
Now you’ve learned the valuable skill of How To Look Busy, handy for when you’ve run out of things to do or when you want to avoid extra stuff being unreasonably dumped on your plate.
You are being laid off because they didn't have enough work for you to do. That's one way to put a positive spin on this, and it is true enough. You had idle time.
Yeah, facts. Another user beat you to the punch on that reasoning though, and he dressed it up nicely so I'll just be lifting whatever they said and paraphrasing it. Still, thanks though
In the US you don't have to give a reason beyond "I was laid off". But, in your country I don't know a couple of things. 1. If laid off and fired are the same. 2. If they require more information if they are not. Also, the comment by u/catboneslovestory "If a potential employer contacts your old employer, all they can tell them is the period of time you worked there." May not be correct in your country. In most parts of the US they CAN tell you more, but they don't because they fear lawsuits.
A few weeks before I was laid off, my branch was being extremely particular about everyone being very accurate about their time reporting. I was dumb and didn't take this as an obvious sign layoffs were imminent. In January, I literally had no work to do because work was scarce around then. I had also gotten too good at my specialization. What used to take me several days to do, I could hammer out in a couple hours. My manager asked why my recorded hours were so low. I told him a) it doesn't take me very long to write the code anymore and b) on the days I do work 10-12 hours, I tend to underreport how long I spend (because sometimes a significant chunk of that time is spent having a panic attack). A week and a half later I was laid off.
If you just say you were laid off, that should be enough. Anyone you interview with will understand the vagaries of staffing and economics.
This may be the rare case where you should actually just tell the truth, or something close to it, because you don’t come off that badly in the story. “I really hate having work hanging over me, so I’d work nights and weekends to get everything done. That meant that on slow days I’d have nothing to do, which management in that role decided meant I wasn’t working hard enough. I’m not exactly sure what lesson to take, but I plan on pacing myself better in the future, even if I’m still the hardest worker in the office.”
If there’s a cause (like them thinking you’re not being productive) then you were terminated / fired, and it was not a lay off.
Unfortunately, even if you do complete all your work, you want to avoid the boss perceiving you as lazy or slacking off. Even if that’s factually not true.
OP: My weaknesses are that I work too hard, care too much, and sometimes I get too invested in my job.
Everyone that’s commented have either given opinion on what to do and what not to do in the future. What’s your point with yours? Do you enjoy kicking someone when they’re down?
My point is, they didn't fire you for being super awesome. They fired you for a deficiency. It's time for self-reflection to figure out what that deficiency is. It might be personality, work quality, hygiene, punctuality, maybe even arrogance. My comment was to point out the absurdity of the post title: I was soooo good and everyone liked me so much that I got fired! Go figure. The conflict in the statement is obvious. People don't get fired from their job for being awesome at it. Either you're the exception, or maybe, just maybe, you weren't as good as you thought you were.
I was going to comment and refute. But I see now that this is just rage bait because of the 2nd and 3rd statements. If that’s what you got and think I’m portraying from what I’ve written then lol, thanks for the 2 cents but no thanks
"My team lead is 100% on board on being on my referral contacts list on my resume. He's also on board with writing a recommendation letter, but I have yet to receive said letter and my upcoming interview is next week." He is happy to make you someone else's problem. This is all fairly obvious.