Would you list a job that you were a temp at for 1 1/2 years and then fired on your resume?

Question

I gained most of my office experience at this job and was fired from there, but I don't want to appear like I have big gaps on my resume. I want to start looking for a new job and am afraid that listing this job on my resume has affected me from getting new jobs in the past.

Answer 1

List everything on a resume. Period. If they do extensive background checks, they could find out anyway and you could end up being fired from this job too.

Second, the gap would look fishy. List it, and if they ask what happened, explain it rationally (mass layoffs? personality disagreements?)

Answer 2

It depends on the circumstances of the firing and the type of job you are looking for next. Were you laid off? Was the firing based on your performance? Was the firing a mutual agreement? If you're applying to an office job again, you'll probably want to mention that job, and there are a million ways to say you were let go from a company without saying flat out, "I was fired."

It's also important to adjust your resume and tailor it to the positition you are applying for. Depending on the next job you apply to, it might not be necessary to mention the office temp work.

Answer 3

yeah i would list it and play up the positive. come up with a formal way of saying why you were fired. make it seem like you are a better person now, and that you have learned from the experience. you can say it was a misunderstanding or something but don't show them that you harbor any guilt or that you are still angry with this employer. make it seem like that was "so last year, I'm a completely different person now" (but don't say that) anyways...you can also request that they not contact this employer, if this employer has been saying bad things about you. You can say that you don't feel they are giving a fair representation of you, but that you are a good worker, and have moved past the experiences there. good luck.

Answer 4

can you find someone on staff who would give you a good reference and vouch for you? if yes, then you should definately add it to your resume. you'll have to get an interview set up before any employer aks why you left the job so you should work on a good answer in the meantime. like you couldn't accomodate the work schedule and you had to leave... don't add your references to the resume unless your asked for them.

Answer 5

Tough one. If you do list it, you'll have to be prepared to explain why this job ended. You'll also need to be prepared to have the prospective employer contact the one who let you go. If it was your fault, use it as a lesson learned. If it was the luck of the draw (so to speak), then explain it as the typical downsizing. Wish you the best.

Answer 6

Look on the bright side; you got the job and income for 18 months, thats very good already.