What to Write in a Cover Letter After You Have Been Terminated?
Some reasons for employment gaps can be briefly addressed in a cover letter. If you were ill, raising a child, took time off to care for an ill relative or went back to school to change careers, these can all be mentioned in the cover letter. However, being fired is not something you want to put in a cover letter.
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Why Not?
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Telling an employer you were fired can do a number of things. It may immediately tell the employer you are an incompetent employee. It may also tell the employer that you are likely to launch into a tirade about how horrible your previous employer was in your cover letter. Discussing anything negative about a former employer during the job interview process is a bad idea. If you bad mouth a former employer, the question may arise in an employer's mind about what you will do when you handle difficult customers or co-workers. Negative words have a tendency to get back around to those at whom it was directed.
Strengths
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Focus on your strengths and skills in your cover letter. Tell the employer why he should hire you and about what sets you apart from other candidates. Give specific examples of when you used those skills on the job in your cover letter. Use numbers and percentages to give the employer a concrete accomplishment to think about as he considers your cover letter and resume.
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Interview
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Use the interview as the time to briefly discuss being fired if a question about why you left your last employer comes up. Remember to stay positive about the employer. Take responsibility for why you were fired if you know you did something wrong, but focus on what you have learned from the experience. If you and your former employer did not see eye-to-eye, say so, but avoid saying that the employer was a loser and was just looking for a reason to get rid of you.
How to Frame It
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You might say that your skills were not a good match for the company or the job, that you were not fully aware of your job responsibilities or perhaps that the values the company espoused were not in line with your own. You can generally state why you were fired if you have to explain why you left a job on a job application or during an interview without being dishonest.
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