Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Just been sacked for the first time ever after a funeral

308 replies

PrueD · 19/02/2025 09:33

On Monday I was at a funeral and yesterday I was off on compassionate leave. When I returned today the director sacked me. Been there 9 months.

Before now, I hadn’t been made aware of any issues in my one to ones, the last one being a week and a half ago. I had told my manager a month ago about my terminally ill relative. It was harder to work at my usual capacity at this time but I was still doing a good job on important projects. The main problem I had was they kept piling on more work on top of existing work.

I said I would’ve liked the chance to address any issues and they said they don’t have capacity to support and that’s it. I’m in shock, having an awful week as it is.

OP posts:
Original poster
PrueD · 05/03/2025 14:29

I’ve been invited to a first round interview tomorrow!!

instead of feeling optimistic I’m now back to worrying about what to say about why im leaving the job…

OP posts:
auderesperare · 05/03/2025 15:51

Choose your line and stick to it. Keep it simple. Make it all about the new job. Practice, practice, practice.
So “I delivered two successful projects in my current job. I loved working on these. But when I saw your job ad, I was really attracted to X or Y. I’ve always wanted to work in (a large corporate/ your company because it has an amazing reputation/ this area -delete as appropriate). I wasn’t sure if I’d get another opportunity like this. As there was a small window between projects, I decided to apply. From what I’ve heard so far in this interview, I’m really excited about it”. Then talk about something the interviewer has said about the job.
Do not deviate from the line, no matter how probing they are. Stay super positive and upbeat. Make it all about the new role you are interviewing for. Practice answering the question in front of the mirror over and over until it feels familiar.
one word of warning. Don’t get so hooked up on this question to the extent you forget to prepare for the interview as a whole. Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Why you are leaving your current job may not even be of interest to the interviewer. They are much more interested in knowing whether your skill set is a good fit and whether you are the right person for the job so focus primarily on that. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

Drummergirl1971 · 05/03/2025 17:15

Can you be honest with them & say you don’t really know, you were just told after returning from brows compassionate leave for a funeral, but the review was quite vague? Maybe mention their high staff turnover? Everyone knows what that means. I’m not in management so I don’t know how they would take that, but hopefully others on here do. Best of luck to you - we are all rooting for you ✊🏽

DazzlingCuckoos · 05/03/2025 17:46

Going back to the point I'd made earlier in the thread, I've just had a CV come across my desk for consideration and it includes one of the companies that a former colleague left us for.

This is the person that worked for me for 15 years and has had 3 jobs in the 4 years since they left.

This CV shows that they too worked at one of the companies for less than 12 months. I was not surprised. Everyone I come across that has worked there says how awful it was so I'm no longer surprised when the time spent at that company is short on a CV.

In a way it makes me like the candidate more - they didn't hang around to put up with their bullshit!

I would use a lot of truth in what you tell prospective employers:

"It was a bit of an odd one that - I did two projects really well - got really good feedback and both were successful, but ended up being let go after the completion of the latest project and after a short period of compassionate leave. I know staff turnover is pretty high there and I'd been there less than 2 years. It was disappointing as I felt I had much more to give."

Again - do not say you were fired. You were "let go".

Popfull · 05/03/2025 21:08

I also hate that it’s a small industry and one person from this company knows someone from the company I left. So it will get around that I was sacked

How sure?

OopsyDaisie · 07/03/2025 09:34

PrueD · 25/02/2025 21:06

@MellersSmellers thank you.

I updated my CV today which was a good exercise because it reminded me of my wide skillset and all the positive work experiences before this one. Applied for some jobs - it’s a start.

I think another concern I now is explaining resume gap assuming I don’t end up with a new job by the end of March.

Well done OP! Good luck!!!! You'll find something better!

Trainingfairy · 07/03/2025 13:06

PrueD · 25/02/2025 21:06

@MellersSmellers thank you.

I updated my CV today which was a good exercise because it reminded me of my wide skillset and all the positive work experiences before this one. Applied for some jobs - it’s a start.

I think another concern I now is explaining resume gap assuming I don’t end up with a new job by the end of March.

You're overthinking this @PrueD; Recruiters don't tend to worry too much about how long someone has been on the market (unless it's an unusually long time) but it's worth having a good response ready anyway..
Reasons for the gap could be:

  • I decided I would grasp the opportunity to take some time out and reflect on what I wanted in this next stage of my career
  • I've taken the opportunity to invest in my skills by increasing my capability in xxx and yyy which is one of the reasons I have applied for this role with your organisation
  • I wanted to take time to find the right organisation and a role that truly excites me
I can probably think of some more but I'm sure you can do something with these suggestions! Good luck!
Dontjudgeme101 · 16/06/2025 09:42

How are things now op?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page