Terminated

[NN242]

If you've been forced to resign and you still list this facility on your resume, not to be used as a "reference", but just to account for the time and what you were doing for that period of time, what do you say about it to potential employers? I read that if they conduct a background check, with your permission/signature on the form, then a potential employer can access your personnel records. So, my question is will the potential employer be able to deduce what the circumstances surrounding your resignation were and are you just better off telling recruiters that you were forced to resign right off the bat? When they ask you why you left your last position, what should you say?

[Selke]

First I'd examine why this situation arose, what I did to contribute to it, why the other people involved terminated me, and make sure this will not happen again, whether it be something I did or didn't do, or if it is a toxic unit, to learn to identify these before signing on to work .... Is it a union facility? If so did you have a good union rep? If not, did you appeal to HR? Consult with an attorney? Why did they terminate you -- something major that will be reported to the BON? Was it bullying, favoritism, and unit politics as usual? Or something else?

The answer to your question will depend on how long you worked at the facility and how large a gap it will leave in your resume. Do you have another per diem position you worked in during the same dates, or overlapping dates? Are you in school? Do you have a spouse or family and you could say you took time off for your kids, or to take a break, or something to account for your time?

[NN242]

Just wondering if it's a good idea to let potential employers know exactly what the circumstances were that led up to the forced resignation (because they may find out through the background check, right?) or just say that the position was resigned from and give a vague reason? An example of a vague excuse is "it just wasn't a good fit" or something along those lines that I've read here on this website. I would rather not omit this job from resume because I think it would be wrong. I would also rather not sugarcoat information when confronted with the whole "Why'd you leave that position" question.

Nobody mentioned reporting me to any BON. I don't think any of my actions were reportable.

I don't think that job is worth the energy of filing appeals or consulting with lawyers. Who has money for that anyways?

Just needing advice about how to present accurate information in the best light to potential employers. Or if I should even worry about it at all, since I did resign and wasn't actually terminated. Does that fact REALLY make any difference by the way?

[justme1972]

Yup, because it's a myth that a former employer cannot say anything negative about you when called for a reference....IF what they are telling is documented, objective and can be proven.

They can't say, "Well, we just didn't particularly care for Jane's attitude so we let her go".

But they can say, "Jane was terminated due to 3 med errors, and we have a policy to terminate at the 3rd"...because that is going to be something well-documented.

Now, most hospitals may have an internal policy to only disclose position and dates of employment, but that doesn't mean they are legally barred from saying more.

An easy way to find out what will be revealed is to check your own references...have a friend call and say they are a manager with Acme Home Health Care to see what they will say.

Better to find out now, than when you apply for a job you really want and discover it later.

If they will only give dates of employment, I see no reason why you need to mention the exact circumstances in which you left.

[LydiaNN]

It is hard to give specific suggestions without knowing the details, but I can see why you wouldn't want to leave this job off your resume. I can't imagine a typical employer allowing their personnel records to be accessed by another employer, unless it was a government agency or someone else involved with security clearances doing the asking. And honestly, in my experience, most former employers simply don't want the hassle that comes with being too specific about why someone left.

Whether you were forced to resign or not, the fact remains that you did so. You weren't fired. So saying that you resigned is not going to be dishonest.

[caliotter3]

I can relate to this because this type of situation has been happening recently to me. Of all things, my former manager who had stated he would give me good references, I found out, was in actuality, insuring no one would hire me. If I had not found out from a third party that he was bad mouthing me instead of giving the positive references that he promised, I never would have known. I contacted an attorney, who contacted the company to enourage him to stop slandering my good name. I have since found out, that he continues with his behavior. The attorney says that I can't take action against the person without finding out more specifics, almost an impossible task. The attorney stated that it boils down to this person stating an opinion, and that opinion can be anything they care to state. I can't do anything about them stating an opinion to potential employers. It is up to me to find out the specifics of what is being said and to bring action against untrue specifics. Of course this is impossible. I never would have found out in the beginning, had someone not been brave enough to tell me that it was this person who was bad mouthing me. Of course, they didn't give specifics, and that person is no longer even available. So I take the advice of someone who heard about this, I give a bare bones rendition of the truth, and state that the person who is bad mouthing me has a personal problem with letting others know their own shortcomings. Nothing but the truth. Once you get a few employers, or some time, beyond this, it won't be so prominent in your inability to get a job. Should you continue to be unable to get a job because of this, and untrue things are being said, then you have to decide whether you can afford the money, time, and emotional involvement involved in fighting the situation. Just tell a vague version of the truth and say as little as possible. Good luck.

[lveroflife]

i am in an actually very similar situation.... I was told that i needed to resign or they would fire me... so in my letter of resignation I stated that due to unforseen circumstances I would need to resign from my staff nurse position immediately due to personal reasons. which leaves it open enough.. but my manager said that when someone calls to verify employment it will say that i resigned because of unforseen circumstances. and nothing else. they will just be verifying employment which goes to HR. unless you give your new job your managers number than they cannot bad mouth you.... plus you can tell your new job that they can verify employment and reason for resignation but do not give details or permission for them to speak to the person who terminated you.. thats not such a good idea. I would really stick to the, "this just ended up not being a good fit for me, so I decided to move on to something that would work better" MANY nurses quit etc... its common, and as long as you did not kill anyone im sure someone else would be glad to hire you. they would respect the fact that you want to be in a enjoyable place with respect and while delievering safe patient care. because if we are not happy how can we be giving the best care to our patients???? I was told that as long as i resign when people verify employment they can see that i resigned and was not fired... that to me sounds like the best deal, since really they let me go...

good luck to you and remember its their loss, your a good nurse, and they'll need you sooner or later and you'll be happier somewhere else:nurse::heartbeat