Interviewer: Have you ever been fired?
Karen: To be perfectly honest, yes, I have.
Interviewer: Can you tell me about what happened?
Karen: At my previous job, I had trouble working with my manager. My manager constantly micromanaged the staff and if any staff member made a mistake he would yell at them in front of everyone. One time, he started yelling at me and insulting my work, and I told him honestly that I didn’t think it was my fault. Later, he told me that if I argued with him again in front of other people that he would fire me.
Interviewer: So, what happened?
Karen: The next time he got angry with me, I argued with him again. I felt like he was a bully and that I needed to stand up to him.
Interviewer: Do you regret how you handled the situation?
Karen: Not at all. I refuse to be treated that way. Actually, after I was fired, 3 other staff members ended up quitting because they realized it was not a healthy work environment.
Patterns and Examples
No, I have never ____________________.
- No, I have never been fired.
- No, I have never been fired from a job.
I have been ____________________, but I have never been fired for poor performance.
- I have been let go from a job, but I have never been fired for poor performance.
- I have been laid off from a company, but I have never been fired for poor performance.
Yes, I have. I was fired from ____________________ because ____________________.
- Yes, I have. I was fired from my first job because I was not good at working on a team, but I have improved a lot since then.
- Yes, I have. I was fired from my previous job because I could not agree with the direction of the company, and I had trouble getting along with management.
