Reason for dismissal in the application form, what should I write?

The question about the reasons for leaving your previous job and the correct answer to it is one of the key points necessary for successful employment. Recruiters love to ask this question, but job seekers don’t like it. We suggest you figure out whether you really should worry and prepare for it, as well as how to correctly formulate the reasons for leaving your job for your resume in order to increase your chances of finding a job.

It is worth saying that when answering this question, it is important not so much to explain the reason for parting with the previous employer, but what is important is the form of your answer and how you present it. This allows you to demonstrate your motivation, clearly shows your skills in getting out of difficult situations, as well as your level of knowledge and mastery of the rules of business etiquette. It is worth remembering that in this way the applicant is tested for loyalty to the employer.

The reason that you will indicate in your resume should be formulated briefly, competently and accurately:

• you can rely on what is already written down in the work report without pointing out negative aspects;
• Errors and typos should be excluded;
• You shouldn’t resort to deception; it’s better to come up with a succinct but fairly truthful formulation.

After reviewing your resume, the recruiter may ask about the reasons that led to the termination of the contract not only at your previous place of work, but also in those companies where you worked previously. The wording “of one’s own free will” does not indicate the specific circumstances that became the reasons for leaving. If necessary, a future employer can easily find out the true reasons for the separation, but a lot depends on the wording indicated in the resume.

Introduction

When hiring a new employee, the employer advertises in the media or in the employment center, or looks for him through HR agencies and resources. To find a suitable person, he draws up an application in which he describes exactly who he needs, what he will have to do and what level of payment is expected for performing work duties. After this, he collects the resumes of applicants, studies them, selects candidates and interviews them to personally verify the qualities and competence of each.

That is, the main task of the applicant becomes to correctly compose a resume so that the employer becomes interested in it and offers to move to the next stage - an interview, and then to the next one - official employment. Therefore, you should approach the preparation of your resume as carefully as possible, repeatedly checking it for errors. It is best to write the truth in it; you do not need to attribute to yourself unnecessary knowledge and skills that you do not possess, so that later in the work process it does not turn out that you cannot fulfill your duties. You should also correctly fill out the column for the reason for leaving your previous job.

Most employers really pay attention to it. You can’t lie: many check their future employees by calling their previous place of work to confirm information

For example, if you were fired due to layoffs or liquidation of the enterprise, then write so. There is no need to invent that you left on your own because you were not satisfied with the conditions; the employer can check the information, and if this turns out to be untrue, then your other words will be questioned. If you quit on your own, then there is already a wider field for creativity. It is also not necessary to indicate the reason “on your own”, since it will not explain anything to the person studying the resume. It’s better to write what specifically didn’t suit you, but without unnecessary claims, so that the employer doesn’t project this situation onto himself. For example:

1. Low return from the position held, which does not correspond to the necessary wishes.
2. Inability to develop, limitation of work responsibilities, inability to raise professional level.
3. Lack of response from management to rationalization proposals, general unfavorable atmosphere in the company.

Please note that if you were fired due to an article, you do not need to write it on your resume, as this will make it “impossible”. Try to answer evasively, but at the same time prepare a normal explanation for the interview, but in any case indicate the reason for dismissal in the job application form, if such a clause exists. Skipping it will show that you are hiding something.

Reasons that are best kept silent

Recruiters select personnel based on competencies and look at business and human qualities. A new employee should easily fit into the team and be involved in the work process.

Those who will win here are those who remain cool in the face of conflict, are friendly towards others, and are pleasant in communication.

But those who believe that the recruiter does not care about your previous working relationships will lose:

If you want to get a place, just rephrase your reasons:

neutral again.

reasons and find the one that best describes the situation.

And don’t try to push for pity or seek justice at the interview - this will lead to refusal.

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List of neutral reasons for dismissal

However, please note that you should not write false information about the closure or reorganization of a company, because in the era of modern technology this information can be easily verified. Therefore, in your resume, indicate the reason for dismissal that is in your employment record and think over a plan for answering auxiliary questions regarding the details of the dismissal.

Experts advise not to mention such templates as “reduction of staff” or “financial crisis situation at the enterprise” in your resume. For experienced management, this is a signal of the low professional level of the future employee.

If the reason for dismissal in the resume is justified by an unfriendly team, then there is clear evidence of the inability to create favorable relationships with colleagues. Intemperance, problematic, conflicting character is not encouraged in any large company or organization.

Psychologists advise not to include the following words in your resume:

• Always.
• Never.
• Hate.
• Nothing.
• Error.
• Failure.
• Problem.

In case of dismissal, the state inspection does not have the authority to oblige the organization to pay all the funds due to you, so you must go to court.

Reasons that cannot be given

Let's look at the reasons that should not be given under any circumstances, even if they are the reason you are changing jobs:

1. "Excessive loads." You can mention it only if you convincingly prove that the burden was really too heavy to bear.
2. "Conflicts with colleagues." No one wants to hire an employee who cannot find a common language with the team.
3. "Conflicts with management." The same. In the best case, there will be a complete analysis of the conflict situation, down to the smallest detail. In the worst case, they will immediately show you the door. Especially if conflict situations caused a change of not one job, but two, three or more.
4. “Because of layoffs, because of the end of the probationary period, because of the crisis.” All three explanations make you look like a bad specialist, even if this is far from true. The employer initially assumes that you were thrown off like ballast at the first opportunity. And it’s not a fact that there will be an opportunity to explain.
5. "Salaries in envelopes." There is no point in telling you that the company you previously worked for is evading taxes. The employer will immediately begin to think what you can tell when you leave him. Few people need an employee who is ready at any moment to take off for no reason and go to competitors.
6. “Long working hours, poor working conditions.” Companies need workers who are willing to work hard. Ideally - 24 hours a day. Such a reason for dismissal in a resume will make a potential boss assume that he is dealing with a lazy person who is afraid of the slightest difficulties. Whether you can convince him otherwise is the question.

Resume template

List of eligible reasons

When thinking about what reason for dismissal to indicate in the resume and how to present it as successfully as possible, link the wording with the content of the entry in the work book (if it is left). If there is no work record, in this case you can act freely and choose a reason without harming your reputation. So, you decided to leave your previous position because:

1. Do you want to grow, develop, reach new heights, achieve great results, including in material terms.
2. There was a closure, liquidation of an enterprise, department, site, and a reduction in staff due to the reorganization of the organization.
3. Transferring your spouse to another location, you followed him and quit your previous job.
4. I stopped arranging my work schedule. Two general days off per week are required, not rotating ones.
5. The employer violated the terms of the employment contract.

When choosing reasons for dismissal, remember that they should explain the departure and help form a positive impression of you as a future employee.

Let's talk about how to write the reason for dismissal on a resume in order to avoid false information if the reason for dismissal is one that cannot be written on a resume under any circumstances.

Indicate a neutral wording, for example, you do not see eye to eye on organizational issues, but during a personal meeting, be able to convince that the unseemly offense was caused by a fatal combination of circumstances.

Dismissal can often occur due to circumstances beyond a person's control. Details about dismissal from the army for family reasons.

If the resume is filled out not on a form with questions developed by this particular employer, but in free form, you don’t have to include a clause about the reasons for dismissal. At an interview in person, it will be better to explain the situation with the job change, especially if you had to leave not because of the best article of the Labor Code.

Don't include words like "always, never, hate, nothing, mistake, problem, failure" in your resume. Psychologists do not recommend using words with a negative meaning. Replace them with synonyms. For example, not “mistake”, but “valuable lesson”.

Rules for filling out a resume

There are several important rules when filling out the section in a resume about dismissal from a previous job:

• Maintaining the principle of brevity . There is no need to tell a whole story about why this decision was made. The employer is not interested in going into details; he only needs to find out the main reason. It can be summed up in one or two sentences. If you need to find out some points, the recruiter himself will ask questions during the interview;
• It is advisable to indicate the actual reason . If the work book contains a neutral phrase, such as “at one’s own request”, “expiration of the employment contract”, “refusal to transfer to another position”, then this is what should be written in the resume;
• If there is no entry in the work book, for example, when a person worked unofficially , it is better to indicate this point in the resume. For example, “the management did not want to draw up an employment contract.” Many recruiters treat this with understanding, especially if the person worked in a small city where this is most common.

Correct examples

As a rule, each applicant for a vacant position believes that he has the greatest chance of employment in comparison with others, however, HR workers should not be underestimated, because the selection of employees is their main responsibility, and therefore it is difficult to carry out.

Therefore, when explaining the reasons for dismissal, it is better to use the following language:

• lack of opportunities for career growth or acquisition of professional skills. In this way, you can establish yourself as a purposeful person who strives to gain new knowledge and new opportunities, which in any case will benefit the company, because with such an attitude, employees are ready to work with full dedication.
• liquidation of the company or significant reorganization. Such wording will not make a bad impression, because, in fact, the employee is not to blame for the company’s problems, so unnecessary questions will not arise.
• lack of many profiles at the enterprise. By giving a similar reason, the applicant will show that he wants not only to grow professionally, but also to apply his knowledge in other areas, because not everyone wants to do only sales; maybe someone wants to participate in the analysis and formation of the sales market.
• inconvenient schedule or remote location of the company. Every person tries to choose a work schedule in accordance with their marital status or other aspects of life, which is quite understandable. Therefore, such a formulation will not cause negative emotions and therefore will not affect the result, especially if the employee says that it is difficult to get there and he does not like to be late.

Let's take a look from the perspective of an employer or HR specialist

First of all, I will share my experience. I reviewed hundreds of resumes of various candidates and conducted interviews directly and via Skype. This happened both as a manager and as an HR specialist. Let's begin!

First of all, the employer gets acquainted with your resume. You must give him answers to all primary questions that may arise. Usually everyone indicates where they worked, but does not indicate the reason for changing jobs. Please indicate immediately! Think about it well and describe it. It is important for the employer to see where you worked, what duties you performed, what was your responsibility, what you achieved and, of course, why you decided to leave.

Reasons that I considered valid:

• There is no opportunity to develop professionally. It is advisable to describe in detail what development opportunities you see in the new company and how this will help the company continue to grow with you;
• Small salary. It is necessary to indicate why you came to this conclusion. What problems were solved and what problems were removed from the employer’s shoulders. As an argument, it is necessary to cite average prices on the market;
• Moving to a different city. Indicate the reason why you decided to change the city.

Unexcused reasons:

• Conflict within the company with employees;
• A lot of work;
• Desire to conduct business;
• Didn't complete the internship stage.

Once, a guy who had previously run his own business and projects came for an interview. When I asked him why he needed a job, his answer amazed me: his parents had problems at work and they could no longer support him. And I naively believed that he earned his living from personal projects. Of course, we didn't take it. Don’t make such mistakes; it’s better to present such things differently.

Classification of positive and negative factors of dismissal

Although it is not recommended to unnecessarily embellish the data in your resume, you need to immediately distinguish between what can play into the hands of the candidate and what, on the contrary, will repel the employer. We show the breakdown of dismissal parameters into positive and negative in the table.