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Is a separation letter the same as being fired?
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Hi fishes, I have 4+ years of experience as a full stack developer.Can you tell me how to prepare for lead software developer/engineer role interviews and what type of questions will be asked in interviews?Should I prepare from complete basics?Pls share your experiences and some tips/ Accenture" class="linkified" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >advices.Accenture Deloitte Amazon India Amazon Google
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1. Have him talk to an employment attorney ASAP.
2. What exactly did they tell him in his termination meeting? Did he get any documentation? That may help him understand what happened.
3. There are a number of ways to massage it. Personally i think tying his departure to a desire for growth opportunities is a neutral way to explain it that people won't question. Honestly with the great resignation going on I don't know that many people will question that.
He’s barely under 40 :) we honestly don’t want to deal with any type of lawsuit… just want to move on to the next opportunity. Lawsuits are messy and stressful.
Tell them that while he thoroughly enjoyed his experience, it wasn’t a culture fit for x, y, and z reason. That opens a pathway into his expressing what is important to him for his next job!
Sorry that yall are going through this.
Any severance?
Will HR approve unemployment claim?
Stop using fired.
Being fired means being removed from your job because of something you did, like poor performance, misconduct, bad behavior, or violating the terms of employment.
Being laid off means being removed from your job through no fault of your own.
I understand at will, if your husband was performing well-- he was laid off.
Explanation to use: My company went through a re-org. Then shut up and move to your relevant qualifications.
Thanks for the clarification of being fired vs being laid off for the non-native speakers 😁
it seems crazy that higher ups at this company would let a new hire manager (only 6 weeks into a job) fire someone who was on the team before them without a good reason
Was in a similar position myself as a manager a few years back and did the reverse. Shared my calendar with my reports and asked that they fill it in with anything they thought I should be aware of. Still share my calendar so they can double book me if they need to and know I can reschedule my conflicts depending on what they are. Looking back I definitely would do it that way again but would also ask them to share theirs. There were more than a few meetings I should have been in that individuals thought I wouldn’t be needed until it was too late and things were already off the rails
Chief
Unfortunately, with "At Will Employment" it is true that a company can decide to fire you without reason. (It is actually better for them NOT to give a reason, because a reason can be contested.) I doubt there is anything your husband, or a lawyer, can do to either contest his firing or seek severance (beyond unemployment). BTW, the fact that he qualifies for unemployment says he wasn't fired for cause.
I think your husband should say he was let go when because of a "reorganization" by the new manager. You are safe to say this because he wasn't placed on a PIP or fired due to any stated reasons.
I wouldn't worry about the possibility of the background check. What you should do is reach out to friends/contacts at the old company and his former manager (from before his firing) and ask them to be references. Having references should overcome the background check.
Chief
True, the company may decide not to contest it. But, their decision not to bolsters the view the he wasn't fired for cause.
In house Employment lawyer here. It’s true you can be fired for any reason so long as it’s not an illegal reason. The performance claim sounds bogus to me. Definitely talk to an employment lawyer and fight for severance. They shouldn’t contest unemployment- it’s a dick thing to do.
Also: the entire week leading up to his firing, my husband was managing sales trainings with executive leadership being involved. I do not think it was performance issue or they wouldn’t have let him run point on these high profile trainings.
If I were him I just wouldn't put that experience on linkedin/resume.
It’s his first experience moving into a new role (went from sales into sales training). He earned an important trainer certification while at the company that should make him more marketable.
Name and shame the company
Your husband made a mistake in communicating to his new boss in micro managing. Definitely sounds like BS otherwise but I would not have done that.
Chief
Yeah, new bosses are generally sensitive to criticism from legacy employees. They are going to feel like their leadership and experience is being challenged.
Let people know that new management was hired and they decided to go in a new direction. It unfortunately happens more than you know. Most hiring directors understand this. Especially when you pair it with the positive experiences in the time with the new management. Talk about the training that was done and the feedback. Sometimes new management just decides they want to bring in or choose their own people. It really is not fair and in my opinion poor management but good companies and leaders understand that when you are interviewing. Good luck.
My colleague was laid off 2 weeks after he joined due to reorg, so I think this can be a good explanation
That’s horrible. He worked two weeks and was cut loose that quickly? How high up was the position?
If they fired him with no cause contact HR and see if he is rehirable. If so, then just lie when applying new jobs. Say you wanted to move on for blah blah reason. They aren’t allowed to ask why when new company reaches out. They can only ask if rehirable and dates employed
Legally companies when they reach out to prior company can only ask if they are eligible for rehire they can not ask why they were terminated.
I would say restructuring of management. If they do ask. Because honestly he was not give a reason.
So he could pursue unemployment under the grounds of 'retaliation' since he wasn't given more specific feedback. If he got a decent severance and it was sort of amicable and I was in his shoes I'd tell interviewers the truth a new manager came in he provided feedback and was released from the company shortly after with no reasoning.
Just an FYI. He will automatically qualify for unemployment. I would say something to the effect of, "due to downsizing, I was laid off with no reasonable expectation to be recalled".
The only reason they could give at a reference call is he was terminated under at will employment guidelines.