Re: An ugly job incident

[Denise Lystad <lystad -at- LYNDEN -dot- COM>]

Anon,

I don't know anything about the legal ramifications, but I have had a little
experience at the practical ramifications.

I was laid off my first tech writing job (after a year) and fired from my next
(after six months). The firing was not justified or able to be defended by the
company in any way; I could easily have sued but chose not to (now, I wish I had
taken some action). Needless to say, with that kind of job history, I was
apprehensive about interviewing for other companies. However, within six days I had
a job offer from the company I wanted to work for.

In the interviews with that company (and others), when asked why I left my two
previous jobs, I told them honestly what had happened in non-judgmental terms,
without getting too much into specifics. I was careful to present only facts and
leave opinion and conjecture out of it. For references, I had one person who was my
manager at my first company and had worked as a manager at the second company a
couple of years before. I also had a reference from the tech writer who still
worked at the second company. Both were able to reassure prospective employers as
to the circumstances of my leaving the companies.

In interviews, I felt two of the most important things I could do were to present
myself with quiet confidence and completely avoid any defensiveness. It seemed to
work for me. As a matter of fact, I have been able to advance more than I would
have been able to with either company and I couldn't be happier in my current
position.

Denise Lystad
Lynden Incorporated
Seattle, Washington

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