The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5)

US employment

I have a bachelor's in engineering from India and an MS in Computer Science from the US.
I have worked as a Systems Analyst/Programmer both in India and the US. I was recently fired from my US job very badly citing professional incompetency only after 3 months.

1.If my remove my recent experience from my CV and say that I was unemployed for that period, I would be obstructing the truth.But I feel that hiding my firing incident would improve my chances of getting hired.Is this okay?

2. Also I'm currently working in a reputed software MNC in India-what are the chances of getting a perm/contract to perm position in the US thru telephonic interviews from India? I have a green card and do not require sponsorship.

Thanks in advance.

Ryan Sil
Saturday, February 7, 2004

"But I feel that hiding my firing incident would improve my chances of getting hired.Is this okay?

yep :) do it if you think its best.

FullNameRequired
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Your resume isn't required to have every single place you've worked on it. If someone asks about the gap, say that you started with a company, but it didn't work out, and without really gaining any useful experience, there wasn't much point in putting it on the resume.

If they specifically ask whether you left or you were fired (which is pretty rare in my experience, after such an explanation), then be honest. Tell them the situation wasn't working out, and while you were contemplating solutions, that a vindictive boss decided to fire you.

I've worked a couple places that aren't on my resume, and it actually had nothing to do with whether I was fired or not (I wasn't, but that isn't the point). In those cases, the stay was short, and the reason for parting ways was that it was clear it wasn't a good fit between me and the company. There's no shame in that.

Brad Wilson (dotnetguy.techieswithcats.com)
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Something else I wanted to add.

Nobody think it's odd when companies hire people provisionally, to see if it's going to work out. Nobody should think it's odd when you're doing the same to the company. Those first few months are more about attempting to mesh the person and the corporate culture than anything else.

Brad Wilson (dotnetguy.techieswithcats.com)
Saturday, February 7, 2004

>> Nobody think it's odd when companies hire people provisionally, to see if it's going to work out. Nobody should think it's odd when you're doing the same to the company

Balance of power. With high unemployment (_real_ unemployment, not the figures gov'ts publish), if you need a job to put food on the table, and you don't have what it takes to have your own business, like it or not, you're not in the position to do otherwise :-)

FredF
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Having a green card is a HUGE advantage for you in terms of getting employemnet IN the US. But even so, it will be extremely tricky to do so by phone from overseas. Not impossible, but hard. You'd want to assure them that they will not have to pay plane expenses from India to do your interviews, and that you'd be able to interview on site at a moments notice, and that they wouldn't have to pay for your moving expenses from India if they hire you, also that you'd be able to start, say next week, and not three months from now. If you still maintain a residence in the US this could be made a lot more certain.

Is it ethical to lie about your recent history? No. Will you be fired if you are found out? You might be, hard to say. Will it help you not to have it listed? Maybe, maybe not.

Your main problem as I see it is that there are LOTS of talented folks vying for jobs right now and unless you have published amazing algorithms in journals or are in some other wayp a known superstar, it's just going to be WAY easier for any company to hire one of the hundreds of applicants that doesn't come with your baggage. If you are present in the US while looking for jobs, it's going to be a lot easier for you.

Tony Chang
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Check here for more responses:

http://community.hotjobs.com/hj-tech/messages/?msg=4105

Bill P.
Sunday, February 8, 2004

Why were you fired? Was it a valid reason? Or unjust? This is also something to consider in your career decisions. What steps have you taken so this doesn't happen again?

Bella
Monday, February 9, 2004