Started a new job a few months ago and due to a manager that has had it out for me from day 1 and an HR/onboarding team who refused to listen, I'm being let go next week. I don't really care to defend myself here – just looking for advice on how to move forward. I've had an extremely successful career up to this point, formed some amazing relationships here (with everyone but my manager) and am not beating myself up about it as I know this is just one of those bad manager situations.
I was told last week that Monday would be my last day. I was also told I would get 4-weeks of severance and they would pay for COBRA through the end of February. I haven't gotten anything in writing yet.
Is there anything I should look for in the separation agreement? I assume severance will be contingent on me signing it, so I want to know what to look out for. I've already asked for some additional weeks of pay/insurance via email, but haven't received a response. I doubt they'll respond.
I have ample savings and the job market in my industry is a bit better now. I'm single and live alone. I'm worried that 3 months at a job will be a red flag, and the background check will show I was fired, but I'm not too worried about finding something else.
Would just love any advice on how to approach this.
Getting fired on Monday. How can I prepare?
byu/brandnewcardock inpersonalfinance
Posted by brandnewcardock
14 Comments
Make sure everything you heard is in writing is the real point. Beyond that much of it is beyond your control. Potentially just figuring out how to explain the short 3 month stay at the job for future interviews. Hope not dealing with them will bring peace of mind.
You can ask for time to review the agreement before signing and run it through ChatGPT. It will have things that will be “concerning” but they are always overreaching and you’re signing away rights for money.
It will at least make it very easy to digest very quickly
Part of your separation agreement should address what they’ll say during reference checks. You should negotiate that they will confirm that you were employed there from X date to X date, and nothing else.
Voluntarily resign instead of having a termination on your record. Basically, be professional. Accept that this didn’t turn out to be the best fit and make this as easy and pain free as possible for the company. A three month stint can be explained to future employers as a mutual agreement to part ways.
If you’ve only been there 3 months, it is highly unlikely that you’ll get anything else you ask for.
Typical separation for corporations is 2 weeks pay per year worked there, so you’re already coming out ahead if you’re getting 4 weeks and you’ve only been there a few months.
If you’ve only been there 3 months, I would leave that job off my resume altogether.
There’s not a lot you can do here. Severance is typically “sign it or don’t”, “take it or don’t”, not typically negotiable in situations like this. Basically, you probably just have to agree not to bad mouth or sue them, but even if you don’t sign it and do choose to bad mouth them, you still open yourself up to litigation. The only real reason not to sign is if you intend to pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit, which isn’t cheap or easy.
Just accept that it was a bad fit, sign whatever you need to sign, take whatever they’re going to give, and move on with your life.
Not every position is going to be a good fit, and that’s okay.
Best of luck in landing your next position!
Don’t show the experience or show that you were laid off or tell you resigned. Company can’t know or show the reason.
If your manager hired you, why did they have it out for you from day 1???
Leave this off your resume unless you’re ever applying with a company that will easily hear about your employment there. You may also have to answer questions about whether you’ve ever been fired – answer those truthfully but don’t list it on your resume.
Make sure there’s an reason on firing. Speak to a labor attorney
This might sound obvious but if there is any employee benefit that you’ve considered taking advantage of, sign up for it NOW while you are still technically employed.
Won’t show up on your background check. Keep it off your resume and just add the time to your previous job, or just say you were laid off from the previous job and why there is a 2-3 month gap. Most background check companies just call your prior company to confirm you worked there and that’s it.
File for workman comp due to job related stress. Do it tomorrow. That will slow the process down. Hr will shite themselves.
Remember for future positions don’t blame them. State something like I didn’t agree with the way the company was going after I had joined and we both agreed to part ways.