Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
This is real good advice. I have a guy I work with now that was fired in June of '22. He was told that he'd get the next position open on our team but didn't get an interview until November. He still applied like mad to over 200 companies.
I would have let them fire me, matter of fact I’ve been fired a few times for performance when I was in sales and didn’t make quota. It never prevented me from getting UI
Providing someone with the option to resign under threat of firing them is not the same as a voluntary resignation. OP should ensure he writes “I was told I had no choice to resign by the employer” on his unemployment application.
Unfortunately if you got fired for cause (even if it’s mostly bullshit) the employer can also essentially block your access to unemployment. This happened to me once and it sucked.
Yeah, OP should still file. I was in this situation several years ago and I confirmed that despite resigning, I was still eligible. Fortunately, I was teaching and had tons of documentation, so it was very simple to get approved.
This is the move, make them terminate/fire you. You can then claim unemployment. Performance outside of attendance and tardiness is not justification to get denied unemployment. Otherwise state that you wish to continue working. Look for new employment immediately then submit 2 week notice or don’t if you don’t care about burning bridges. If you have a supervisor or manager that will vouch for you even if they are no longer with the company then burn away.
There's a case to be made that the "choice" to resign was effectively a constructive discharge as the alternative was firing. At which point, they'll need to substantiate their claim of misconduct. Now, if you believe they can do just that, then you may be fucked. However, even then, a surprising number of companies simply won't fight it, and if they do, many won't contest an appeal. You basically have nothing to lose filing for unemployment.
Resigning is for rich people. If you're not rich, take the termination and file for employment. This way, you're getting a paycheck while you look for a new job.
I see this a lot but I’d argue you should only go this route if you really need the money. Not having a termination in your work history is worth a lot of money. As in, tens of thousands in salary per year. It’s easy to explain away resigning and then a 1-month gap. It’s much harder to get a job when you have to explain how another employer tried with you and failed.
Hey OP, sorry about what happened. I also got terminated from my first career job and it broke me and wasn’t getting hired back in my field so I worked 2 jobs that made me feel worse. However, I recently got hired back into my field and it was one of the best things to happen to me. I’m definitely going through some “ptsd” (for lack of better term) with trying to stay on my toes and perform above and beyond but I’m definitely at a better place now so far. Just stick in there and keep yourself busy and try to improve yourself however possible. Sending out hundreds of applications will hurt but what will be yours will be yours at some point. Just stick in there and it’ll be alright :)
It's happened to me a couple of times. Once when I was the top performer. Don't let it get you down. Many, many people's success story begins with a termination.
OP, just focus on getting a new job. I was almost fired twice in my career, it's a scary feeling and it fucked with my ego for awhile. I ended up saving a shit ton of my income and retiring at 56. Very little stress now. Get a new job and save and invest as much as you can and get out of the rat race ASAP!!!
If you don't mind sharing what were your primary incomes when you retired at 56? I want to do the same but I don't think you can even touch IRAs penalty fee at that point.
The comment feels generic and weirdly detached from what OP is asking. They're looking for advice for what to do right now, and you basically took that as an opportunity to say "make money, save money, retire early, just like me" Obviously they're going to look for a new job eventually, they're asking for actionable advice about the interim.
Well depending on more specific details (like where OP lives and what "terinated for cause" means in this situation) they might not have qualified for unemployment anyways.
I have a relative who was fired for a screw up at work. He got unemployment because his employer didn't follow their own disciplinary rules. They were supposed to go through steps, not just fire him for one mistake after 20+ years on the job.
Thank you for the words. Like I told my ex-colleague, I want to curl up and not show my face to the world. He said that it's fine to be upset, but I don't know if I'm allowed to be upset or not.
I’ll give a personal anecdote here: I was terminated, and that came up again for my background check 5 years later. Almost cost me the job. The kicker? The old employer didn’t say anything. I was the one who revealed I was terminated, and had to explain it to the new employer. If I had said nothing, it would have been better. Not saying to conceal your history, but I will say that employers really don’t like talking about fired employees.
It isn’t the end of the world, focus on looking for a new job and prepare yourself for it. Life moves on and you should to. Don’t beat yourself over it, I have seen folks in your situation where they go excel at their next job. Best of luck.
Literally no reason to tell people why you left. Also any gap in employment is easily filled by I was on an independent contract with a client. The client requests full confidentiality so I cannot reveal them.
Another thing OP will want to do is request a copy of their personnel file. This should contain a copy of any HR paperwork you signed with the company, and perhaps performance reviews. It will not contain any insight or justification for why your performance was insufficient.
For Cause is pretty serious. You can likely request to have that removed to without cause. Unless there is something you are withholding. I know you’ve given the reasons elsewhere but if there any details you’re leaving out then yes it’s better to just resign as “for cause” is no joke as it’s not “beCAUSE you did a bad job”.
My fiancée works in HR (for a major global company) and if the performance is really bad then that justifies terminating. I don’t know OP’s situation but usually they require documentation of performance and an attempt to correct it. Consistently bad performance can be enough for cause. Otherwise it looks like it is a layoff (unless the person resigns). You should take into account that bad performance can involve many things that could impact a company.
Depending on where you live/worked, you may not be eligible for unemployment. I was recently terminated and my work and I had differing opinions on whether or not it was for cause. When I applied for UI, they tried to challenge it. They ended up losing, but if they'd won I think it would have impacted whether or not I'd have been able to claim UI.
The employers unemployment tax per worker varies with the number of layoffs in some states. In California its 1.25% with no layoffs and 6% with a lot of layoffs. One cheapskate billionaire who fired half the company tried hard to make them look like for cause.
never ever resign, let them terminate you. no one, i mean literally no one else besides th HR and the immediate supervisor knows that this termination is because of performance. not even the other people in the team. so you don't have to worry if this gets out and impact your next job.
This is an opportunity for you to find a job that interests you. Don't settle for any lame job. It's unfortunate we rely on a job to live but this is the time for you to polish up that resume and get a job in a field that wants you and you want to be there.
Whatever you do don’t just sit around waiting for an offer letter. Until the moment you have officially accepted a job offer you should be handing out your resume and going to as many offers as possible.
Initially, there were too many re-opened tickets, so I got a reprimand on that. For the second meeting, it was due to me not testing the functionality with other areas of the code and some other small areas. For this last one, it was due to me not doing it a certain way and my logs not being up to snuff.
OP, I am not the first person to say this here, but... I don't think you actually were fired for cause! For Cause usually means misconduct (theft, coming to work drunk, etc.). I just don't like the thought of them trying to control how you think of yourself. You tried your best and you can be proud of that.
I know your pain. I also "resigned" under threat of being fired with the agreement thst if I resigned my employer would pay me for the remainder of the month, whicj they ended up not doing. They also screwed me over on taxes by not paying out my health insurance, a thing for which I am in the process of possibly taking them to court.
You should have let them fire you and taken the unemployment checks. Your former company is almost NEVER going to reveal the specific reasons for dismissal beyond your rehire status. Saying much else is opening up too many legal options and most HR/Legal departments are not going to allow that risk. So if someone is calling to verify past employment they're going to get the same 'No' answer to that question regardless of resignation or involuntary separation.
Popular question on background form: "Have you ever been terminated or asked to resign from a job?" So now you're jobless without unemployment, that, by the way, you've already paid for. Live and learn.
This. I never claimed unemployment until the 2009 recession. My state didn't require resume classes because there were so many unemployed they didn't have room for everyone.
Almost 100% time "Performance Issues" is actually poor leadership, unrealistic job assignments, failure to provide the required resources to actually do the job on managements' part. They do love to gaslight. You showed up on time, provided notification in case of emergencies, and you put in effort.
Ummm. You get another job. Twice in my life I have gotten another job the same day. One time I left at lunch on my first day at a new job and went and got another job. I didn’t know how little my first job was paying me. I was young
my wife is in management and in many states to get terminated for performance you have to have documentation, put the person on PiP's, etc. takes a few months
Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
This is real good advice. I have a guy I work with now that was fired in June of '22. He was told that he'd get the next position open on our team but didn't get an interview until November. He still applied like mad to over 200 companies.
I would have let them fire me, matter of fact I’ve been fired a few times for performance when I was in sales and didn’t make quota. It never prevented me from getting UI
Always take a firing.
I imagine this happens alot in sales.
Resigning will definitely prevent you from claiming UI. Another way it benefits the employer.
What about when the next employer asks you how you left your last job?
You just look for a new job.
OP got got
Providing someone with the option to resign under threat of firing them is not the same as a voluntary resignation. OP should ensure he writes “I was told I had no choice to resign by the employer” on his unemployment application.
(Edit: the above comment has been edited to provide that OP is potentially eligible. Previously it stated OP was ineligible.)
That depends on the state. Op should file.
Unfortunately if you got fired for cause (even if it’s mostly bullshit) the employer can also essentially block your access to unemployment. This happened to me once and it sucked.
And in the future OP, write SUD in small letters where they make you sign.
Yeah, OP should still file. I was in this situation several years ago and I confirmed that despite resigning, I was still eligible. Fortunately, I was teaching and had tons of documentation, so it was very simple to get approved.
File for unemployment, the company will contest claiming you resigned.
Next time your in this position choose Option C: I want to keep working. Make them make the decision not you
Could you give a little context? What's the advantage for the employee here?
That’s actually option B in this scenario. OP’s employer said resign or we’re going to fire you for poor performance.
This is the move, make them terminate/fire you. You can then claim unemployment. Performance outside of attendance and tardiness is not justification to get denied unemployment. Otherwise state that you wish to continue working. Look for new employment immediately then submit 2 week notice or don’t if you don’t care about burning bridges. If you have a supervisor or manager that will vouch for you even if they are no longer with the company then burn away.
There's a case to be made that the "choice" to resign was effectively a constructive discharge as the alternative was firing. At which point, they'll need to substantiate their claim of misconduct. Now, if you believe they can do just that, then you may be fucked. However, even then, a surprising number of companies simply won't fight it, and if they do, many won't contest an appeal. You basically have nothing to lose filing for unemployment.
There's no claim of misconduct. "poor performance" is not misconduct. Stealing, or not showing up with no reason given, etc is misconduct.
Resigning is for rich people. If you're not rich, take the termination and file for employment. This way, you're getting a paycheck while you look for a new job.
[удалено]
I see this a lot but I’d argue you should only go this route if you really need the money. Not having a termination in your work history is worth a lot of money. As in, tens of thousands in salary per year. It’s easy to explain away resigning and then a 1-month gap. It’s much harder to get a job when you have to explain how another employer tried with you and failed.
Hey OP, sorry about what happened. I also got terminated from my first career job and it broke me and wasn’t getting hired back in my field so I worked 2 jobs that made me feel worse. However, I recently got hired back into my field and it was one of the best things to happen to me. I’m definitely going through some “ptsd” (for lack of better term) with trying to stay on my toes and perform above and beyond but I’m definitely at a better place now so far. Just stick in there and keep yourself busy and try to improve yourself however possible. Sending out hundreds of applications will hurt but what will be yours will be yours at some point. Just stick in there and it’ll be alright :)
Thank you for the kind words. I'll try to bring myself back up.
It's happened to me a couple of times. Once when I was the top performer. Don't let it get you down. Many, many people's success story begins with a termination.
OP, just focus on getting a new job. I was almost fired twice in my career, it's a scary feeling and it fucked with my ego for awhile. I ended up saving a shit ton of my income and retiring at 56. Very little stress now. Get a new job and save and invest as much as you can and get out of the rat race ASAP!!!
If you don't mind sharing what were your primary incomes when you retired at 56? I want to do the same but I don't think you can even touch IRAs penalty fee at that point.
The comment feels generic and weirdly detached from what OP is asking. They're looking for advice for what to do right now, and you basically took that as an opportunity to say "make money, save money, retire early, just like me" Obviously they're going to look for a new job eventually, they're asking for actionable advice about the interim.
Why did you resign? You are ineligible for unemployment now. All you can do is secure a new job. Good luck.
Well depending on more specific details (like where OP lives and what "terinated for cause" means in this situation) they might not have qualified for unemployment anyways.
I just thought it was the better option because I don't know how to explain in future job opportunities that I got terminated for performance issues.
in my state, you can collect unemployment for involuntary resignation.
I have a relative who was fired for a screw up at work. He got unemployment because his employer didn't follow their own disciplinary rules. They were supposed to go through steps, not just fire him for one mistake after 20+ years on the job.
Don't worry too much. You aren't the first to be let go like that, just look for a new one.
Thank you for the words. Like I told my ex-colleague, I want to curl up and not show my face to the world. He said that it's fine to be upset, but I don't know if I'm allowed to be upset or not.
I’ll give a personal anecdote here: I was terminated, and that came up again for my background check 5 years later. Almost cost me the job. The kicker? The old employer didn’t say anything. I was the one who revealed I was terminated, and had to explain it to the new employer. If I had said nothing, it would have been better. Not saying to conceal your history, but I will say that employers really don’t like talking about fired employees.
It isn’t the end of the world, focus on looking for a new job and prepare yourself for it. Life moves on and you should to. Don’t beat yourself over it, I have seen folks in your situation where they go excel at their next job. Best of luck.
Thank you. I'm trying not to beat myself over it, but it's failing, sadly.
Literally no reason to tell people why you left. Also any gap in employment is easily filled by I was on an independent contract with a client. The client requests full confidentiality so I cannot reveal them.
Lesson.
Another thing OP will want to do is request a copy of their personnel file. This should contain a copy of any HR paperwork you signed with the company, and perhaps performance reviews. It will not contain any insight or justification for why your performance was insufficient.
For Cause is pretty serious. You can likely request to have that removed to without cause. Unless there is something you are withholding. I know you’ve given the reasons elsewhere but if there any details you’re leaving out then yes it’s better to just resign as “for cause” is no joke as it’s not “beCAUSE you did a bad job”.
My fiancée works in HR (for a major global company) and if the performance is really bad then that justifies terminating. I don’t know OP’s situation but usually they require documentation of performance and an attempt to correct it. Consistently bad performance can be enough for cause. Otherwise it looks like it is a layoff (unless the person resigns). You should take into account that bad performance can involve many things that could impact a company.
Other than what I have said, there are no other reasons.
Depending on where you live/worked, you may not be eligible for unemployment. I was recently terminated and my work and I had differing opinions on whether or not it was for cause. When I applied for UI, they tried to challenge it. They ended up losing, but if they'd won I think it would have impacted whether or not I'd have been able to claim UI.
The employers unemployment tax per worker varies with the number of layoffs in some states. In California its 1.25% with no layoffs and 6% with a lot of layoffs. One cheapskate billionaire who fired half the company tried hard to make them look like for cause.
never ever resign, let them terminate you. no one, i mean literally no one else besides th HR and the immediate supervisor knows that this termination is because of performance. not even the other people in the team. so you don't have to worry if this gets out and impact your next job.
Performance issues is never an acceptable "Cause" for unemployment.
You screwed yourself twice.
That hr manager is dancing with joy.
Before I do something stupid, I think about my mortgage, and my vehicle payment, and I end up not doing that thing. An older employee taught me this.
This is an opportunity for you to find a job that interests you. Don't settle for any lame job. It's unfortunate we rely on a job to live but this is the time for you to polish up that resume and get a job in a field that wants you and you want to be there.
Whatever you do don’t just sit around waiting for an offer letter. Until the moment you have officially accepted a job offer you should be handing out your resume and going to as many offers as possible.
What happened? Were they right in firing you?
Initially, there were too many re-opened tickets, so I got a reprimand on that. For the second meeting, it was due to me not testing the functionality with other areas of the code and some other small areas. For this last one, it was due to me not doing it a certain way and my logs not being up to snuff.
OP, I am not the first person to say this here, but... I don't think you actually were fired for cause! For Cause usually means misconduct (theft, coming to work drunk, etc.). I just don't like the thought of them trying to control how you think of yourself. You tried your best and you can be proud of that.
I know your pain. I also "resigned" under threat of being fired with the agreement thst if I resigned my employer would pay me for the remainder of the month, whicj they ended up not doing. They also screwed me over on taxes by not paying out my health insurance, a thing for which I am in the process of possibly taking them to court.
You should have let them fire you and taken the unemployment checks. Your former company is almost NEVER going to reveal the specific reasons for dismissal beyond your rehire status. Saying much else is opening up too many legal options and most HR/Legal departments are not going to allow that risk. So if someone is calling to verify past employment they're going to get the same 'No' answer to that question regardless of resignation or involuntary separation.
Popular question on background form: "Have you ever been terminated or asked to resign from a job?" So now you're jobless without unemployment, that, by the way, you've already paid for. Live and learn.
"No". There's not really any way for them to prove otherwise.
Why do so many people advocate for UI?
This. I never claimed unemployment until the 2009 recession. My state didn't require resume classes because there were so many unemployed they didn't have room for everyone.
If I were presented with these options, I would suggest they pay severance that is much greater than unemployment benefits, to get me to resign.
Last I checked, at least in MA, cause it's not performance based but rule based. Like sexual harassment, crimes, that kind of thing.
Almost 100% time "Performance Issues" is actually poor leadership, unrealistic job assignments, failure to provide the required resources to actually do the job on managements' part. They do love to gaslight. You showed up on time, provided notification in case of emergencies, and you put in effort.
Ummm. You get another job. Twice in my life I have gotten another job the same day. One time I left at lunch on my first day at a new job and went and got another job. I didn’t know how little my first job was paying me. I was young
Was this in 1952? Lol.
If you were dependent upon this employer for access to health coverage and necessary health care,
Depending on why you're getting terminated, try to negotiate for a resignation with a severance payment.
How did they give you an option to resign, after they already terminated you?
I'm pretty sure my employer has always paid severance as "for cause" often ends up in legal battles.
my wife is in management and in many states to get terminated for performance you have to have documentation, put the person on PiP's, etc. takes a few months