The reason for dismissal from work in the resume: what to write?

As a rule, when compiling a resume, we indicate information about the education received, experience, various achievements, but we do not mention the reasons for dismissal from previous jobs. This item is optional, but the recruiter, one way or another, will inquire about the reason for the decision to change the place of work. It is worth preparing for this issue by indicating the primary information in the resume. How to do it correctly - read below.

Understand right away that whatever the reason, you shouldn't write about it in full detail. The text should be laconic, not emotional. However, you should be prepared to answer questions from the HR manager if he asks for clarification on some points.

How to properly fill out the section on dismissal? Here are the basic rules.

• Write down the actual reason for leaving work, that is, the one indicated in your work book. Do not invent or embellish anything. In general, try not to emphasize this subsection in your resume.
• If you worked unofficially and there are no records in the labor office, write the real reason for leaving, but again, without emotion, details or fiction. When the recruiter at the interview asks to explain your leaving, try to get off with 2-3 general "dry" phrases.
• It so happens that you broke up with your previous employer, to put it mildly, not friends, and a not very attractive entry appeared in the work book. In this case, there are 2 ways: write everything as it is, or try to "mask" the reason. Let's consider both options in more detail.

If you truthfully admitted that “you left”, try to explain as gently as possible during the interview that there was a slight mutual misunderstanding that made further cooperation, if not impossible, then certainly undesirable and unattractive for both parties. You have drawn conclusions from this situation and will try to prevent it from occurring anymore. If you are ashamed of your leaving "not of your own free will" and you want to hide it from a potential employer, you can write in your resume that the dismissal took place "by agreement of the parties."

As practice shows, most often the reasons for dismissal are:

• low wages;
• lack of career prospects;
• conflicts with management;
• impossibility of self-development;
• uninteresting tasks;
• irregular payroll;
• unpleasant atmosphere in the team;
• informal employment;
• lack of freedom of action in decision-making;
• tight work schedule.

The most “valid” reasons for changing jobs are:

• bankruptcy (liquidation) of a company or structural unit in which the employee worked;
• lack of career prospects if you want to have one;
• expiration of the term of the employment contract or work visa (if you work abroad);
• the company does not formalize its employees;
• moving to a new place of residence or changing the location of the office;
• the position was removed from the firm's staff;
• low wages with no prospects for their increase;
• the company was reorganized, after which there were changes in the management approach.

Situations are not uncommon when a person wants to change his job to a completely different one, in no way similar to his previous activity. Then about the reasons for the dismissal, you can write the following.

• «I want to change the field of activity, because I received an education (such and such) and I want to apply my knowledge in practice, which is impossible when working in the company (name of the previous place of work), since it specializes in (indicate what exactly). "
• «The change in the type of activity is due to unchanging range of actionsbrought to automatism, which hinders development and personal growth. "
• Also, a person may want to change the scope of their professional skills, if he feels that he has "outgrown" the position held in connection with the passage of refresher courses and accumulated many years of experience.

There are phrases that in no case should you write on your resume when mentioning the reasons for dismissal.

• Never write anything negative about your former boss. Even if he really was, to put it mildly, an unpleasant and incompetent person, there should not be a hint of it on your resume. Otherwise, the recruiter may think that you are a person who “wash dirty linen in public”, who is not able to keep his mouth shut, that because of you, the reputation of the company in general and the manager in particular may suffer.
• Conflicts with co-workers are best left outside the resume.... Mentioning them will create for you the role of a person who does not know how to work in a team.
• You should not write about violations of the Labor Code and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation at the previous place of work.
• If you left not because of conflicts and misunderstandings, but, for example, due to the fact that you do not like the external environment of the workplace (shabby walls, outdated furniture, lack of air conditioning, etc.)it is also not necessary to mention this.
• The need to go to work on weekends and holidays, non-payment of processing is also not something that you can write about in your resume.
• There are situations when further work in the company is related to professional development. For some, this is a plus, but there are individuals who do not want and do not like to learn. They work calmly and comfortably, performing a familiar range of responsibilities. Therefore, they quit as soon as it comes to the need for training. It is also better not to mention this in your resume - this will characterize you as a conservative person who is not ready to adapt to the trends of the times.
• If you received an envelope salary, this is also not worth writing about, as well as about tax evasion and social benefits.

Now we will give several real life examples of indicating the reason for dismissal and explain them.

The employee left the company of his own free will - this was the actual reason for the dismissal indicated in the work book. At the same time, he was not looking for a vacancy with a higher salary or with an expanded range of responsibilities, that is, he was ready to receive an absolutely similar position. The recruiter could not help but ask a question about what the care was connected with, so the following explanation was given: the previous place of work was within walking distance of the kindergarten, and now the child went to school and would like to work closer to it. This is a very good reason, so it will not raise suspicions and additional questions.

The job book of the applicant contains a record of dismissal "by agreement of the parties." In this case, it would be best to write the following in the resume: the reason for the dismissal is the lack of career prospects and higher wages or a desire to try your hand at a new direction of activity.

In fact, there is an entry in the work book "of their own free will", but the real reason for leaving was often conflict situations with colleagues or superiors.

Let's consider several ways out of the situation.

• If a misunderstanding, which turned into an open conflict and made it impossible for further cooperation, occurred due to refusal to raise wages, the resume can indicate that there was no consensus on the issue of payment for the amount of work actually performed. It is forbidden to write something like "I worked (s) more than others, but the manager did not appreciate my efforts."
• If you have been denied a promotion, it is recommended to write like this: "the company has no career prospects." Wrong option: “I was ready for a higher position, as I have the knowledge and skills for this, but the manager refused to consider my candidacy”.
• In any team, conflict situations often arise. At the same time, some are considered the favorites of the boss, others - outsiders. The bosses can also behave incorrectly, with some asking "in full", and others forgiving for similar flaws. If you quit, becoming persona non grata, then in your resume you can indicate the following: “you have ceased to arrange working conditions and there is no prospect of their improvement in the future”.

If suddenly an unpleasant situation occurred and you were fired under the article for a misdemeanor (absenteeism, systematic tardiness, appearance at the workplace in a state of intoxication, etc.)or inconsistency with the position held, and made such an entry in the work book, the first thing I want to say is - do not panic. Try to learn a lesson from what happened and avoid such mistakes again. However, to the question of what, in this case, to indicate in the resume as the reason for dismissal, the answer is one - the truth.

Do not try to denigrate colleagues, management, by presenting yourself as the injured party. Honestly admit to the recruiter that there was a violation, that you did not cope with the obligations assigned to you, but made conclusions and in the future you will try to prevent this from happening again.

If you have not done anything reprehensible, but you were fired, for example, during a probationary period due to the fact that your practical knowledge and skills were too small for this position, this is also not a reason for frustration and hiding the truth. In your resume, you can indicate that at that point in time you really overestimated your strengths, but after being fired you received the relevant knowledge and are ready to do the job.