Son needs a Job - but I have a question about a job he lost

[scrapquitler]

MY DS23 is a college grad with a degree in Computer Science. He is having a really hard time finding that first real job. His degree is in Database Management and all the jobs we can find want 4 - 6 years of experience. So he took a part-time job at a hotel as a desk clerk just to have some income. One evening he was the only person working in the office and a guest comes to check in and demands a discount that my son was not authorized to give her. He told her no several time, she persisted and persisted. It was a busy evening, and he finally snapped and told her that he could not do that because it would come back and bite him in the A--. He was fired and she got her room for free. Now this one statement is keeping him from getting another part-time job, he is being truthful about what happened with anyone he talks to. Do any of you have any suggestions for him in a job hunt? How should he address this issue. He worked there for 7 months?

He might want to just leave it off his resume completely.

I don't think it should keep him from getting another job if he does have it on his resume. Most places will usually only verify that you did work here, many won't comment beyond that.

 

[crisi]

Send him up here to Fargo. We need workers, lots and lots of good workers. He won't just get a job he will find a career. Everything from IT, banking to restaurants. Heck even some of the fast food joints are offering a sign on bonus. If you can't get a job here you are not trying very hard. Help wanted signs all over. The last number I saw was something like a 2.8 unemployment rate in Fargo area.

Yes its cold but there are jobs in everything from Ag, Oil, banking, service sector, IT, manufacturing, etc. etc.

The state has Billions in the bank and isn't spending it like drunkin sailors and is positioning itself very very well for the future.

Fargo has the second biggest Microsoft campus (or maybe the third) in the U.S. There should be something there for a DBA... And not many people want to move to Fargo - so the competition is light for those jobs.

Seriously, have him search nationwide - and consider places that are not popular to relocate to - like Fargo. (Which is really a nice little city - although it does get cold in the Winter).

 

[crisi]

Does this vary by state? My husband was fired and applied for unemployment. He received benefits because he claimed that they cut his staff, making it impossible to keep up with the work. He was awarded unemployment but the former employer contested it. It was a mess. If they ahd won their case, he would have had to pay it all back. Fortunately he got a job about a month after beginning to receive benefits and the former employer dropped their appeal.

It does. In Minnesota you do not get unemployment if you were fired with cause. However, you can CLAIM unemployment and the company has to come back and explain what the cause was. Sometimes the company doesn't bother - particularly if the circumstances are something like a difficult customer.

 

[sammielynn]

His former boss has indicated that she will not tell why he was let go. We are in a small town in East Tennessee, not many opportunities here. He has been out of school for over a year, he is taking a course in a new(to him) programming language. Not even sure where he could volunteer. Our church does not care for volunteers in the office.

 

[Bete]

If you have relatives in other areas especially bigger cities you may want to ask if he could stay by a relative for a while. Then, he would have a better chance at a job. You may have to give whoever some monies for his upkeep and such, but it may be worth it. Also, he could help with tasks wherever he would be staying, too.

I would actually not even mention the last job on his resume if it's causing problems. If he can mention it without going into details then use it for the resume.

See if there are subcontracting jobs he can get in his field. These jobs are generally for a certain period of time like 6 months or less. Sometimes, these gigs can lead to a full time job if he's good enough. I will say these positions probably expect you to know what you are doing; they won't be training you very much. He can find these jobs via Internet.

 

[MomToOne]

His former boss has indicated that she will not tell why he was let go. We are in a small town in East Tennessee, not many opportunities here. He has been out of school for over a year, he is taking a course in a new(to him) programming language. Not even sure where he could volunteer. Our church does not care for volunteers in the office.

As a PP said, he really does need to look into relocating, although he should find the job first. I came out of school in good times, with a great grade point, and had several job offers - but they all required relocation. Without being willing to relocate, I wouldn't have had much opportunity. And that was in a major city in the area, just not one where tech was a focus.

While moving might seem overwhelming for him (and you ), he is capable of handling it, I'm sure.

 

[Richard M Nixon]

A DBA is one of the more revered positions in the technology field. They hold power over a corporation's entire information storage system and they can be very, very well compensated (if they know their trade). That being said, databases isn't a degree. If anything, it's a concentration. Most people with that skillset will either have a MIS (or CIS) degree that is offered through a business college or a CS degree which is offered through either a science or mathematics college. If his degree is in CS, then he had lots of coursework dealing with writing code and software development. There are tons of entry level developer jobs out there requiring 0 experience and no internship. That could be writing code, testing, or even working as some sort of junior DBA. Of course, your region will be a big deciding factor on availability. If you're near a tech hub, a job is not hard to come across.

I have a BS and MS in computer science and found entry level jobs absurdly easy to come by, although they might not be the in exact position you'd want to hold once you have more experience.

 

[southlakejr]

It does. In Minnesota you do not get unemployment if you were fired with cause. However, you can CLAIM unemployment and the company has to come back and explain what the cause was. Sometimes the company doesn't bother - particularly if the circumstances are something like a difficult customer.

In CA, you "can't" get unemployment if you are fired. However, we have had former employees get unemployment after being fired for: job abandonment (he literally stopped showing up for over a week), willful disregard of safety instructions, one employee was written up a dozen times in less than 6 months, another employee, another employee threatened other employees with physical violence... etc.

As for whether you can reveal if someone has been fired or not- it's not against the law. It's just overwhelmingly stupid. I don't know anyone who works in HR who would disclose this information unless it was to a trusted contact.

 

[IamGroot]

step 1. Just dont include the former job on your resume. problem solved. If they really want to know what you have been up to, tell them you had a sick relative you took some time off to help. Toss in some things you have learned about yourself while doing this (time management, optimism, maintaining cool under pressure during difficult times, etc) for bonus points.

step 2. Move.

step 3. I am going to PM you as my company is hiring like crazy.

 

[jedijill]

You may leave jobs off your resume but DO NOT under any circumstances leave things off the application form!!! I've seen too many qualified candidates leave off "bad" data from the application form that pop up on the background check and the offer gets revoked. Just a warning.

Jill in CO

 

[angwill]

MY DS23 is a college grad with a degree in Computer Science. He is having a really hard time finding that first real job. His degree is in Database Management and all the jobs we can find want 4 - 6 years of experience. So he took a part-time job at a hotel as a desk clerk just to have some income. One evening he was the only person working in the office and a guest comes to check in and demands a discount that my son was not authorized to give her. He told her no several time, she persisted and persisted. It was a busy evening, and he finally snapped and told her that he could not do that because it would come back and bite him in the A--. He was fired and she got her room for free. Now this one statement is keeping him from getting another part-time job, he is being truthful about what happened with anyone he talks to. Do any of you have any suggestions for him in a job hunt? How should he address this issue. He worked there for 7 months?

All a prospective employer checking on him can ask is if he worked there, how long, and if they would hire him back. They can not disclose whey he was let go. He needs to not use it as a reference. HTH

 

[angwill]

That his employer cannot say he was fired--this is dependent on the policies of the company. If the company doesn't have a policy regarding this, if they are called they can say he was fired & why.

While I do feel for your son, I do hope he learned from this experience--he cannot blow up or swear at a job.

Great advice here--don't mention the firing unless asked, be very PC (tho honest) about why, volunteer & be willing to work anywhere....

It is illegal in the state I live in to disclose why someone was fired or that they were fired. I owned a company and all I could do is answer questions I was asked of did the person work for us, verify the dates, and if asked if we would hire them back say yes or no. Now that is not to say that does not mean that all companies follow the law but they can get fined if it can be proven.

 

[Sadie22]

His former boss has indicated that she will not tell why he was let go. We are in a small town in East Tennessee, not many opportunities here. He has been out of school for over a year, he is taking a course in a new(to him) programming language. Not even sure where he could volunteer. Our church does not care for volunteers in the office.

One DS who is not even in the computer field handled web pages for a couple of organizations while in college. One was a church but he did not need to go there to do the updating as it was all online. Much work can be done from home.

Your son does need to cast a wider net for opportunities and be willing to relocate for a well-paying job. Meanwhile his skills grow stale. Whatever he can do to keep in practice, including volunteering for churches or other institutions to which you may not belong, can only help.

 

[girli565]

Just don't use the last job as a reference and don't mention it to another potential job. He'll have to act as if the last job never happened. He doesn't need to disclose any info he doesn't want to.

Also if he wants another job in the same field, where the same situation could happen again, he may want to learn from his previous experience and definitely not do the same thing.

 

[ellone]

He might want to just leave it off his resume completely. I don't think it should keep him from getting another job if he does have it on his resume. Most places will usually only verify that you did work here, many won't comment beyond that.

And when a new company does a background check and a job you didn't mention on your resume shows up? Don't leave it off - that can lead to other problems.

 

[girli565]

And when a new company does a background check and a job you didn't mention on your resume shows up? Don't leave it off - that can lead to other problems.

I used to work in HR many years ago and the service we used does not search for previous employment unless it was government/federal related jobs. This is a good link that talks about what typical background checks look for.

Remember that very detailed background checks are very expensive and I doubt small companies are spending hundreds of dollars per applicant. Unlikely.

 

[sammielynn]

A DBA is one of the more revered positions in the technology field. They hold power over a corporation's entire information storage system and they can be very, very well compensated (if they know their trade). That being said, databases isn't a degree. If anything, it's a concentration. Most people with that skillset will either have a MIS (or CIS) degree that is offered through a business college or a CS degree which is offered through either a science or mathematics college. If his degree is in CS, then he had lots of coursework dealing with writing code and software development. There are tons of entry level developer jobs out there requiring 0 experience and no internship. That could be writing code, testing, or even working as some sort of junior DBA. Of course, your region will be a big deciding factor on availability. If you're near a tech hub, a job is not hard to come across.

I have a BS and MS in computer science and found entry level jobs absurdly easy to come by, although they might not be the in exact position you'd want to hold once you have more experience.

Then we are looking in the wrong direction. We can find very few entry level copmputer jobs. At this point he would take anything. Maybe we just don't know how and where to look.

 

[JanaDee]

Then we are looking in the wrong direction. We can find very few entry level copmputer jobs. At this point he would take anything. Maybe we just don't know how and where to look.

He's 23? I think you mean "he", not "we".

 

[NYEmomma]

Have you tried looking on CL? DH was a programmer, now he's a project manager but there were always TONS of free-lance, part-time and internship opportunities on CL.

Have him apply for anything and everything computer-related. Be willing to take contract or freelance work.

What he might not think is a good fit, an employer might.

 

[kamik86]

His former boss has indicated that she will not tell why he was let go. We are in a small town in East Tennessee, not many opportunities here. He has been out of school for over a year, he is taking a course in a new(to him) programming language. Not even sure where he could volunteer. Our church does not care for volunteers in the office.

Is he willing to relocate for work?

my company for example takes alot of new hires and trains them on the things they need to know to work here.

However they are only hiring at specific offices for specific things.