(I’m posting this on an old account. I’m actually an undergrad)
Hi parents,
Today, I was just fired from my first “real”/“official” job, a lab position at the university I attend. Honestly, I feel terrible but I was hoping that I could mitigate this by taking the right steps to dealing with this situation and prepare to find another position.
When fired, my manager just pulled me aside and said that today would be my last day (since I would be leaving that week) and that my services would not be needed during the school year. Based on my time there however, I feel I was let go because of personality conflicts with the manager as well as probably not being the worker they wanted me to be.
I had a talk with my principle investigator about possibly volunteering there and by natural conversation (I didn’t directly ask him this) he mentioned that it would probably be in my best interest (from a career standpoint) to find a different lab more capable of taking in an undergrad, that I should list the job as an internship and that if anyone called he would give a positive reference.
Could anyone share with me some proper steps I should be taking when getting fired? Will this hurt my chances of getting another job at the university?
There’s a difference between being let go due to personality conflicts and being fired for “cause.” It’s certainly not a bright spot on your record, but it sounds like they are not going to be eager to ruin your prospects elsewhere.
Could it affect your chance to get another job at the same school? Maybe. Only way to find out is apply. I think you have been given good advice.
Move on and look up the spelling of principal in case you want to quote that title in your next application. This college “job” should have no bearing on your real jobs.
Are you saying that you were going to stop working there anyway at the end of the week (which would have been WHEN? …since Friday was the end of the week.) How many more days were you supposed to work? When was your last day supposed to be?
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Based on my time there however, I feel I was let go because of personality conflicts with the manager as well as probably not being the worker they wanted me to be.
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This is what you need to reflect on. How/why was an undergrad having personality conflicts with the manager?
And, how were you “not being the worker” that they wanted you to be? Were you lazy? late to work? calling in sick? messy? careless? what?
Those are the things that you need to reflect on.
I agree with your PI…just list it as a summer internship. It won’t hurt your future job prospects.
However, if you don’t resolve the issue of having “personality conflicts” with your superiors, and if you don’t become the worker that bosses expect you to be, you won’t have the next job long either.
You weren’t fired if it was at the end of a session. They simply didn’t ask you to return. I know a P I well who works with students in a large university setting. Some students work out, others don’t. Try not to take this too hard. They are willing to give you a positive reference. It should not impede your ability to find work elsewhere in the university at all.
I think in my daughter’s term, you will be unhired for the new school year. Last year due to impending budget cut, she interviewed a bunch of people for the upcoming year, some will be unhired, meaning not offering the job again, but not fired, there is a different. School budget is the reason.
It doesn’t sound like you got fired. It’s very normal for labs to not rehire students for a variety of reasons.
It’s crappy that you weren’t told until the last day that you wouldn’t be asked back but you should’ve asked before today.
If the manager is still willing to give you a positive rec then you’re not a terrible or hated employee but going forward you might want to figure out what was at the root of your personal conflicts and take steps to address that.
Typically, the most appropriate day to fire someone is on their last day of work.
The student should reflect on how they behaved as a guest in someone else’s lab and how they might improve that in the future.
It’s not typical to get fire on the last day of work but since this is a student job, it doesn’t reflect normal corporate practice. In large companies, you have to give 60 days notice per government or local law.
Since you are asking for help, OP, I’ll disagree with most others.
It’s one thing to be terminated bcos the grant ran out or they ran out of money. It’s another issue altogether to be termed for ‘not being the worker that they wanted me to be’ or from ‘personality conflicts’ Looking at your old posts, you interviewed at H, so you must have excellent grades/test scores, i.e, you are very smart. Thus, you need to look internally and figure out what happened. If personality conflicts, perhaps you need an attitude adjustment. Not doing the work needed bcos the Manager is not nice to you, it not a good excuse. Not doing the work needed bcos they really preferred a grad student is also not an excuse.
I would let it settle for a couple of weeks, and once fall rolls around, invite the PI for coffee and ask for an honest appraisal of your work – was it you, or is the PI’s manager just a real jerk?
^^60 day notice is not the practice everywhere and in some places that only triggers for layoffs over a certain number. Regardless it does not sound like the OP was fired…I agree with others list it as an internship and move on. They have already told you they would give a positive reference if necessary. Reflect on the reasons YOU - OP think you weren’t asked back for another semester and learn from that.
I think it’s telling that you notice some problems with your own performance, and also that you have been redirected from even volunteering in the lab in the future. The combination indicates that you weren’t a good fit there, and it’s worth examining your own attitudes/behaviors to see if you can identify something you can work to improve on.
“Personality conflict” is a good reason for not dating someone any more; it’s no excuse in the workplace. Even if the manager was a difficult person, you need to fine-tune your own self-presentation as a professional.
And the fact that they will give you a good recommendation reflects very well on both you and the PI. Take that gift and turn it into an even better experience in the future.
OP, please use this time for self reflection. Unless they specifically told you that they would love to have you back but they ran out of money, etc. then assume that it is time to take stock of how you can perform better on your next job. This could be a pivotal moment in your life and you can become a better person and a better employee so that your future is actually improved because of this firing. Best to you!!!
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Typically, the most appropriate day to fire someone is on their last day of work.
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True…and often on a Friday. And, often when a person is FIRED (not just laid-off), they’re escorted out.
Mass layoffs at large companies are different, but even they often do not want the workers back at their desks out of fear of sabotage. Often they’ll transition the laid-off employees to the HR area where they can job search, work on their resumes, etc. Often, the employees don’t even have to show up for work during that 60 days.
Are we be ironic/humorous here? Typically when you are fired that day becomes your last day of work! :) Be honest with yourself. I have had some really bad bosses, people I absolutely could not get along with. Call it anything you want, "personality conflict" ... "ahole boss"... "psychopath"... in most cases I recognized the problem, realized it was not salvageable, and usually made a graceful exit before things got ugly.