Finding a new job after getting fired

Looking for a new job is always challenging, but there are certain things that can make you feel like you’re falling behind other candidates; maybe you took a gap year and can’t figure out how to explain it to prospective employers, or you might be trying to break into a new field altogether.

Or maybe your previous employer let you go and now you need to get your career back on track. ResumeLab wanted to learn more about this scenario. It said: “Getting fired doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your career, but how well do people bounce back from being laid off? Do people in certain industries fare better than others? Does one door closing lead to a better salary as the next one opens?”

So, it surveyed 1,000 people who were currently employed but had been fired at some stage in their career.

Should you be honest?

If you were fired from your last role, one of the biggest questions you have to ask yourself is whether or not you need to tell your interviewer the truth. For the people who took part in ResumeLab’s survey, the margin was tight; 54pc said they were upfront about being let go during the interview process.

However, this could be because most of the people who took part were fired for non-performance reasons, such as budgetary cuts.

ResumeLab also found that on average, it took respondents five months to find a new job.

Will your salary take a hit?

You might expect your career progress to be stunted and your salary to drop if you’ve been fired. However, most of the respondents said the next job they got was on the same level as their previous one – neither higher nor lower in seniority level.

On average, respondents did report a drop in their salaries. Women experienced a bigger drop than men; their salaries dropped by 3.4pc on average, while men’s dropped by 2.1pc.

ResumeLab also found that for respondents who found a new job in a new industry after being fired, 57pc gained a higher-ranking role.