Can I lie about getting fired on a job application?

[Quantess]

The job application I am filling out is asking for the past 12 years of employment history.

I got fired from a job in 2002, and I'm wondering what my official "reason for leaving" should be. The place has such high turnover, I doubt anyone there remembers me. My file probably isn't even at the building I worked, and possibly at the regional headquarters in another state.

My past few jobs just accepted my resume. I have never had to list this place on a job application before. It is 5 jobs back, and I have good references on more recent jobs.

I wonder if I can make up an excuse?

[Bucky]

1. Write "will discuss"

But don't make it seem like you're hiding somehing or blaming others for your mistakes. Taht's a red flag. But everyone's been fired now or then and honestly owning up is just a good habit (and a relative plus to your better employers).

If it doesn't create too big a gap, you can always think about just leaving that old job off the resume, too.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Not a good alignment

The company philosophy was not a good fit, so in the interest of the organization I felt it necessary to seek other opportunities.

[Quantess]

3. Thanks for the tips.

[6000eliot]

4. NEVER lie on a job application.

If you are caught in a lie at any point in your employment, you can be fired immediately. I teach business writing.

[jobycom]

5. Turn the firing into a positive.

My spouse was fired for constant tardiness and insubordination and for badmouthing her boss behind his back. After being written up several times, no less. So in her first interview afterwards she said "Look, I had a personality clash with my boss, and I handled it poorly. I started hating my job, showing up late, and I acted like a child. I'm ashamed of what I did. I deserved to be fired. But I really need this job, and I swear I've grown up, and learned not to take anything for granted anymore."

She got hired making about twenty percent more than at the job she got fired from. That's what you do. You turn the negative into a positive by showing them how it made you a better employee. That's all they're looking for. If you make an excuse and blame someone else, all they hear is that you haven't learned.

On the app, write either "Will discuss," as the first poster said, or just be blunt. "Terminated." It was several jobs ago, it won't hurt you.

Good luck.

[Left Is Write]

6. I wouldn't lie, but some of the others have good suggestions.

It might also depend on the industry. I used to work in radio, and one of my more seasoned friends told me there are only two kinds of DJs: those who have been fired, and those who will be fired. I was fired from my first radio job because of a clash with the station's owner (he had this crazy idea that women shouldn't write news, which was part of my job). I was later recommended to another station, and during my phone interview with the program director, I admitted I had been fired. I'd only been on the first job for 14 weeks, and I couldn't really hide the fact that I'd been axed. I also didn't want to sound like I was making excuses. I asked the PD, "Do you want to know why I was fired?" He said, "Only if you want to tell me."

I got the job and stayed there several years. :)