[germs12]

This is exactly what happened to me. I went from being a model "A-player" to "He was a C-player who needed to go". Don't think for 1 second the business will ever compromise itself for you.

#3 is really important. Do not shy away from sharing your stories with your potential new employer. It helps them better understand who you are. If they care about you and the investment they are making in you, then they will want to hire someone who is strong enough to stand up for something they believe.

[dman]

#3 can also backfire badly. Personally I would avoid it.

[kelnos]

I think the point is that if #3 backfires at a particular company where you're interviewing, then you probably don't really want to be working for/with those people anyway.

[ChuckNorris89]

Yeah but unless you're some rockstar engineer living in a high demand area with lots of quality job openings you can quickly find yourself running out of quality options with this strategy backfiring a lot since the top employers can also afford to be as selective as you and go for someone else without your "baggage".

Just keep your dirty laundry private would be my advice.

[keeganpoppen]

if your interviewer/interlocutor has knowledge of this sort of rumor, and you don't get in front of the story, then you're pretty much doomed. if you get out in front of it, there are two possibilities: (1) they didn't know about it, in which case i, for one, would be impressed that someone had the courage to go out of their way to bring this up-- would make me more likely to believe their side as well, since OP's story, while shitty, is not terribly surprising. sure, there's a chance that i'm getting played, as a potential employer, but it's not as though incompetence as such wouldn't be hard to recognize in the first `k` months of employment. (2) they did know about it, in which case the interviewee gets the opportunity to defend him/herself, and the employer is allowed to weigh the evidence.

so, i struggle to see how hiding it is better from a game theory perspective. i do acknowledge that if your resume is strong enough as to "speak for itself", then not mentioning it is a reasonable enough gamble-- if they don't bring it up, and reject you anyway, then they are clearly idiots you don't want to work for anyway.

well, i guess I talked myself into a bit of a circle, but i guess i retain the claim that the prior of "hiding your baggage in all circumstances" is a bit more conservative than i think one needs to be.

[wolco]

I would not address immediately for a variety of reasons. The truth is your story and what happened at previous company probably doesn't matter because they called you in for an interview with or without knowing. If they did not know now you sound less perfect if they did know it probably doesn't matter and if it does they will ask.

[x0x0]

If it's going to come up, either via references provided by the employee or via a backchannel, you're smarter to directly address it in the interview with the hiring manager. At least that way the hiring manager hears your side of the story too.

We hired someone who came within a hair of (deservedly) being charged with a felony by the FBI. He basically said he did something stupid 10 years ago, had learned a lesson, made amends, etc. Had he not addressed it during the interview, we would definitely have not hired him when it later came up during a formal background check.

[monoideism]

> within a hair of (deservedly) being charged with a felony by the FBI. He basically said he did something stupid 10 years ago, had learned a lesson, made amends, etc

Was it a work-related alleged offense? If not, sounds a little extreme to not hire someone because of an allegation that happened 10 years ago that they weren't even charged with.

[shrimpx]

That makes sense but the question at hand is about the past employer unfairly being a dick, not a legitimate issue with the applicant.

I think it's a tossup whether it should be mentioned in interviews because it can easily be misinterpreted/misread even by good employers to mean there's an issue with this applicant.