I was recently fired, and I’m finding it tough to answer questions regarding my unemployed status to potential employers.
I worked for my last company for 10 months. My numbers were high and my clients had only positive things to say regarding my service to them.  I always knew that there were some issues with my fit in the company culture.

Out of the blue i was asked to meet with my line manager and his manager for a drink one evening at the hotel they were staying at. I met with them and they were extremely awkward and i knew that something bad was coming. They said that I was being asked to leave the company effective immediately and that i would be paid 3 months salary. I asked what the reason was and both guys eye-balled each other and didn’t reply.

So I wished them well, asked for a good reference from my line manager, and I walked out.

I have been in touch with some potential companies and some headhunters with regards to new possible positions and the first question that always comes up is “why did you leave your last position after such a short period of time?” With some headhunters I have been honest about what happened in the hopes that they may be able to offer some advice from their expertise but most of them just say that they will find it hard to place me in a new position.

One head hunter advised me to say that my role with the last company was a “set up” role where I was employed for one year to establish the brand in the market using my industry links, marketing skills and product knowledge and that I was now free to pursue other options now that the set up was established.

Do you have advice on how I can overcome this hump?

I was wondering what your thoughs are about insensitive and misguided career advice: folks telling young people what they “should” do career wise.  When I was young I received a lot of bad and discouraging advice that just “shot me down”.  I was far too open to it because I was so in need of some kind of advice.   All of my real interests were dismissed as “useless” by these self-styled tough-love “realists”.
Now as a counselor I do some career counseling, and I’m starting to hear this again: People who are young and not so young being ordered around by (well meaning?) others in regards to their career choices. I find some people near tears because they are so tired of being “pushed” by others in their lives. Like me, they stop being “open” to any input because so much of what they get is inconsiderate, aggressive, and useless.
What do you think people should say to this kind of intrusive advice? What do you think is the thought process behind this kind of insensitive and misguided advice?
I have been working at an organization since mid-Oct. I was hired to a newly created position.  However, since starting in this position I have done nothing I was told I was hired to do (marketing). All I have been doing is admin tasks for my boss.
I have an interview next week, thank god.  I am wondering, what is the right response to the obvious question about why am I job hopping so quickly?   I am 31, so the answer of “I’m trying to find my true passion” doesn’t seem so appropriate anymore. I don’t want them to think I am hard to please because this is a job at a really great organization and I would really like this opportunity.  Any ideas on an appropriate and desired response?

After I graduated from college I chose to pursue a career path based purely on idealism rather than paying attention to my actual skills and strengths. I worked with at-risk and adjudicated youth in a variety of settings such as wilderness therapy, boarding schools, the Department of Health and Human Services and so on.

As an ISFJ, this career path is a terrible choice for me because this line of work is all about confrontation, being in charge, and being in a frequent state of conflict.

Having read your articles and done a lot of self-reflection, I have realized that I am actually better suited for hands-on jobs–working on something rather than someone. Most of the ISFJ career recommendations are either human service related or involve basically sitting at a desk all day as a bookkeeper or administrative assistant.

I’m not sure what my next move should be, but I know from my past professional experience that working as a Caregiver/Teacher/Counselor or sitting at a desk all day is a terrible fit for me. Not to be ironic, but I still would like to do something that can be beneficial to people or the environment.

Can you think of good career fit for an ISFJ who enjoys doing hands-on type of work?

I’m 20, and I’m graduating with a BS in software engineering. I got offered a very awesome job at a top software company and I got offered a really cool job at a startup in a big city, too. I want to be able to do both. Is there a way I can take the corporate job, and still keep the other one, like a side hustle? Is that doable?
How do I approach it/propose it to the startup?
I picked the corporate job in the Midwest because
1) It pays better
2) My family lives there
3) It was where I interned
but I don’t want to give up the other job because
1) It is a great culture fit
2) The big city is exciting
3) I think it will be a great chance for having great mentors
How do you think I should go about it?

How long is it ok to go without a raise in a job you otherwise like? I have been at the same pay rate for two years–if I don’t get offered a raise this year, should I make a fuss? The money I make is fine, I don’t need more, but I worry it’s embarrassing not to be given a raise for so long–I want to continue doing cool projects and learning different areas of the department, and I’m worried they won’t see me as moving forward if I’m not pushing for more $$. I’m definitely better at the job and can do a lot more than two years ago.

I am in awe of your breadth of reading and your ability to keep track of it all so that you can draw on it later. How do you keep track of all the studies you cite and all the links you incorporate into your posts? I have yet to find a really fast and accurate way to do it.

I’m a 28 year old high school teacher who works in an international school in Taiwan. I’ve started taking on more administrative roles, becoming our school’s first Curriculum Coordinator, and I’ve decided to get my administrator’s credential so that I can become a principal someday.
The more I get into school administrative work, the more I see that it’s a career where it’s normal for people to get mad at you, even if you’re doing a good job.
My question is this. How do you leave negative events at work, rather than mulling on it all evening and having it ruin your day?

I am lost. I know it’s ok to be lost, but I would love your insight about what career fields I might try. I am 26, and have worked at 2 nonprofits. I am bored at work. I am so bored that I’ve started waiting tables at night so I can be challenged and push myself and work 70 hours a week. I love to work. I want a job that is so hard and challenging and so tough that sometimes I cry in the bathroom at lunch. I want to use my brain and my energy. The problem is I don’t know where to go, what industry might be a good fit for me. Do you have any ideas?

Would you consider adding a new topic, Self-Publishing, to your Mailbag section? I would LOVE to read about how you self-published and promoted your first book and I’m sure many of your readers could benefit from your knowledge and experiences, both good and bad, going the self-publishing route.

©2023 Penelope Trunk