Apple Rumor Casualty...

[BustANut]

Just wanted to respond to a couple of quotes by shadowfax:

now that someone's mentioned Jesus, isn't almost ironic that the guy's name is Adam? anyone else think about this and chuckle?

No.

that goes with the territory of screwing up, i guess. He can explain himself to prospective employers, write little cheesy essays about the lessons he learned from his experience with apple... someone will have the mercy that we (i) have been saying is so needed in situations like these.

Very true. OR, he can rely on chance, leave the whole Apple thing off from is resume (it's not really related to his career goals, unless he wants a life as a salesman), and hope that no one ever brings it up at an interview. I've interviewed plenty of young, aspiring software engineers; and if I were interviewing Adam or someone like Adam, I'd want to know all about his programming experience and his curriculum at whatever college he was attending. I couldn't give a rat's a$$ about some job at a retail store.

It's not dishonest to "not mention" something on a resume (especially if you're fired), but it is dishonest to twist the truth and lie if you're specifically asked, "Why the hell did you leave that job?", or "Were you fired?". I'd still mention that I once worked for Apple, but I would keep the description of the work responsibilities as simple as possible in order to prevent prospective employers from questioning the whole thing.

Unless Adam changes his major of study to marketing and/or retail management, I'd say that his termination from Apple has little or no bearing on his future career plans (unless he wants to develop software as an Apple employee - he'll never be eligible for rehire there due to the nature of his termination).

 

[Dave Marsh]

Résumé/Application Questions

The last few job apps I've completed specifically asked if I'd ever been fired from a previous job, or quit knowing I was about to be fired. So, while leaving this experience off your résumé is perfectly OK, you may face a crucial decision if you actually have to complete a standard job application prior to being hired.

However you coat it, this experience is going to haunt him for awhile. The good thing is that unless he uses some of his current friends/contacts who know about this experience as references, a new potential employer is unlikely to find out. Over time, assuming he's successful at his first career job, he'll be able to acquire some more beneficial references.

 

[BustANut]

Dave:

However you coat it, this experience is going to haunt him for awhile. The good thing is that unless he uses some of his current friends/contacts who know about this experience as references, a new potential employer is unlikely to find out. Over time, assuming he's successful at his first career job, he'll be able to acquire some more beneficial references.

I agree, but this kid is still in college. As a prospective employer, I wouldn't be gung-ho about checking up on professional references regarding a recent graduate. Most, if any work experience of a college student is either retail or internship - I'm only ever interested in internships that are directly related to what the student had studied. I generally advise recent graduates to leave the BS job experience off their resume -- such as "Sales clerk at Wal-Mart", or "Customer Service Rep at Sears", or "Tech Support Phone Agent for some outsourcing company".

 

[Dave Marsh]

I agree to leave the BS off the résumé.

I was just noting the hook in the pre-hiring application that he will likely have to complete before getting a new job at a major firm, and that he should be selective in identifying references to preclude being caught in a potential "misrepresentation of the facts" jeoparidizing that future job.

I've read a number of replies in this thread from people I'm certain would not hesitate to terminate him for denying he'd ever been fired from anywhere, after later finding out that he had, even if it were from a short-term retail position. They'd hang their hats on his having an "ethical" issue, rather than his clear acknowledgement of the pragmatics of landing a job. Frankly, I'd never continue working for people with such a "holier than thou" life perspective. But, that's easier for me, since I no longer have to worry about where my next meal's coming from. For someone with his whole career ahead of him, such decisions are not so straightforward.

I certainly wish him luck.

 

[janey]

the one company that will never hire him will be Apple.

 

[Dave Marsh]

That's certainly believable. Any company that would fire you without a hearing must have some pretty inflexible personnel policies.

Well, this thread has kicked the dead horse. Time to move on...

 

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by Dave Marsh
That's certainly believable. Any company that would fire you without a hearing must have some pretty inflexible personnel policies.

Well, this thread has kicked the dead horse. Time to move on...

LOL. yeah, i think we killed it with the spelling thing.

Apple is certainly really stringent about its secrets, lol. yet somehow, many of them slip out!

it's funny how i don't see issues like this with companies that post roadmaps. i mean, if a dell employee started telling people about the secret stuff they were planning for laptops, people would be like, "Who cares? you're an idiot. why did you even bother to violate your NDA?"