Career

5 Common Mistakes That Can Get you Fired at Work

My job includes a lot of hiring and firing.  I like the hiring part of the job.  I don’t like the firing part of the job at all.

It breaks my heart.  I’ve noticed that there are several common mistakes that can get you fired.

I see them made over and over again, so I thought I should talk about those here on this board, so hopefully none of you will make the same mistake.

Mistakes that can get you fired

  • Failing to show up for work.
  • Not updating your boss on your status.
  • Failing to keep notes of the answers you’ve been given.
  • Dishonesty.
  • Using Company Resources for activities specifically prohibited by the company.

Failing to show up for work

This one seems easy enough, but I sometimes have people who end up getting fired because they do not show up for work.  This applies to showing up physically and mentally for work.  If you are here- you are HERE, and ready to work, and paying attention.   That means you’re not cruising the internet for hours, or playing with your phone all day.  Except for rare instances, cell phones should be put away, and the internet should be used only for work while at work.

Not updating your boss on your status.

I ask all of my employees to send me weekly status, and to please copy my boss as well.  This is a great opportunity for you to show your manager, and your second line manager what a great job you’re doing.  You could be doing great work, but if you don’t tell me about it, and no-one else does, it may get claimed by someone else.  That would be a shame!

Failing to keep notes of the answers you’ve been given

In my experience, engineers are great people.  They are happy to answer a question.  Once.  Maybe Twice.  If you ask the same question over and over again, they will get annoyed, and impatient.  They will go to the person’s manager and complain.  If I hear complaints about a person, I try to work with them, but if the behavior continues, it will lead to being fired.  So, take notes for every question you ask, and make sure to index them well, because chances are, you will need that piece of information again.Dishonesty.  Lying will get you in serious trouble.  Let’s not go there, okay?

Using Company Resources

When you start your job, it is a good time to have a discussion with your manager about which activities are permitted, and which are forbidden.

If you do make a mistake, apologize, and don’t make the same mistake again.

I think that most of the above mistakes that can get you fired are fairly obvious.  Since I’ve seen each of them happen multiple times, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the subject to hopefully save someone else from being fired.  Maybe I can also save my sanity and avoid having to fire someone else.

So, what do you think?  What are some mistakes that can get you fired?

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2 Comments

  1. You missed out most important reason why a person should be fired and that is UNDERPERFORMANCE. What mistakes usually people do at work is not taking a closer look on how they perform in the team and the organization. Guys every organization has performance measuring tools and criteria. You should be aware how are you performing and does your manager and team lead happy about it?

    Another important aspect of job is your behavior and attitude. I have seen many people fired from job because of their bad attitude. That attitude can be harassing, bulling, using foul language, trying to humiliate someone etc.

  2. This article is straightforward and clean.
    One other suggestion that I would like to state here is that, in the case of a scenario you do not know what to do, it makes complete sense and is perfectly alright to ask your superiors instead of trying to find solutions on your own or asking peers who are not well versed in your area of work for solutions. So the last two activities result as DON’Ts at work.

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