Fired from Trading job - what to say in interview

W

whattosay

Okay guys i was wondering if any of you guys could offer some honest opinions or any ideas as to what should be the correct way to handle this.

I have an interview with a firm, and i have passed all the pre screening telephone interviews and numeracy tests etc.

Now i am meeting with some of the head honchoes of this firm.

The problem is i got fired from my previous trading role (it was 5 years ago) but i believe some of the people in this firm know people in the old firm (sorry to sound a bit vague) so there is every possibility that the reasons of my termination could come out 1 day.

Now before you all jump down my throat - let me explain why i was fired. I worked on a desk, and my contribution to the P&L was between 20-40k per day. On the day i was fired i lost 100k, but this was my first (and only) down day. I was told by my employers that i was abusing my limits, hiding positions and trading above my risk limits. Now the problem is I wasnt actually told my risk limits, i didnt actually hide any positions (as soon as i knew my P&L for the day i reported it to my boss), and the main thing is that i traded in the same way for the last 4 months, but seeing as i made a profit every single day, it was never looked into or deemed to be a problem! So basically it was all hunky dory while i made a profit - but when the s**t hit the fan - i was dismissed for gross misconduct.

Anyway that was 5 years ago and ive worked in other roles since then, but i know i will be asked why i left that firm. I have no idea what to say, or how to be honest and put a positive spin on it. I know that if they contact my previous employers then the reference will not be good but im obviously worried that i will not have a chance to defend myself and explain my side of the situation. The company i used to work for can definately (or should be able to) confirm that i never had a down day prior to this incident, and that i contributed 20k-40k per day to the desk (just to put it into context) although i doubt that they would go out of their way to help me.

So any ideas as to what i can say! anyone have any views.....
 
I feel for you... tough situation... What was your previous role and what sort of company was it? I can better gauge your situation and perhaps offer better advice if you can provide this information...
 
Call your previous employer and ask them what they will say about you. Legally, they cannot stand in the way of you earning a living. The cannot prevent you from supporting yourself. If they do you can sue them. Don't approach them this way however. Just tell them your situation and ask them as nicely as you can what they will say about you if your prospective employer calls. They will probably tell you that they will say this guy worked here from X to Y and that's it.

Just have your ducks lined up and don't get caught in a lie. Good luck!

Quote from whattosay:

Okay guys i was wondering if any of you guys could offer some honest opinions or any ideas as to what should be the correct way to handle this.

I have an interview with a firm, and i have passed all the pre screening telephone interviews and numeracy tests etc.

Now i am meeting with some of the head honchoes of this firm.

The problem is i got fired from my previous trading role (it was 5 years ago) but i believe some of the people in this firm know people in the old firm (sorry to sound a bit vague) so there is every possibility that the reasons of my termination could come out 1 day.

Now before you all jump down my throat - let me explain why i was fired. I worked on a desk, and my contribution to the P&L was between 20-40k per day. On the day i was fired i lost 100k, but this was my first (and only) down day. I was told by my employers that i was abusing my limits, hiding positions and trading above my risk limits. Now the problem is I wasnt actually told my risk limits, i didnt actually hide any positions (as soon as i knew my P&L for the day i reported it to my boss), and the main thing is that i traded in the same way for the last 4 months, but seeing as i made a profit every single day, it was never looked into or deemed to be a problem! So basically it was all hunky dory while i made a profit - but when the s**t hit the fan - i was dismissed for gross misconduct.

Anyway that was 5 years ago and ive worked in other roles since then, but i know i will be asked why i left that firm. I have no idea what to say, or how to be honest and put a positive spin on it. I know that if they contact my previous employers then the reference will not be good but im obviously worried that i will not have a chance to defend myself and explain my side of the situation. The company i used to work for can definately (or should be able to) confirm that i never had a down day prior to this incident, and that i contributed 20k-40k per day to the desk (just to put it into context) although i doubt that they would go out of their way to help me.

So any ideas as to what i can say! anyone have any views.....
More...
 
Tell them the truth. People get fired sometimes. I know many successful people that have been canned before. From what I read, it doesn't sound that bad. You were consistently profitable and were never given the guidelines that you were fired for.

Do yourself a favor and tell the truth. Never in my life have I regretted telling the truth, but there is 100% certainty that if you lie it will either come back and bite you in the ass or you will feel it hanging over your head the entire time you work there.

Tell the truth and be confident about it and I would guess that it won't hinder you as much as you think.
 
Quote from whattosay:

I worked on a desk, and my contribution to the P&L was between 20-40k per day. On the day i was fired i lost 100k, but this was my first (and only) down day...... i traded in the same way for 4 months, but seeing as i made a profit every single day, it was never looked into or deemed to be a problem!
More...

I'm going to have to say BULLSHIT.

No shop in the world would fire a guy pulling 20-40k days everyday for months and then fire him when he has ONE DOWN DAY of 100k.

Total fiction.
 
Previously employer HR should only let them know that you work there from date to date. Maybe a salary range. But that is all they are legally allowed to say.

So don't put references in with your previous employer, they can talk to your references. But if they call the employer directly to Human Resources, they should only be able to get date of employment and maybe salary range.

But you should just tell the interviewer that the company let you go because even though you made 20-40k per day for 4 months, you had a bad day, lost 100k and were made an example by the employer. Tell them you were overall profitable, and your loss is about 0.5% of the money you brought into the company.

I'm just estimating some numbers here, go ahead and do your own calculations.

And seriously, if this is all true, you previous employer must the most dumbest sob's in the world.
 
If it’s true I would just bring my records. If I had a firm and you showed me 1,000,000 profits in 2 months I would hire you. Your story makes no sense though.
 
tell the truth! It's the only option. If you have a series 7 it's going to be on your U-4 anyways and they will see it. Everyone deserves another chance. Being honest about what happened will help you get that second chance.
 
I would come up with a different version of the "truth"..Getting fired for dropping 100,000 after being up 3,000,000 will only bring laughter..
 
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