Dismissed from job 3 years ago, no references, not sure where to start to get a job

NeedSomeHRadvice

I had been working for around 15 years in the NHS in a professional career (nurse/physiotherapist etc) type job, with a good salary.

I switched jobs to a new employer and found that I been duped by the new manager/employer promising me things that the job was not going to deliver (training opportunities that were non existent and just wanted me to work to cover temp duties.) I had a discussion about the job role with the manager and and expressed that it didn't look like I would be doing the job as described and that I was disappointed that I was basically going to be doing the work of a temp agency worker at a lower pay. The manager did not like me saying this and surprised me with a dismissal 2 months into the job.

It has now been almost 3 years since I last worked. The only references that I may be able to get from the NHS job and this previous job is probably a basic reference stating only start and end dates, position and that's about it. There is a good chance that they will not even give this since it has been that long since I left. I didn't keep in contact with any colleagues as I was only at my last job for 2 months and didn't make close relationship with anyone.


In my professional type job, employers will ask
(1) about the reasons for the 3 years gap in employment and
(2) about professional references. 

I could say I took a career break in relation to the gap in employment but have now idea what to do about professional references as they normally want a more in-depth character type reference (honesty, character, reliability etc) and I doubt that they previous employers will even give a basic reference due to the time that has elapsed although at the time they said they would hold a basic reference on file.

Any advice on where to start would be welcome.

MattMattMattUK

NeedSomeHRadvice said:

I had been working for around 15 years in the NHS in a professional career (nurse/physiotherapist etc) type job, with a good salary.

I switched jobs to a new employer and found that I been duped by the new manager/employer promising me things that the job was not going to deliver (training opportunities that were non existent and just wanted me to work to cover temp duties.) I had a discussion about the job role with the manager and and expressed that it didn't look like I would be doing the job as described and that I was disappointed that I was basically going to be doing the work of a temp agency worker at a lower pay. The manager did not like me saying this and surprised me with a dismissal 2 months into the job.

It has now been almost 3 years since I last worked. The only references that I may be able to get from the NHS job and this previous job is probably a basic reference stating only start and end dates, position and that's about it. There is a good chance that they will not even give this since it has been that long since I left. I didn't keep in contact with any colleagues as I was only at my last job for 3 months and didn't make close relationship with anyone.


In my professional type job, employers will ask
(1) about the reasons for the 3 years gap in employment and
(2) about professional references. 

I could say I took a career break in relation to the gap in employment but have now idea what to do about professional references as they normally want a character reference type reference and I doubt that they previous employers will even give a basic reference due to the time that has elapsed although at the time they said they would give a basic reference.

Any advice on where to start would be welcome.

Why did you take three years off? That is the real question, you were let go from a job, but the normal reaction to that is not to then take three years off work. Were you and are you still a registered nurse, are your qualifications still up to date or would you need to go on refresher courses? 

Marcon

NeedSomeHRadvice said:

I had been working for around 15 years in the NHS in a professional career (nurse/physiotherapist etc) type job, with a good salary.

I switched jobs to a new employer and found that I been duped by the new manager/employer promising me things that the job was not going to deliver (training opportunities that were non existent and just wanted me to work to cover temp duties.) I had a discussion about the job role with the manager and and expressed that it didn't look like I would be doing the job as described and that I was disappointed that I was basically going to be doing the work of a temp agency worker at a lower pay. The manager did not like me saying this and surprised me with a dismissal 2 months into the job.

It has now been almost 3 years since I last worked. The only references that I may be able to get from the NHS job and this previous job is probably a basic reference stating only start and end dates, position and that's about it. There is a good chance that they will not even give this since it has been that long since I left. I didn't keep in contact with any colleagues as I was only at my last job for 3 months and didn't make close relationship with anyone.


In my professional type job, employers will ask
(1) about the reasons for the 3 years gap in employment and
(2) about professional references. 

I could say I took a career break in relation to the gap in employment but have now idea what to do about professional references as they normally want a more in-depth character type reference and I doubt that they previous employers will even give a basic reference due to the time that has elapsed although at the time they said they would hold a basic reference on file.

Any advice on where to start would be welcome.

What exactly do you mean by a 'professional type' job - why are you so coy about disclosing what your role was? I doubt future employers are reading this and will immediately identify you if you send in a cv!

In a post in September 2022 you talking about being on a 9 month career break, so what's happened to turn it into 3 years? How have you kept up top date with clinical knowledge, or how will you update? That's more likely to interest a future employer than a squabble with a previous employer where things didn't work out - you've got a solid 15 years of NHS employment, so although you'd be wise to disclose the brief period of employment, you only need to say the job wasn't what you anticipated and it only lasted a couple of months.

NeedSomeHRadvice

MattMattMattUK said:

NeedSomeHRadvice said:

I had been working for around 15 years in the NHS in a professional career (nurse/physiotherapist etc) type job, with a good salary.

I switched jobs to a new employer and found that I been duped by the new manager/employer promising me things that the job was not going to deliver (training opportunities that were non existent and just wanted me to work to cover temp duties.) I had a discussion about the job role with the manager and and expressed that it didn't look like I would be doing the job as described and that I was disappointed that I was basically going to be doing the work of a temp agency worker at a lower pay. The manager did not like me saying this and surprised me with a dismissal 2 months into the job.

It has now been almost 3 years since I last worked. The only references that I may be able to get from the NHS job and this previous job is probably a basic reference stating only start and end dates, position and that's about it. There is a good chance that they will not even give this since it has been that long since I left. I didn't keep in contact with any colleagues as I was only at my last job for 3 months and didn't make close relationship with anyone.


In my professional type job, employers will ask
(1) about the reasons for the 3 years gap in employment and
(2) about professional references. 

I could say I took a career break in relation to the gap in employment but have now idea what to do about professional references as they normally want a character reference type reference and I doubt that they previous employers will even give a basic reference due to the time that has elapsed although at the time they said they would give a basic reference.

Any advice on where to start would be welcome.

Why did you take three years off? That is the real question, you were let go from a job, but the normal reaction to that is not to then take three years off work. Were you and are you still a registered nurse, are your qualifications still up to date or would you need to go on refresher courses? 

I got dismissed, didn't feel up to taking up a new job, one of my parents broke their leg so looked after them for a year or so, and time just went by.

I am still registered with the professional body (declared it as a career break), don't need to refresh anything although feel I am a bit rusty due to the length of time off work.

NeedSomeHRadvice

Marcon said:

NeedSomeHRadvice said:

I had been working for around 15 years in the NHS in a professional career (nurse/physiotherapist etc) type job, with a good salary.

I switched jobs to a new employer and found that I been duped by the new manager/employer promising me things that the job was not going to deliver (training opportunities that were non existent and just wanted me to work to cover temp duties.) I had a discussion about the job role with the manager and and expressed that it didn't look like I would be doing the job as described and that I was disappointed that I was basically going to be doing the work of a temp agency worker at a lower pay. The manager did not like me saying this and surprised me with a dismissal 2 months into the job.

It has now been almost 3 years since I last worked. The only references that I may be able to get from the NHS job and this previous job is probably a basic reference stating only start and end dates, position and that's about it. There is a good chance that they will not even give this since it has been that long since I left. I didn't keep in contact with any colleagues as I was only at my last job for 3 months and didn't make close relationship with anyone.


In my professional type job, employers will ask
(1) about the reasons for the 3 years gap in employment and
(2) about professional references. 

I could say I took a career break in relation to the gap in employment but have now idea what to do about professional references as they normally want a more in-depth character type reference and I doubt that they previous employers will even give a basic reference due to the time that has elapsed although at the time they said they would hold a basic reference on file.

Any advice on where to start would be welcome.

What exactly do you mean by a 'professional type' job - why are you so coy about disclosing what your role was? I doubt future employers are reading this and will immediately identify you if you send in a cv!

In a post in September 2022 you talking about being on a 9 month career break, so what's happened to turn it into 3 years? How have you kept up top date with clinical knowledge, or how will you update? That's more likely to interest a future employer than a squabble with a previous employer where things didn't work out - you've got a solid 15 years of NHS employment, so although you'd be wise to disclose the brief period of employment, you only need to say the job wasn't what you anticipated and it only lasted a couple of months.

OK, I'm a nurse. 

I got dismissed, didn't feel up to taking up a new job, one of my parents broke their leg soon after so looked after them for a year or so, and now it is around 3 year since I was dismissed.

I've kept clinical knowledge up to date by doing some reading about new developments but it has been difficult since I am not in a clinical environment so am "rusty", although it will come back to me pretty quickly.

Yes, I could say the job wasn't a good fit, the bigger issue is the references. Not even sure where to start with this one :-/

LinLui

It took three years to heal a broken leg? Or even "a year or so"? 

I really really would like to help. But honestly? This is your version of history and I'm finding it somewhat unbelievable. They're still be two sides to the story.  But one thing I do know - NHS references for clinical staff are not "basic". Like any professional role which operates in the field of social care, they are required to provide full disclosure. So you have a reference,  your records will still be on file,  and the best way to address this is to provide potential employers with previous employer reference details AND an explanation of the dismissal / gap (that seems more believable?).

Even if everything you've said here is 100% true, it doesn't sound like it is,  and that's exactly what an employer is likely to think. If you are attempting to hide something,  just spit it out. There's very little that can't be dealt with,  and honestly. But on these bare bones,  I'm sorry,  but references wouldn't be your problem because you'd never get as far as us wanting to take them up. Three years out of employment with no adequate explanation? No. 

Brie

I have a friend who took a few years out to be the carer for his parents.  That's an acceptable reason for not being in your previous employment.  

Frankly at this point I would suggest taking something a step or two down from where you want to be to get yourself back into a job.  Employers are going to be more accepting that you show you need to get back into practice.  Maybe an agency that puts you to cover for NHS work would be a good starter.  And go and talk to the agency - they'll know how to handle the gap.

elsien

Brie said:

I have a friend who took a few years out to be the carer for his parents.  That's an acceptable reason for not being in your previous employment.  

Frankly at this point I would suggest taking something a step or two down from where you want to be to get yourself back into a job.  Employers are going to be more accepting that you show you need to get back into practice.  Maybe an agency that puts you to cover for NHS work would be a good starter.  And go and talk to the agency - they'll know how to handle the gap.

It is acceptable if it’s accurate.
Taking a year to care for someone with a broken leg and then suddenly finding your another couple of years down the line really isn’t convincing.
As an employer, I’d be thinking broken legs don’t take that long to heal and tend not to need full-time carers anyway. So what has the OP been doing to fill in that time, and what have they been living on?
Because as above it’s not the references I’d be concerned about it, it would be the reason for the gap and why someone who apparently had a good work ethic previously seems to have lost it.

The OP may have a perfectly valid reason that they don’t want to disclose on here and that’s fair enough but they are going to have to explain it to an employer if they want to stand any chance of getting an interview.

NeedSomeHRadvice

LinLui said:

It took three years to heal a broken leg? Or even "a year or so"? 

I really really would like to help. But honestly? This is your version of history and I'm finding it somewhat unbelievable. They're still be two sides to the story.  But one thing I do know - NHS references for clinical staff are not "basic". Like any professional role which operates in the field of social care, they are required to provide full disclosure. So you have a reference,  your records will still be on file,  and the best way to address this is to provide potential employers with previous employer reference details AND an explanation of the dismissal / gap (that seems more believable?).

Even if everything you've said here is 100% true, it doesn't sound like it is,  and that's exactly what an employer is likely to think. f you are attempting to hide something,  just spit it out. There's very little that can't be dealt with,  and honestly. But on these bare bones,  I'm sorry,  but references wouldn't be your problem because you'd never get as far as us wanting to take them up. Three years out of employment with no adequate explanation? No. 

As I said > I got dismissed, didn't feel up to taking up a new job, one of my parents broke their leg soon after so looked after them for a year or so, and now it is around 3 years since I was dismissed.

Yes, I know NHS references for clinical staff are not basic, I used to write references for subordinates. However, legally the are NOT required to give you a reference in the health care field, this only applies in the financial field.

I do have a copy of my NHS reference that was sent to the new employer (where I was dismissed from after 2 months) but obviously an employer WILL NOT accept a copy of a reference from me! They always want it directly from the previous employer/manager directly for obvious reasons.

As I said the NHS employer and the new employer will only provide a basic reference at best due to the time I have left employment. So this is the thing I need advice on. It really doesn't matter if you believe me or not and I can't be the first person in this sort of situation.

NeedSomeHRadvice

Brie said:

I have a friend who took a few years out to be the carer for his parents.  That's an acceptable reason for not being in your previous employment.  

Frankly at this point I would suggest taking something a step or two down from where you want to be to get yourself back into a job.  Employers are going to be more accepting that you show you need to get back into practice.  Maybe an agency that puts you to cover for NHS work would be a good starter.  And go and talk to the agency - they'll know how to handle the gap.

I have been looking for temp ("bank") jobs and have applied for one today but I suspect I will find the same issue when it comes to the references as NHS/health care jobs normally need a detailed personal type reference.

The only think I can think to do is to do some voluntary work, but if this is in a hospital setting this will probably need some kind of detailed personal reference too so I seem to be stuck. I could get a volunteering post in British Heart Foundation shop or similar that would be less stringent on references but I'm concerned it will look weird on the CV as part of my work history! 

NeedSomeHRadvice

elsien said:

Brie said:

I have a friend who took a few years out to be the carer for his parents.  That's an acceptable reason for not being in your previous employment.  

Frankly at this point I would suggest taking something a step or two down from where you want to be to get yourself back into a job.  Employers are going to be more accepting that you show you need to get back into practice.  Maybe an agency that puts you to cover for NHS work would be a good starter.  And go and talk to the agency - they'll know how to handle the gap.

It is acceptable if it’s accurate.
Taking a year to care for someone with a broken leg and then suddenly finding your another couple of years down the line really isn’t convincing.
As an employer, I’d be thinking broken legs don’t take that long to heal and tend not to need full-time carers anyway. So what has the OP been doing to fill in that time, and what have they been living on?
Because as above it’s not the references I’d be concerned about it, it would be the reason for the gap and why someone who apparently had a good work ethic previously seems to have lost it.

The OP may have a perfectly valid reason that they don’t want to disclose on here and that’s fair enough but they are going to have to explain it to an employer if they want to stand any chance of getting an interview.

I got dismissed, didn't feel up to taking up a new job, one of my parents broke their leg soon after so looked after them for a year or so, and now it is around 3 years since I was dismissed. 

To fill the time I've been watching TV, going to the gym, a long holiday or two, sleeping for 12 hours a day and generally catching up on my box sets.  I had quite a bit of spare cash and still have more than £30,000 in savings even after almost 3 years of not working and I do not have much outgoings so even this would last me another 3 years if I needed it to. Also it was quite nice to have a break after working continuously for 15 years of long hours/nights etc.

Whilst I had a job, I was motivated and had a routine due to the job (you have to turn up). Once I got dismissed I got quite lazy, and did not have a financial incentive to push me to find another job as stated above.