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Comment by lukasm | Hacker News Reader

Why did you say you were fired for underperformance? Why didn't you say it was a bad fit? Usually, that's the root cause.

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Because a) that is how it was represented to me, albeit with very high standards, and b) I don't feel comfortable massaging the truth like that. If and when I go into detail I can explain things that I think go in and against my favor.

Also, mathattack's answer: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mathattack

A smart interviewer doesn't need that to be wordsmithed. I would follow up by asking some questions about what it was about the position or culture or company that didn't work out well.

so, count on a smart interviewer because if the interviewer is not top notch, you don't want the job? that's throwing your future to the wind.

Another reason I wouldn't not tell the truth is maybe the interviewer knows my ex-colleagues.

It also shows courage to fess up to getting fired. As long as there's a good story around it, and some learnings, silicon valley is generally forgiving of short tenures.

It's not about lying, but constructing a narrative that paints the facts in a favorable light. Just saying you were fired for underperforming gives you no room to construct a less negative narrative.

That's what politicians do.

Being fired lost much of its stigma in highly intellectual professions. Often, it has to do with disagreements over certain business/technical decisions, rather than incompetence.

I have seen great people fired by terrible managers.

As an interviewer, I appreciate the honesty/brevity, and if the explanation for being fired is reasonable enough, it needn't be a huge red flag.

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