1. WHY PEOPLE GET FIRED Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

2. Dishonesty, evasion, or lack of integrity on the job. It is important to be honest, straightforward, and forthcoming on the job with management and coworkers. It is important to protect your company's proprietary information, such as copyrighted and trademarked materials, company manuals, program materials, and new projects, services, and inventions in order to prevent corporate espionage and theft. Time sheets and expense reports must be 100% true and accurate, without padding. Projects reports, especially facts and figures must not be faked. Employees should not use company materials or equipment for their own personal purposes and this includes telephones, cell phones, copiers, laptops, PDAs, and the Internet. Absolutely no employee should use company time, equipment, and materials to operate a personal business on company time, such as an Internet sales page, or a Pampered Chef or Tupperware business, etc. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

3. Lying on a resume. Increasing numbers of employers are checking every single reference a job candidate provides. If there are notations on your resume of more than one business "closed down" or one or more employers having died, or there are untraceable educational certifications, you risk being fired for fraud. Be prepared to show some sort of documentation for those closed down business and schools. Many employers now require that you show them, and provide them a copy of, your High School, Vocational School, and College transcripts and diplomas, so have them ready. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

4. Refusing to follow directions and orders. Your company owns your working time and you must do what your supervisors and bosses ask you to do. If you have a better idea, you must talk to them and go through proper channels in order to "do it your way." If you are asked to do something illegal, unethical, or what you consider immoral, you need to take a stand on that in a professional manner. Sometimes, people who cannot follow directions simply need to start their own businesses, and that's perfectly OK. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

5. Talking too much and conducting personal business at work. Don't be guilty of misusing company resources, including the Internet, office supplies, and especially telephones; too much idle (personal talking) with coworkers. Non-business talking wastes more company dollars than any other activity. It should be saved for lunch and break times. This includes talking on the phone/email with stockbrokers, travel agents, hairdressers, bankers, etc. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

6. Inability to get along with other people. Some people have a lower "Social IQ" than others, some are loners, and some are sociopathic or have personality disorders. Unless there is a mental health disorder present (like the sociopathic or personality disorder symptoms) people can learn to be civil and have productive conversations - even those with Asperger's syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders. Management should notice extreme problems with employee's getting along with others and intervene professionally with a referral to the Employee Assistance Program for consultation and help or the Professional Development Program for training like awareness and communications education. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

7. Performing tasks slowly, with numerous errors. Some employees are sloppy and not invested in doing a good job. Unless their attitudes change for more productive beliefs, they will likely be fired. On the other hand, and unwisely, some employees try to "string out" their work and make it last longer in order to have job security. This is dishonest. A better plan is to finish their tasks at an acceptable rate and ask coworkers if they can help them, and after that, go to the boss and ask for more work. Not only is this honest, but it lets the boss know that you are a good worker and deserving of raises and promotions. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

8. High absenteeism rate. When you are hired as an employee, your company owns the time that you are at work, except for lunches, breaks, and authorized time off. It is not a sign of integrity to take every minute of sick time you have, just because you are allotted that amount and are not actually sick. Some employers have solved this problem by lumping vacations, mental health days, sick time, holidays, days for family funerals, and personal days into one category called "Time Off" or similar. You don't have to give any explanation. Longer family-leave and parental leave time usually requires previous authorization though. However, if you need to take sick time for another reason, confide in your bosses and they may make an accommodation for you. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

9. Drug and/or alcohol abuse. Abuse leads to inconsistent work, errors, accidents, poor interpersonal relationships, increased absenteeism, lower morale among coworkers and supervisors, bad publicity for the company, and other negatives. Drug and alcohol problems both are usually only one of a set of serious disorders known as Co-Occurring Disorders, so there is usually much more to the problem than drug use or drinking that got out of hand. Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1

10. DON’T LET THIS BE YOU!!!!! Jobs for Montana's Graduates C20L2PP1