I received a question the other day regarding a gentleman who was having trouble finding work. He had been working from home at the beginning of the year and had interviewed for a position with a large company. After being offered a position, he gave his notice to his employer. Shortly after, the new company rescinded the offer because of a misdemeanor on his record regarding over-payment of unemployment benefits. He had mentioned it during his interview and was told that it wouldn't be an issue. However, after doing the background check, the company appeared to not be comfortable with the charge and declined to hire him.

Part of the challenge in answering a question such as this is not knowing more specific information. I'm uncertain as to what he was doing from home before he interviewed with the large employer, but it sounds like he has skills that are transferable to many places. However, let's just focus on the criminal record issue.

A local reporter who asks for my input to emails he receives sent me a question from a reader. Her husband was fired over a year ago from his job for a safety violation. She clearly feels that politics were involved (shocking!), He's been out of work now and wants to know how to respond to the question "Why did you leave your last job?" The following is my response. Read it and feel free to comment.

I'm sorry to hear about this gentleman's plight, but I'm not surprised. While I'm certain he's disappointed that things wound up this way, let's look at how to proceed. It is important not to beat yourself up, as this can happen to the best of us. It doesn't even have to be your fault. Many of the most successful people around have been fired. If you haven't been fired, you're probably not trying hard enough.