Statistics state that we will all be fired once in lifetime. Recovering can be hard. People hire employees for several reasons. Something as simple as a personality brush between working style and management style could dampen the outlook for an employee. How do you give a previously fired employee a second chance? I do have some tips.

The best thing to do during the interview is to keep an open mind. Things happen. People are not always fired because they are bad employees. Maybe their skill set didn’t match what a company was seeking, perhaps there was a personality difference, or maybe there was a schedule change. Listen to the employee and use your best judgement as to if he or she is being honest about the situation and then verify the data.

Judge how the employee answered your questions too. This answer will provide you with certain insight into any political situations before you even verify data. An employee should never, ever…. ever talk badly about their former employer. If they do, it is a huge red flag. This said, perhaps the job was presented to the employee one way but was completely different once the hiring process was complete. Maybe the employee made a big mistake on a client and had to pay the price. Whatever their answer, you want to be looking for signs that this candidate can take responsibility for their actions. Mistakes happen. People do deserve second chances- as long as they know how to correct their mistakes.

You should always consider hiring someone who was previously fired. We all make mistakes. It is up to you to use your judgement as to how bad the employee’s former mistake was made, if they are being honest about what happened and if he or she has a positive outlook as to moving forward and learning from the past.