10 Things That Can Get You Fired

10 Things That Can Get You Fired10 Things That Can Get You Fired Nobody wants to get fired. Most people avoid it by generally doing good work and keeping complaints about their jobs to themselves or close family.Unfortunately, its notlage that simple. There are many things that can get you fired beyond the obvious you dont have to burn down the office to earn a pink slip.If you have created a situation for yourself where theres some level of dissatisfaction with your performance, any organization with figure out where there is an option or a point of entry where they can separate you from them, said Roy Cohen, a New York City career coach and author of The Wall Street Professionals Survival Guide . Assuming youre in an employment-at-will environment, you dont ever have to be told why youre being fired.Most professional employees are employees-at-will, which means that they can be fired for any reason or none at all. Employment-at-will laws vary from state to state , but if youre not in a union or dont have a contract, they likely apply to you.It may not be fair to get fired because you choose not to shower, think youre smarter than your boss or have issues admitting when youre wrong, but it can happen. Here are ten ways to get thrown off your job.Its okay to take sick days when you need them, but if you take too many at the wrong times, it could mean more free time to convalesce.If you want to get fired, repeatedly call in sick on Mondays, said Randy Merrell, vice president of operations at Elite Network, a San Francisco-based search firm. Muscle up and get yourself in there. Hangovers are no excuse.The same goes for vacation days, said Cohen. Ditching the company for a few days of sun and surf in the middle of a busy season reflects poorly on your dedication to the well-being of the business.An administrator in my clients department had a key role in planning a major event, and the admin called in sick for three days the week before the ev ent, said Cohen. A check of her records showed that she had a pattern of calling in sick around major events. All of the work gets dropped on others shoulders. Her sick days might have been legit, but they were legit too frequently, he said. That, when combined with her sloppy work and incomplete projects, got her cut from the roster.Everyone beefs up their resume , and assumes that once they have the job, its no longer important what they did to get it. Not so fast. If your job performance lags, your resume may be reviewed again. An inconsistency or poorly timed embellishment could be used to get rid of you.If theyre dissatisfied with you and then they find out that you lied, thats an easy ticket for them, said Cohen.For example, Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO of New York-based Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, recalls a staff member at a former employer who noted on his resume that he had his CPA when he did not. He had taken all the coursework, but did not take the exam.He had the j ob, welches doing a good job, but was fired on the spot when his boss found out he had lied on his resume. The job didnt require a CPA, but the boss checked to see if he had it anyway, said Hurwitz. Even though it wasnt a requirement, it reflected on his character.If you arent diligent with your hygiene, people probably arent going to go out of their way to keep you around.I have a number of clients who are managers that have employees who were unkempt, said Cohen. When it came time for downsizing, they were at the top of the list.You might think that hygiene habits should be a personal decision left to each staff members own discretion, but Cohen said that the reach of bad body odor goes beyond the cubicle around you. Its engaging in anti-social behavior, he said. Not bathing, being unkempt You have to be very careful, especially if youre in a client-interfacing role.As the old adage goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you always keep your head down, never remind your boss of your accomplishments, and arent a familiar face to the higher-ups, you arent going to be remembered for what youre worth when headcount is being shaved.Its not enough to just work hard, stay late, and be intelligent, said Linda Farley, founder of Farley Training, a San Antonio-based management coaching firm. It shows youre not a team player. If you dont speak up in meetings and share your ideas, youll be the one who doesnt have ideas, instead of the one who works late and meets deadlines.People need to know you as a person before they can trust you as a worker, she said.An ego is arguably a necessity in the business world. But a big head thats consistently getting in the way of efficiency and teamwork is a head that will roll.If youre not forceful to the proper degree in promoting your own ideas, youre not going to get anything accomplished, said Hurwitz, but you have to be able to do it in the proper way.Those who always need to do things their way, come across as single-minded and critical of others ideas, said Cohen. If your ideas are smarter than everyone elses, theyll rise to the surface and be appreciated - unless you dont listen to anyone else, ever.With unemployment hovering around 9%, try to be thankful for what you have, instead of whining about what you think you deserve. A lack of humility can earn you a pink slip.If you want out, ask for a raise before a round of job cuts, and get angry when they dont give it to you, said Cohen. It shows poor judgment.Another way to get the ax, said Cohen, is telling your boss that the work theyre providing you with is beneath you.In one word, complain. Thats how you get your personenname at the top of the list, said Cohen.Its likely that the current chain of command in the office has long been in place, and for good reason. Except in the most extreme of circumstances, experts recommend respecting it.When youre emotionally intelligent, aware of your surroundings and know who the players are, you have a sense of what you should say when, and when you should keep your mouth shut, said Farley. You know when you should go over someones head, and when you should follow the chain of command.No matter how much you hate your boss or how dumb you think he is, its usually career suicide to reveal those sentiments to a higher-up.When company information is leaked or major deadlines are missed, someone will likely be fired. Even if you werent involved, you dont want your name associated with those of the usual suspects.Even if youre not a non-performer or a complainer yourself, if youre associated with them, people will start thinking of you in that way, said Farley of Farley Training.Theres a birds of a feather mentality to this one - if youre in a clique with your most toxic colleagues , its easy for your boss to liken you to them. If you are associated with the gossip, its going to be assumed you are spreading rumors too, said Hurwitz, of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing.Take a page out of former Rep. Anthony Weiner s book on this one. If you do something stupid, dont lie about it. The truth will come out - and youll get a lot of negative attention if youre forced to admit you tried to cover up.Its not the crime, its the cover-up, said Hurwitz. If youre the source of bad news about you and if you admit to your mistakes and you dont repeat them, thats a positive. Youll get leistungspunkt for it.But if you blame failed technology, time crunches, or the errors of your colleagues when things go awry and youre to blame, youre expendable.No one likes a freeloader. If you are the worker who never presents an original thought at work, or you take credit for others accomplishments, youre likely to find yourself out the door.One guy stole commissions from co-workers when everyone was out on Christmas break, said Merrell at Elite Network. Commissions at the company were given to the person who did the legwork and sold the services to the client, said Merrell, not by the person who a nswered the phone when the client called to conclude the sale. The company policy was that you gave commission credit to the correct person, even when they were out, said Merrell. I took great pleasure in firing this guy.This posted appears on AOL Jobs and is a FINS original post written by Kelly Eggers