I’m filling out form OF-306, Delcaration for Federal Employment. Question 12 asks “in the last 5 years have you been fired from any job…”.
About 2 yrs ago I had a medical issue and I was not able to communicate with my employer and had a relative keep in communication with my employer. During that time my relative did not follow up and my employer sent me a letter stating “I voluntary resigned my position and my employment with the employer is terminated effective x date due to job abandonment”.
Does this mean I was fired or I resigned? I did not submit a formal resignation letter and I’m assuming they took my silence as me abandoning my job and they terminated me. However I did provide them evidence after I received the letter that my relative did reach out and there was a period that due to the severity of my situation they did not communicate in a timely manner, thus the employer having to fire me.
If you’re filling out a job application I would put resigned. If you’re filling out the 86 or 85 I would ask the employer what’s in your record, specifically whether they consider you terminated or resigned. Or, view your employment record if possible to get the correct answer.
On the 86 or 85 the only thing that matters is what the employer says. If you say resigned and the employer says terminated then it could appear as hiding something so it would be better to put terminated. If you can’t ask the employer then put terminated and explain it during the interview (86 or 85).
+1 for resigned… the letter was likely worded that way because it’s also in the company’s best interest to categorize it as a resignation. That company’s HR wouldn’t want anything to do with categorizing it was a firing given the circumstances and the remote but non-zero potential for legal liability.
I wouldn’t. But I agree with @Duetoerror. If you’re unsure, just put Fired. That is technically not a negative. You can explain it all you want in the comments section.