Dismissal due to performance issues

So I was recently dismissed from my first Legal Secretary position; the company cited performance issues 5 months into my probation.

Now I won't lie, some of the work they gave me I found extremely difficult to get my head around and asking for help was difficult because everyone else has such a heavy workload. It also didn't help that they had processes in place which various people didn't stick to at times.

The annoying thing is that I work I was able to do I thought I did to a high standard and the main body of lawyers seemed very happy with my work? One even recommended me for a job at his friend's firm after I left.

I didn't contest the dismissal because I, myself, hated working there and was planning to hand in my notice anyway, but hey-ho.

I've spoken to a few recruiters and they've pretty much said it will affect my chances of 1) landing a permanent role for the next 5-7 years, 2) means I won't work in the Legal sector ever again, and 3) will most likely mean I won't land a role in HR either. I've come to terms with all these 3 points now.

I wanted to get some feedback from everyone as to how I should present my dismissal in interviews?

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  • Just be carefully with keeping quiet until you know what their referencing policy is. Sone organisations will reference every job in X period. In those cases sometimes it’s better to be up front.

    An honest , we were in lockdown , support was scattered, everyone was busy and it didn’t work out. Is better than someone finding out you were sacked after you told them you left to do other things.
  • Agree with Keith's cautious approach. If your offer is subject to satisfactory references, and it arrives after you've started (not impossible), then things could get messy. Better to say, "It didn't work for me, and it didn't work for them so we agreed to go our separate ways".