Job Interview - Bismarck,ND

As a former hiring manager, I would tell them that, for the first position, you didn't have enough experience.

For the second position, you didn't click or mesh with the attorney. I would NOT mention anything about lack of organization.

If this position requires organizational skills, you will need to learn how to get organized. Make Lists. Follow through. Attention to Detail. As a developer, I can tell you that one mistake can crash a program. Code input wrong can also crash it.

Never bash a former employer. Don't bash other people either. It will reflect poorly on you. They will remember it.

"without bashing" makes me think the experience and disorganization weren't quite the whole story. If they were - then you already know the answer - more experience and not a good fit.

Since I am inferring from your question that they will not give you a good reference, and likely the opposite - then stick with the "not a good fit at a law firm, and I was trying to branch out my skillset" and bring your answer back around to "but here at Widgets Inc.I have tons of experience with widgets, including 6 years at Whatchamacallits and 3 years at Thingamabobs"

Most of the time the interviewer won't ask. If you are asked simply say we didn't click. I think of some jobs as dating some work out some do not. Sometimes the personality of the person you are working for just doesn't mesh with who you are.
As far as your organization skills vs theirs -- we are all different. It's not a matter of good or bad simply different. But some bosses or managers never get that. They have the 'my way or the highway' attitude. Most people who are in the position to manage others are never trained to be a manager. I worked in a retail store several years ago and everyone was always admonished for talking to the customers, you are here to work not talk. So if a customer asked a question we were not to talk to them. And if I did I would be told 'we can fire you for that'. After being threatened daily for months I thought okay then fire me.

As for the first termination, I would simply say exactly that - that the position required more experience than you had and that you left on amicable terms.

As for the second, depending on the job you are interviewing for, I'm not so sure I'd want to tell them that they wanted someone more organized. It makes you sound like you're disorganized. I think I would simply say that it was a personality issue between you and the attorney. That won't reflect poorly on you, as most people know that attorney's can be very difficult people. I've worked in the legal profession for years and believe me, I know some doosies!

Good luck with your interview. Let us know how it goes!

Are they, at least, willing to give you a positive personal reference? That would show it was more likely a bad professional fit, not a personality flaw.

Don't bring it up yourself, but if it does come up you can say they were not a good fit and you parted ways on amicable terms.
Do the places who terminated you provide reference letters for you?
That might go a long way to saying it was just a parting of the ways and not because of anything negative.

I think the first one is easy enough to explain, as it is not your fault that they hired someone who wasn't experienced enough to suit their needs. I'd just explain that as time went on, it became clear that the tasks they were expecting you to do really did require someone with more experience in their specific field (law, vs general clerical).

The second one is a bit more tricky, as disorganization would be a major flaw in hiring a worker. Have you taken any measures to try to be a more organized person? Is there anything you can do to show them that you ARE organized enough for the position for which you are interviewing?

I have never been asked questions about the reasons for leaving employment in my interviews. There are plenty of people who have been terminated in the their employment history, so don't think you are going up against the saints. You should have stated the reason for your termination in your application and you should stick to that reason. If they ask, I would simply say it didn't work out and smile.