First thing... did you know in advance that you would be doing some overtime? Most places are required to give at least some kind of notice beforehand, not just telling you, 'Hey, you gotta stay here until we say you can go tonight' when you come in for the day. I've got a job in town that I'm laid off from right now, and one of the reasons they gave me was that I did'nt do enough volunteering for OT. I figure, hey, I have other obligations... I just agreed to work for this company, not to sell them my soul.

Second, I agree with appealing for unemployment benefits, and keep shopping around applications. With the economy in the state it's in today, companies think they need to do more with less people and have their rear ends smooched on by the employees they choose to keep. It won't always be this bad, so hang in there, don't give up, and don't get down. Don't bad-mouth the employer, but let your work tell your story.

Thirdly, if you feel that your old boss is going to try and trash you to a new employer, then tell the new one your story up front. Tell them why you were fired, what the circumstances were, the whole thing. If you feel like that's not the way to go, then don't allow new employers to contact your old one. In my state (IA), all that an employer can legally release are the starting and ending dates of your employment and what you actually did for work there. Have you been in contact with the ones you applied to? Just because they have'nt called you does'nt mean you're out of the running, necessarily. Give them a call and ask if your application is still under review. If it is, all the better. If not, ask them why they did'nt choose you specifically. Learn all you can about why or why not you were'nt the best fit for them.

Good luck to you.