Fired after 4 months from top consultancy

Hey guys.

So long story short, I was recently fired (today) from my employer after only being there for 4 (June-September) months. I sent an email with confident client information to the wrong person by accident and was terminated because of it.

While honest, my mistake had the potential to cause material damage to my firm which warranted such an extreme reaction. My colleagues and friends have tried to comfort me by saying that this mistake could have happened to anyone, and that me working 70+ hours a week increased opportunity for error. My manager explicitly stated: “we did not set you up in a position to succeed”.

Emotionally— I still haven’t fully processed what has happened. Mentally— I’m focused on getting a new job as soon as possible and would appreciate some assistance.

My situation is interesting in that I’m not an official college graduate yet, as I’m finishing up 3 credits for a BS in engineering. My employer knew this and still allowed to take me on full time.

My firm is a top tier consultancy located in NYC. During my time there, I was able to gain a wide variety of skills that I think are extremely rare when compared to my peers.

My question to you: should I list this job on my resume— marketing it as an internship instead of a full time hire? Or should I be honest about my full time employment there? Technically, I’m still a student so I have some leeway in this decision making. Alternatively, should I remove the job all together?

My employer has agreed to provide a positive reference. In fact, multiple people from the firm have agreed to reach out to their own networks and assist me in anyway they can.

The biggest obstacle in all of this is that I was Terminated- not let go. How do I rework this into a positive? The HR person from my departing firm told me I should communicate this as a “mutual decision” and part of a “re-structuring”. My take? Companies aren’t that dumb and will be curious as to how a 4 month hire was let go during a re-org.

I would truly appreciate any help on this issue. I just signed a 12-month lease in NYC for $1,500/month, so finding a new job is of great importance.