Why did you leave your last position2 months ago I left my last position voluntarily and find that I am not prepared to handle this question in an interview. Truthfully, there was so much office smut going on and I was very unhappy. My original manager had always been somewhat of an outcast in the manager's circle (click) and our team was obviously held in low regard so it was always hard getting respect. There was a hiring freeze, then came the great management restructuring that would make everything better. The director's favorite young gal was promoted and suddenly became my boss. My performance suddenly became an issue, I was being called in daily to be told I had done something wrong, even though I had just received a good annual review. Things went from bad to worse. During the entire 2 years I spent at this job, I was also having to deal with my mom's cancer, I was a caretaker, and then she passed away, and then I was working though the aftermath of her death. I hated my job, I was burned out, I was sure I was going to be fired and I turned in my resignation and never looked back. It was all very amicable. That was 2 months ago, today I had a recruiter call me and she wanted to know in great detail why I left my job. I tried to be positive but don't think it went well. I don't want to tell people the sad "mom had cancer" story or "my new boss had been banging the director" story, I wanted to keep my dignity and knew that if I had stayed any longer would I have lost all self-confidence and gone into a depression. Recruiters want to hear how you left your last job to conquer the world in your next job and I just want to work in a positive healthy environment. Any suggestions? Thanks Well, there are the standby answers of : "I had reached as far as I was going to and felt that I needed to leave in order to further my knowledge", "I did not feel that I was using my skills to my fullest potential and left to find a position where I could", "My mommy told me that I couldn't work there anymore because my boss was a cheap #### #### who liked to boink with the big guys in the conferance room". Okay, so don't use the third one. But, in your case it is true that you left because you didn't feel you were going to have the opportunity to advance. The question truly is how do you spin this so that you don't sound like a cliche. You might try explaining how the reorginization of the company released you of some of your most important responsibilities and you felt that by leaving you would avoid the potential of being downsized. It is probably not a good idea to actually say in an interview that your left because you and your boss did not see eye to eye and that there was the possibility that she would either have you fired or would fire you herself. And, unfortunately telling a sob story about your mother and her cancer and your breakdown would probably not lead the interviewer to believing that you are able to handle "pressure". Even though you are fully able to do this since you handled it for two years without a break. Had you had a break, I am sure you could have handled it without problem. Why did you tell your former employer you were leaving? THAT is what you have to tell a prospective employer. How is it going to look if you tell an interviewer that you left for advancement reasons but when they call your former employer they hear that you left because you were burnt out? I hate to lie but if you didn't give a reason when you left, say you left to care for your mother. It is a legitimate reason as long as you can explain that issue has been resolved somehow (mom passed away or another relative is now caring for her) so it won't impact your future employment. | |
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