3 Acceptable “Reasons” for Quitting Your Last Job Author: Micah September 29, 2011 Job Interview Tips No Comments Tags: Tags: Answers, Last Job, Quit, Unemployed, Why Quit You quit. You probably quit for a good reason. That reason may or may not have to do with a tremendously annoying coworker, a boss whose suit always smells like your grandfather’s feet, or work that was considerably more difficult than it was supposed to be. It should come as no surprise that if you are asked why you left your last job, you cannot share these reasons in your job interview. Your interview must be focused only on the positive. You massively harm your chances of getting the job if you complain about your last workplace in any way. However, you do need to give a reason for quitting, and lying is never acceptable. So your best bet is to choose a harmless reason that is true in essence, even if it was not on the forefront of your mind when you left your job. Reasons for Leaving “I realized the job no longer fit my long term goals.” This answer is always true. Always. Did you have a job where you hated your boss? Chances are you didn’t want to work for them forever, so yes, the job did not suit your long term goals. If you are asked to explain this answer, though, you should say something like “The structure of the department made it unlikely that I would be able to continue doing the work I love long term.” “I wanted to work for a company that is more stable.” If the company has had layoffs, but you were not one of the people that ways laid off, you have ammo for leaving. You can claim that you left because you wanted to work for a company where layoffs were less common, so that you could focus on the work instead of the organizational situation. “I have doubts about the company’s viability in the long term.” If you work for a start-up, or a company that has been experiencing significant losses, or a company with a lot of quality competition, this is also a good reason for leaving. Companies will respect your decision to work for a company that looks like it will succeed. Additional Reasons There are other good reasons to leave your last job as well, including: You moved. Your department got cut and you had to take on a new role. You were looking for additional challenges and it would be a long while before a growth position became available. Yet those three may not be applicable to your situation. Usually at least one of the 3 answers provided in the list above is applicable to every job, so if you quit and you don’t have a good reason like “I changed state,” you can use one of those and give an adequate answer that won’t harm your chances of getting the job. Take Away Interview Tips Don’t give the real reasons. Give reasons that don’t speak negatively about your previous company. Difficult Interview Question: Why Has it Taken You So Long to Find Employment? Author: Micah July 12, 2011 Interview Question and Answer No Comments Tags: Tags: Find Employment, How to Answer, Time Unemployed, Unemployed If you go to an interview, you have to expect the tough questions. Hiring managers don’t want you to be sad or upset, but they do want to be flustered, because they are aware how easy it is to BS your way through a job interview. The more unprepared you are for a question, the more likely they will receive a candid answer (or, at the very least, a chance to see how you act when you are unprepared). How to Answer If you are asked why it has taken you so long to find employment, you have two types of answer options: You can talk about work you did while unemployed (starting your own business, freelancing, consulting, volunteering) and claim that you were trying your hand at those activities before you decided to re-enter the job market. You can make it sound like you were in no hurry. The first is fairly easy, which is why it is strongly recommended that you keep yourself busy while you are unemployed. The busier you are, the more you can claim that it wasn’t wasted time. The latter is more difficult, which is why we will give an example below. Bad Answer “I don’t know. I had a few interviews here and there, but they never seemed to pan out.” Good Answer “It was not my intention to apply to just any job that would hire me. I have been waiting for companies that meet my career goals that are looking to hire someone with my qualifications. Those are few and far between.” A good answer implies that it hasn’t been a long time for you, and that the time you spent off work was intentional. It also compliments the company, which is something that interviewers like. Take Away Interview Tips Don’t give any actual reasons. Say that you were working, in some way, while unemployed or Say that you were waiting for jobs that meet your select criteria. Why You Should Stay Busy During Your Unemployment, Part 2 Author: Micah July 5, 2011 Job Interview Tips No Comments Tags: Tags: Unemployed, Unemployment, Unemployment Activities, What to Do In our last post, we discussed how important it is to continue to stay active even while you are unemployed. Active means just that – active. It is not a matter of what you are doing (which we will explain momentarily), so much as it is important that you are doing something – anything – instead of staying home and simply searching for jobs online. Staying Active In Your Field In general, the best way to stay active is to do so within your field. There are ample opportunities for you to continue to make an impact in your field of work, even if you are not being paid. For example, several businesses, especially non-profit organizations, can probably use your skills to help their business run. Volunteers are how these businesses succeed. Call up some local non-profit organizations and see if you can volunteer your services for one or two days a week. Tell them they do not even need to pay you, and simply supply them with the help that they need. You can also look for some low paying work, either as a freelancer or as a consultant. Perhaps you have some expertise in marketing. Comb craigslist and see if there are any businesses that could use your marketing expertise. You can make a little bit of money, and while it may not be enough to survive, it’s still extra money that you earn while improving your experience in your line of work. You can even try starting your own service business and see if anything comes from it. The Benefits of Staying Active in Your Field Staying active is not just about possibly finding employment, even though that is always a possibility. For example, you may volunteer for the non-profit and they realize they can use your services full time and offer you a job. That would be nice, but that is not the reason that staying active is so useful. No, the greatest benefit to staying active in your field is that you can say that you have been active in your field. If you have been out of work for an extended period of time, your interviewer at your job interview is going to ask you why you have been out of work and what you have been doing during that time. “Uh… I have been looking for work and no one wanted to hire me” is not an acceptable answer. By staying active, you can say something along the lines of: “I have continued to work in the field as I looked for a job that suited my skills. I volunteered for a local non-profit organization , developing their website and integrating their marketing strategies. I also dabbled in my own side business while I continued my education, by I decided that my time would be better spent working for a company whose goals align well with my own.” This is a strong answer. This answer can actually increase your chances of getting a job. That is a considerable benefit, and one that is far greater than the weaknesses of trying to explain your time away from work if you have not been engaging in any activities. In our next post, we will look at some additional benefits of staying active in your field, followed by additional thoughts on staying active in general. Take Away Interview Tips Staying active helps you during a job interview. How to Discuss Career Setbacks During an interview Author: Micah September 20, 2010 Job Interview Tips No Comments Tags: Tags: Career Setbacks, Interview Strategies, Unemployed It is hard enough to go through a long period of time without a job. It is made even harder when that time you spent not working affects your ability to find a job in the future. Employers often ask applicants “Why do you have such a large gap in your work history” and it is tempting to answer “because companies like yours won’t give me a job.” Reasons for Gaps in Employment People have employment gaps for a variety of different reasons. Some of these reasons include: New baby Drug addiction Prison Laziness Living off savings As you can see, the list of reasons people spend away from work is quite long. None of these reasons – not even the “taking some time off to vacation” reason – is something the employer wants to hear. Prison means you may not be trustworthy. A new baby means new responsibilities. Living off your savings means that, if given the choice, you would prefer not to be working (much like everyone). All of these add risk to your applicant profile. How to Explain These Gaps in Employment According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the best thing to do is prepare an answer ahead of time to any questions about gaps in employment. They also recommend that the answer be honest. Honesty is important in a job interview. If you have been to prison, it is a good idea to disclose that information in the manner described in the article. However, honesty is not as important if the answer is inane and cannot be disproved. For example, if you spend six months not working because you preferred to live off unemployment for a while and rest, you probably don’t want to share this with your interviewer. Honesty is important, but it is only important when the answer matters and can be proven. Whether or not you went to prison matters and can be proven. That you were a little lazy and didn’t try hard to get a new job cannot be proven and doesn’t necessarily matter. The article in the WSJ has some sound advice, but it’s okay to stretch or bend the truth when there is no actual evidence of why you were out of work for that long. Take Away Interview Tips Be honest when you were in prison, or in another country, or some place that can be proven. Stretch the truth when you were simply lazy or just couldn’t find a job. Difficult Interview Question – Why Have You Been Out Of Work? Author: Micah August 6, 2010 Interview Question and Answer No Comments Tags: Tags: Difficult Interview Questions, Out of Work, Unemployed It’s ironic – the longer you are unable to get a job, the harder finding a job becomes. Employers are hesitant to hire applicants that have a long history of unemployment, no matter how great their qualifications. This seems like it would lead to a lot of awkward scenarios. Interviewer: “Why weren’t you able to find a job?” Applicant: “Because I was unable to find a job.” Interviewer and Applicant: “…” Still, the corporate environment tends to frown upon applicants that have been out of work for too long. So it is very likely that if you have not been able to find work for a year or more, the hiring manager is going to ask you about this extended absence during your job interview. Why Have You Been Out Of Work? There are a number of different reasons that you did not have a job. Perhaps you needed a break from the corporate world and could survive off unemployment or your family’s income. Perhaps you simply messed up your job interviews since we had not yet created Everyday Interview Tips (wink wink, nudge nudge). Maybe you tried out a few side projects that didn’t bring you the income that you wanted. There are a lot of reasons, but your answer shouldn’t contain most of them. Bad Answer “After I was laid off from my last job I found it hard to find companies that were looking for my skills and experience.” This answer isn’t “bad” in the sense that it may not ruin your interview, but why admit to the interviewer that other companies found you unappealing? Usually you want to make your skills sound rare, not unwanted. Good Answer “After I was left XXXXX I realized I had a great opportunity. I decided to pursue a few side projects and business ventures that had been putting off, and I wanted an opportunity to spend more time with my family before I re-dedicated myself to the corporate lifestyle. When I start working I put my heart and soul into it, and I realized that the time spent away from work might be my best opportunity to bond with my family and pursue some of my outside goals. Now I am ready to get back to earning a living and growing in a great company.” This answer makes it sound like not working was your own choice. You may need to make up a few side projects if you don’t have any (just in case they ask), and they should always be related to some type of entrepreneurship, but overall this answer makes it sound like not working was entirely in your control, and that you are gracing the corporate world with your presence once again. Take Away Interview Tips Never make yourself seem undesirable. Make it sound as though you accomplished a lot in your time away from work. Tweets No public Twitter messages. Categories Book Review Free Guides Interview Question and Answer Job Interview Tips Job Search Tips Resume Tips Social Media Uncategorized Popular Content How to Avoid the Dreaded Salary Question Difficult Interview Question: Why Shouldn’t We Hire You? “Sell Me This Pen” - Common Sales Interview Question Interview Question: What Are Your Current Salary Expectations? 5 Tips for Success in Panel Job Interviews Recent Comments Davonda on “Sell Me This Pen” – Common Sales Interview Question rushikesh on Introduction on How to Interview With the Big Four Auditors Micah on 3 Little Things to Remember at Your Job Interview Aditi on Does The Employer Care About the Jobs, Cont. Charlotte on 3 Little Things to Remember at Your Job Interview Why Get Interview Tips by Email Just one good tip could get you that job. What do other candidates know that you dont? 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Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:03:03 +0000
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