By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
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I quit my last job because 1) I felt it was misrepresented to me and 2) the job and culture were not a good fit for me. I’m applying for the same type of job in my field, but how do I represent my last company in a good way while still being honest about why I left? I recently had a phone interview, and while I tried to represent the company in a positive and honest way, I’m not sure that was the case. Can you give some examples of how to be honest about why you quit without attacking the company?
How do you honestly say why you quit your job without bashing the company? I’m not going to get into the specifics because, frankly, I don’t know what the specifics are. I simply said, “You know, when I interviewed for this position, they described what I would be doing. They told me the culture was this or that or this or that, and unfortunately, now that I’m there, nothing is like that. The work is not what I was told. The employees are not what I was told. The office is a dungeon.”
You know, I’m taking stuff out that’s not in there, it’s in the basement somewhere, and it’s too bad. This is not what I was told. Even when I visited, people were very well behaved. They told me about work, but it wasn’t the work I was doing. When I asked my boss why this was happening, she told me, “This is what’s available right now.”
You describe the scene to them and say, “You know, I could sit here forever, but that’s not what I signed up for. You know, it’s a depressing environment. It’s ugly as sin. I’ve never seen the light of day, and the job is terrible. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really motivated by that kind of stuff.”
So you put them in a position of understanding your situation, and then you conclude by saying, “If you look at my work history, my background has been relatively stable throughout my career. That’s not normal, just like this job.” So you put them in that position of understanding, inject a level of humor—”This is not normal”—and make a joke about it. That’s what I do.
I’m Jeff Altman, big game hunter. Visit JobSearch.Community to learn more.
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About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
People hire “Big Game Hunter” Jeff Altman to provide no-nonsense job coaching and career advice around the world because he excels at job hunting And get ahead in your career more easily.
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