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I left because I was miserable and constantly being micromanaged. It started to affect me negatively and couldn't enjoy anytime off that I had. My husband told me to quit because we had money in the bank and I would be able to get something else. When I go on interviews the question always comes up and I try to answer it, but it seems hiring managers think I got fired. The manager that I had no real mgmt experience, she was a puppet to the VP.

r1030
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I have interviewed quite a few people. If you told me what you posted I would probably not hire you unless you had stellar skills and we really needed you. Why? Because one of two things happened:

  1. You are not telling the truth and you were fired.
  2. You are telling the truth and you will leave as soon as you are unhappy. You quit once, it's even easier to quit the next time, and there are few practical reasons for you to stay (i.e. you can live off of your husband's income).

Honestly, #2 would probably be worse to me than #1. You are probably saying to yourself, "But it was really, really, bad. The new job would probably not be that bad." Maybe so, but I still don't want to hire someone who I'm afraid will quit as soon as things get tough- i.e. when we most need you.

What do I suggest? Tell the truth, but emphasize other parts of your story. Something along the lines of, "I was working long hours and feeling a little burnt out. I decided to take some time off and spend more time with my kids. I'm feeling rejuvenated now and now need a little time away from the family (laugh) and want to get back to work."

Just an example. And like I said, tell the truth, but tell those parts of it that will help you.

Jim Clay
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  • Sounds like you're suggesting lying by omission. – Bwmat Jun 28 '20 at 18:12
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    @Bwmat whether it be for resumes or interviews, it is quite standard to omit negatives. We wouldn't tell someone with a criminal record to list it on their resume. – Matthew Gaiser Jun 28 '20 at 18:55
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    Yeah, I'm aware this form of lying is socially acceptable, lol. It's kind of disillusioning though – Bwmat Jun 28 '20 at 19:13
  • @Bwmat I'd be lying if I said that omitting relevant truths didn't make me uncomfortable too. I suggest it anyways for a few reasons: the interviewers are doing it themselves, the interviewers expect the interviewees to do it, and the interviewees do, indeed, all do it. In other words, what Matthew Gaiser said much more succinctly. – Jim Clay Jun 28 '20 at 20:29
  • @Bwmat Out of pure curiosity, what have/would you answer if an interviewer asked you what your biggest weaknesses are? I confess that I would not give my true biggest weaknesses, but I'm curious to know what you would do. – Jim Clay Jun 28 '20 at 20:32
  • I've never been asked that, I'm not even sure if I know what my biggest weaknesses are. I think I might answer something obviously snarky though, like 'my tendency towards honesty' – Bwmat Jun 28 '20 at 20:48
  • It's just weird that you admit you want to make a decision based that information, but you're advising someone on how to basically 'trick' someone like you – Bwmat Jun 28 '20 at 20:49
  • @JimClay, so your company has a working environment where people quit quickly unless they have no other choice? I suppose there are better companies out there. – gnasher729 Jun 28 '20 at 23:01
  • @Bwmat how many employers lie by omission or just directly when explaining a job to a prospective employee? "You will be doing X when you start", "You will have a pay rise in 6 months", "You will be promoted to Y in 3 months, this is just to get you hired". – Solar Mike Jun 29 '20 at 07:07
  • @Bwmat I have been asked about weaknesses before, I always say well one particular skill I want to improve is....and then I state which ever programming language I'm currently learning – PeterH Jun 29 '20 at 09:29
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    @Bwmat: what you call "lying by omission" is what others call "presenting yourself in the best possible light". This is actually good: it's the best way (in practice) to have everyone answer consistently, which allows interviewers to "calibrate" a candidate's answers more accurately. So complaining about the last job, no matter how politely, is something to avoid. After calibration, it sounds like whining and makes you come across as high maintenance and high risk. So the "don't complain" advice is good; best to focus on the positives and don't say anything negative. – Richter65 Jun 29 '20 at 19:22
  • Doesn't seem like such a great paradigm of it forces people to rationalize lying (if someone asks why you left and you give them reasons that weren't the real ones, you might 'look better', but it's still lying). – Bwmat Jun 29 '20 at 20:59
  • @Bwmat Let's say you were dating a woman (I'm assuming you're a guy, if not, my apologies). You go on a couple of dates and they go well. In her mind she is thinking about marriage, kids, white picket fences, etc. It's one thing to think that- if you had psychic powers and you could tell she was thinking that it would probably make you a little nervous that she was like that so early in the relationship- but if she actually voiced it, that would be 100x worse. Why? Because it shows she doesn't understand social mores, that she might even be a little crazy. – Jim Clay Jun 29 '20 at 23:08
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    The woman who thinks it and doesn't say anything at least understands that it would be crazy to say it, that she needs to restrain herself. This is a little like OP. Being straight with the interviewer about why she left implies (though it may not be true) that she doesn't understand how much an employer dislikes that attitude. Not talking about it at least would show that she understands that it isn't acceptable, and would look bad, hence she would be more likely to avoid it in the future. – Jim Clay Jun 29 '20 at 23:11
  • Quite a dysfunctional system, yep. – Bwmat Jun 30 '20 at 02:38
  • To be honest, the only reason I left my original comment was that I was a bit miffed that your answer literally contained 'tell the truth', and I regret it now, since I'm just wasting your time in trying to convince me that business culture is somehow virtuous here. – Bwmat Jun 30 '20 at 02:41
  • I've downvoted this because of this sentence " Maybe so, but I still don't want to hire someone who I'm afraid will quit as soon as things get tough" We see so many posts from desperate people who are trapped in 'tough' positions. there is a responsibility on the company not to allow staff to be treated badly. Nine times out of ten (there's always the exceptiion but you don't know the OP is that) staff running away like this is a failure of management. – Dave Gremlin Jul 01 '20 at 23:43
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Presumably when you took the last job you didn't expect to be micromanaged therefore it could be a more positive answer to say that you didn't have the autonomy you expected to have and you decided to look for something else.

Obviously when you left your last job you did something with the time - Only you know what you did but if you spent time with your family or learning new skills you could say something like this:

"When I took my last job I was hoping to be able to use my own initiative, after some time to settle in, it became clear that the job did not offer the autonomy I had hoped. At the time I had XXX to take care of in my family so I decided to do that first and then look for something more suitable when I had things sorted out, now I'm looking forward to getting back to work and if I am successful this role will, I understand give me the opportunity to use my initiative."

This is not lying and it is not slating your previous employer either so hopefully something like this will work out better for you.

Old Nick
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    Thank you. This answer is really good and it is what I felt like while working there. I'm currently working as a contractor now and been working there for over 8 months and hoping to become perm soon. I wanted to ask this question in case I have to interview again and the question comes up. – r1030 Jun 29 '20 at 23:31