How Can I Be Honest About Why I Quit Without Bashing the Co?

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

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I quit my last job because 1) I felt it was misrepresented to me 2) the job AND the culture were not good fits for me. I am applying for the same types of jobs in my field, but how do I represent my last company in good light and still be honest about why I left? I recently had a phone interview, and while I tried to represent the company in a positive and still be honest, I’m not sure if it came across that way. Can you give some examples of how to be honest about why you quit a job without bashing the company?

How to be honest about why you quit a job without bashing the company? I’m not going to do the specifics of that because, frankly, I don’t know what the specifics are. I’ll just simply say, “You know, when I interviewed for this position, they described what I’d be doing as such and such and such and such. They told me that the culture was this or that or this or that, and unfortunately, now that I’m there, it’s nothing like that. The work isn’t what I was told it would be. The people aren’t what I was told they were like. The office is a dungeon.”

You know, it’s—I’m pulling stuff out that’s not in the—it’s in a basement somewhere and it’s awful. And this isn’t what I was told it was going to be. Even when I visited, the people presented themselves very nicely. They told me about the work, and that’s not the work that I’m doing. And when I asked my boss about why the disconnect, what she tells me is, “This is what’s available right now.”

You kind of describe the scenario to them and say, “You know, I could sit here forever, but this isn’t what I signed up for. You know, it’s an oppressive environment. It’s ugly as sin. I never see the light of day, and the work is awful. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really motivated by that kind of stuff.”

So you kind of put them in the position of understanding your circumstances and then conclude by saying, “If you look at my job history, my background has been relatively stable throughout my career. This is abnormal, just like this job.” So you kind of put them in that position of understanding, inject a degree of humor—”This is abnormal”—and just be playful with it. So that’s how I would do it.

I am Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. Visit JobSearch.Community for more.

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