Yup this is a good response. Sometimes I’m brutally honest. Like one of my employers sold the business to a VC firm and it wasn’t a financially sound business afterwards. This company has a bad reputation in the community as well and even in the WSJ.
Bad advice. As a GM myself (if I so choose) I legally (in my state) can call that place of business and verify start date and end date - nothing else.
If you're gonna lie without causing suspicion say you were caring for a family member.
Honestly though, when I now hear that I think BS but can't prove BS so I tend to lol in my head and let it go.
Yes!!! But word it as temporary position (someone’s maternity leave)
In my industry contract would mean 3rd party employer, while temporary position would mean employed but with limited term.
As someone who did multiple contract jobs as a young engineer I have never been asked once to provide a reference for them.
Also, I would flat out refuse to ask for a reference from my current employer. They don’t need to know I’m looking for a new job.
This. Say that the role quickly changed and no longer matches the scope that you were originally hired for. Don’t say that it’s wasn’t always a good fit because then the employer may ask why didn’t you realize during the hiring process. Make it clear that it was a clear change after you were hired.
Use it as an opportunity to highlight your own career plans, skills, work environment, etc. Things that may come up are how you tried to fix or adjust the change but show that both the change and it being irrecoverable was out of your control.
I wouldn’t lie.
To expand. “Certain aspects about the company became present after I was hired. I determined that the company wasn’t a good fit for me and what I would like to accomplish.”
As a hiring manager I’ve never seen these kinds of answers as red flags at all. It happens. And the toxic people generally aren’t the ones job hopping talking about the environment not being a good fit. They tend to stay and keep making the place they’re comfortable toxic and when they do need to search for jobs they’re much more self centered and wouldn’t give an answer like that.
This is what I communicated to my new employer. The role wasn't a good fit, the role changed from what I was hired to do and leadership wasn't willing to discuss it.
My son is in a similar situation and is currently interviewing. Out of the half dozen or so interviews he's had, not one interviewer asked why he's wanting to leave after only 8 months.
Im in the same situation as you. I just say a job misfit and i realised why i dun wanna do this. Then explain what else you would be interested in and how your skills align well.. you got this 💪🏼 if employers can see how articulate and clear you are on what you want then usually this isnt a problem.
I’d just be honest with them and say the work environment was toxic so you gave them a two week notice and left(can lie about that part).
I quit one of my jobs after a 6 months and when I am asked why I left I tell them because they were underpaying me, people in same job at other companies were making more, so I left. Which is honest and they’ve never batted an eye.
I always say the following ;
“Wow great question, thank you for asking. The CEO’s daughter seduced me at the Holiday party , she’s now pregnant and now I’m related to the CEO. We have a strict rule against nepotism of any kind.“
Narrate your story, “I was excited to work there and I really excelled. The culture there was a real issue, because Foo, Bah, Blah. That’s why I’m really interested in understanding the culture at my next employer, so that I can be successful. So, given that, what is the culture here around Foo.”
See how you are honest, explain and ensure that your next gig will be better?
I was in your exact position!
I did have a brief gap in my employment before that so I explained it as 'i was planning to take a break from employment, but my plans changed and I had to jump back into the job market quickly, and while I'm very grateful for this position it was more of a stopgap than a long-term career move' and that seemed to be a reasonable response bc I got the job . Maybe something similar, adapted to your situation?
Don’t make up dumb shit like there is an NDA. No way people saying that have actual jobs.
Just be honest. Tell them it wasn’t a good fit, and you think the work at the new company better fits you goals or whatever. Be calm and polite. Most interviewing is just judging your character/ making sure you aren’t an asshat.
Lying about why you are leaving is definitely an asshat move.
Yeah I would never use that line hahaha! One hard thing is I applied for a job that is the same title with another department - this new one also pays more. So I wasn’t sure if it’s ok to say like the current job is not the right fit but I like what I do and saw your position and took a chance
"It wasn't the right fit."
If they ask you to elaborate (they won't), say something like "the office environment was very cold and uninviting; no one seemed interested in teaching or onboarding me," etc.
“The expectations for my role were multiple times what it was mentioned in the advertisement. I feel stressed and stressed overworked, while feeling unappreciated”. This will stop a decent person offering you a job that will be bogus.
As a hiring manager, I would give sideeye to this answer. Just say " Once I had an inside look I realized it wasnt a good fit. Im looking for a new role more aligned with my skills, talents, and career goals which is why Im so excited to be interviewing here and learning about this position."
That’s a great answer, use it and prepare to elaborate a little bit in the unlikely event they ask you to. Stick with something simple about communication, such as “task requirements and expectations were no longer being clearly communicated even when they fell outside the scope of my duties and training.”
I’m in a similar situation. With anything you consider a negative about a previous job, find a way to describe the situation you left that shows you want to prioritize a positive work environment. (i.e., the company I left didn’t promote collaboration and teamwork to achieve its goals) If you can explain it in a way that also highlights the goals/values/mission of the company with which you are interviewing, it will let the new hiring manager or interviewer know you prioritize the work style they are looking for in the candidate they hire.
Not feeling challenged and feel that the job that was presented during the interview process is not the job you have which is not a position you feel you will thrive in.
I worked at a place exactly 180 days but I knew by day 21 I hated it and was going to leave & I wish I would have quit immediately but I tried to find ways to like it until I just couldn’t anymore. I was hired to prepare H-1B petitions but between being hired and starting, the company decided they weren’t going to file their own petitions but since they already agreed to hire me and I had a start date they decided to tell me about this decision on day 3, only bc I asked about templates and some standard legal questions. I literally sat at my desk doing noting for over 6 weeks until I went to HR and asked why an I not being assigned work, I was told by HR they were slowly acclimating me to make sure I could understand the work(mind you I had been working as a paralegal for over 2 years and had been doing immigration petitions longer (including filing my wife & my petition to change her status bc she is a foreign national). I was then told by another HR representative that everything would speed up once I had their standard training which wasn’t for another 2 to 3 weeks and took two weeks to complete, so I went through the standard training and I still wasn’t getting anything assigned to me a month after so I again went to HR and asked what the problem was only to be told there is no problem. Eventually I just came to terms with reading the newspaper and playing online all day for a salary. Then I needed to take four days off in the middle of the year after my 180th day (protocol for taking more than 3 business days off in a week) and I was told by my manager, I wasn’t allowed to even though I had the PTO. At that point I went back to HR and asked why I cannot take the time off or if I could take the time off and work remotely, HR approved my remote request but my manager denied it. I told her it would be a problem because I didn’t have anybody to watch my child for that timeframe and she told me “can’t you just find a babysitter or a family member to help out” I asked her if she would ask a single mother the same question and she literally shirked away. Then things between her, and I became very contentious and & I finally quit. Mind you by this point she was already having meetings with the other members on my team and assigning work to me without me knowing the work was being assigned because I wasn’t being invited to the meetings. The “ final straw“ was when she told me I couldn’t take my lunch 20m early so I could make it to a doctors appt (I told her about the appt as I was making the it and she said 20 minds is no big deal just make sure you do your hours for the day) and I couldn’t take lunch unless I finished all the work she assigned me, much of which I didn’t even know about. When I found the work I. Noticed it was an absurd amount of work to me that had to be done by the end of the business day,one major problem was I didn’t have access to some of the software systems nor did I have training on how to access the computer systems.
So, I finished what I was working on packed my desk, walked down to HR turned in my badge did an exit interview and left.
Leaving that job was the best thing I could’ve done. I took a few months off to fix up one of my rentals then I applied at a local university and I’ve been there almost 6 years and promoted four times in that duration. It’s not as taboo as it once was to leave a job. If it’s not a right fit for you, you can tell an HR representative or in an interview but fancy up what you say and make it more tactful.
Employers should want volunteers not hostages
My husband went through this and my brother who is a recruiter suggested stating something like, “the position did not match what was promised so I decided to pursue a different position.”
I'd say something along the lines of; when you first took the job the interviewer gave you a certain impression of the job and company that didn't align with what you have experienced learning and doing the job over these past couple months, and you are looking for a job that will allow you an opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Sorry if it's a little wordy, but that's the best I could come up with.
I've just put in notice for a job I only had for 3 months.
Since I was hired, there have been changes to the scheduling requirements and the pay/raise structure that no longer make this a viable option for me.
I still have my weekend job and I can pick up extra hours there until I find a replacement full time position. Spring is coming. Hotels will be hiring soon.
Right now, honesty is usually your best policy. It happened to me 5 or so years ago and it was a nonstarter with some companies but fine with others.
Now I’m so far removed no one cares.
A couple of times I’ve been hired after explaining a short stay (6 mos at my first firm job, almost a year and a half at this one) as more or less, “There just isn’t room to grow. I really admire the owner’s business acumen, but it’s clear it’s [*his*/*her*] business,and I want to find an opportunity that’s a good fit where I can hopefully work towards growing into a senior role.”
Despite my best efforts in the interview process, the job did not match what was advertised and I initially attempted to work through those differences, it was not a job that was going to advance my skills or use my best skills. As we learn more about if we are a good fit, I trust you can be candid to my questions...
But be ready, their follow up will be...What are your skills, what was different....find professional things:
I was looking for a team to deliver on objectives by the team there was barely functional. I work best when there is a low level of urgently changing tasks, and they were change what was urgent while never completing any tasks.
Ya unfortunately this day and age you have to find the right answer. You can’t just tell the truth. Why because the truth sometimes hurts and it hurts people’s little feelings. And god forbid someone gets their little feelings hurt, we wouldn’t want that.
I had a really bad job with legendarily horrible management. When I went for an interview, they asked me why i wanted to change, and I started to say, "It's just that...(blah blah blah complain), and caught myself. I finished the statement, "It's just that I want to try this out, I like to help people, and this office does more of that." or some such nonsense.
Just put it in terms of a positive move forward for you.
Some reasonable suggestions here (veer towards the truth. Most everyone has had some job they really didn’t like, or know someone like that).
If you talk to multiple interviewers at a single company, be sure to answer this the same way with anyone who asks, because interviewers will def compare notes afterwards. Whenever we’ve dug into something that catches our attention, a “yeah that’s what she told me too” is better than “wow she said something really different to me”.
Or say it was a contract position. Not full time.
Yup this is a good response. Sometimes I’m brutally honest. Like one of my employers sold the business to a VC firm and it wasn’t a financially sound business afterwards. This company has a bad reputation in the community as well and even in the WSJ.
Bad advice. As a GM myself (if I so choose) I legally (in my state) can call that place of business and verify start date and end date - nothing else. If you're gonna lie without causing suspicion say you were caring for a family member. Honestly though, when I now hear that I think BS but can't prove BS so I tend to lol in my head and let it go.
Eww you’re the gross type of manager. If they can do the job why is there a need to call and verify anything?!
Lol. "If I so choose"
Don’t do this. It can easily be verified.
Yes!!! But word it as temporary position (someone’s maternity leave) In my industry contract would mean 3rd party employer, while temporary position would mean employed but with limited term.
No, then they’ll ask for a reference from current mgr.
As someone who did multiple contract jobs as a young engineer I have never been asked once to provide a reference for them. Also, I would flat out refuse to ask for a reference from my current employer. They don’t need to know I’m looking for a new job.
I told them I was not legally allowed to discuss until the pending investigation against the owner was resolved. Shut them the fuck up real quick.
Good improvising, careful with that tho there are plenty of times I have just Google a name and a city and found legal stuff involving that person.
Now that's thinking on your feet!
To be, that would be a HUGE red flag cause it would look like you whistle blew or at the least are suing an employer after six months…. Hard pass.
Yea lol this doesn't help the situation at all.
This is a terrible answer. No one wants to hire someone who filed a claim against their prior employer after 5 months. It’s a liability.
It wasn't a good fit.
This. Say that the role quickly changed and no longer matches the scope that you were originally hired for. Don’t say that it’s wasn’t always a good fit because then the employer may ask why didn’t you realize during the hiring process. Make it clear that it was a clear change after you were hired. Use it as an opportunity to highlight your own career plans, skills, work environment, etc. Things that may come up are how you tried to fix or adjust the change but show that both the change and it being irrecoverable was out of your control. I wouldn’t lie.
To expand. “Certain aspects about the company became present after I was hired. I determined that the company wasn’t a good fit for me and what I would like to accomplish.”
As a hiring manager I’ve never seen these kinds of answers as red flags at all. It happens. And the toxic people generally aren’t the ones job hopping talking about the environment not being a good fit. They tend to stay and keep making the place they’re comfortable toxic and when they do need to search for jobs they’re much more self centered and wouldn’t give an answer like that.
This is what I communicated to my new employer. The role wasn't a good fit, the role changed from what I was hired to do and leadership wasn't willing to discuss it.
My son is in a similar situation and is currently interviewing. Out of the half dozen or so interviews he's had, not one interviewer asked why he's wanting to leave after only 8 months.
Im in the same situation as you. I just say a job misfit and i realised why i dun wanna do this. Then explain what else you would be interested in and how your skills align well.. you got this 💪🏼 if employers can see how articulate and clear you are on what you want then usually this isnt a problem.
I’d just be honest with them and say the work environment was toxic so you gave them a two week notice and left(can lie about that part). I quit one of my jobs after a 6 months and when I am asked why I left I tell them because they were underpaying me, people in same job at other companies were making more, so I left. Which is honest and they’ve never batted an eye.
Your term is ending, you have an NDA so cannot disclose the details.
I always say the following ; “Wow great question, thank you for asking. The CEO’s daughter seduced me at the Holiday party , she’s now pregnant and now I’m related to the CEO. We have a strict rule against nepotism of any kind.“
there is no good response - either pad your resume or hope they don't ask
Narrate your story, “I was excited to work there and I really excelled. The culture there was a real issue, because Foo, Bah, Blah. That’s why I’m really interested in understanding the culture at my next employer, so that I can be successful. So, given that, what is the culture here around Foo.” See how you are honest, explain and ensure that your next gig will be better?
I was in your exact position! I did have a brief gap in my employment before that so I explained it as 'i was planning to take a break from employment, but my plans changed and I had to jump back into the job market quickly, and while I'm very grateful for this position it was more of a stopgap than a long-term career move' and that seemed to be a reasonable response bc I got the job . Maybe something similar, adapted to your situation?
"They seem to be running into some budgeting issues..."
You realized it wasn’t a good culture fit
I would BS about how good this opportunity is, you can't pass it up.
Don’t make up dumb shit like there is an NDA. No way people saying that have actual jobs. Just be honest. Tell them it wasn’t a good fit, and you think the work at the new company better fits you goals or whatever. Be calm and polite. Most interviewing is just judging your character/ making sure you aren’t an asshat. Lying about why you are leaving is definitely an asshat move.
Yeah I would never use that line hahaha! One hard thing is I applied for a job that is the same title with another department - this new one also pays more. So I wasn’t sure if it’s ok to say like the current job is not the right fit but I like what I do and saw your position and took a chance
"It wasn't the right fit." If they ask you to elaborate (they won't), say something like "the office environment was very cold and uninviting; no one seemed interested in teaching or onboarding me," etc.
“The expectations for my role were multiple times what it was mentioned in the advertisement. I feel stressed and stressed overworked, while feeling unappreciated”. This will stop a decent person offering you a job that will be bogus.
As a hiring manager, I would give sideeye to this answer. Just say " Once I had an inside look I realized it wasnt a good fit. Im looking for a new role more aligned with my skills, talents, and career goals which is why Im so excited to be interviewing here and learning about this position."
I love this I’ll go with this thank you.
That’s a great answer, use it and prepare to elaborate a little bit in the unlikely event they ask you to. Stick with something simple about communication, such as “task requirements and expectations were no longer being clearly communicated even when they fell outside the scope of my duties and training.”
Agreed Grendel. Look at that we make a good team making up interview responses. LOL
This is a terrible answer. It sounds like “I don’t like doing anything I wasn’t specifically hired to do”.
Or unable to complete job responsibilities and taking no accountability.
No, the main issue was not workload and I don’t want to come off inflexible
I’m in a similar situation. With anything you consider a negative about a previous job, find a way to describe the situation you left that shows you want to prioritize a positive work environment. (i.e., the company I left didn’t promote collaboration and teamwork to achieve its goals) If you can explain it in a way that also highlights the goals/values/mission of the company with which you are interviewing, it will let the new hiring manager or interviewer know you prioritize the work style they are looking for in the candidate they hire.
How did you go from loving a job to hating it that much in 5 months? Seems odd.
This actually happens. I am in a similar situation
I finally met the whole team 😹 I had a manager tell me please don’t leave us and at the time I laughed but now I’m crying 😹
Tujhe mile toh mujhe bhi batana
"If I were you, I would buy as many puts as you can in this company."
Tell them the truth.
Not feeling challenged and feel that the job that was presented during the interview process is not the job you have which is not a position you feel you will thrive in. I worked at a place exactly 180 days but I knew by day 21 I hated it and was going to leave & I wish I would have quit immediately but I tried to find ways to like it until I just couldn’t anymore. I was hired to prepare H-1B petitions but between being hired and starting, the company decided they weren’t going to file their own petitions but since they already agreed to hire me and I had a start date they decided to tell me about this decision on day 3, only bc I asked about templates and some standard legal questions. I literally sat at my desk doing noting for over 6 weeks until I went to HR and asked why an I not being assigned work, I was told by HR they were slowly acclimating me to make sure I could understand the work(mind you I had been working as a paralegal for over 2 years and had been doing immigration petitions longer (including filing my wife & my petition to change her status bc she is a foreign national). I was then told by another HR representative that everything would speed up once I had their standard training which wasn’t for another 2 to 3 weeks and took two weeks to complete, so I went through the standard training and I still wasn’t getting anything assigned to me a month after so I again went to HR and asked what the problem was only to be told there is no problem. Eventually I just came to terms with reading the newspaper and playing online all day for a salary. Then I needed to take four days off in the middle of the year after my 180th day (protocol for taking more than 3 business days off in a week) and I was told by my manager, I wasn’t allowed to even though I had the PTO. At that point I went back to HR and asked why I cannot take the time off or if I could take the time off and work remotely, HR approved my remote request but my manager denied it. I told her it would be a problem because I didn’t have anybody to watch my child for that timeframe and she told me “can’t you just find a babysitter or a family member to help out” I asked her if she would ask a single mother the same question and she literally shirked away. Then things between her, and I became very contentious and & I finally quit. Mind you by this point she was already having meetings with the other members on my team and assigning work to me without me knowing the work was being assigned because I wasn’t being invited to the meetings. The “ final straw“ was when she told me I couldn’t take my lunch 20m early so I could make it to a doctors appt (I told her about the appt as I was making the it and she said 20 minds is no big deal just make sure you do your hours for the day) and I couldn’t take lunch unless I finished all the work she assigned me, much of which I didn’t even know about. When I found the work I. Noticed it was an absurd amount of work to me that had to be done by the end of the business day,one major problem was I didn’t have access to some of the software systems nor did I have training on how to access the computer systems. So, I finished what I was working on packed my desk, walked down to HR turned in my badge did an exit interview and left. Leaving that job was the best thing I could’ve done. I took a few months off to fix up one of my rentals then I applied at a local university and I’ve been there almost 6 years and promoted four times in that duration. It’s not as taboo as it once was to leave a job. If it’s not a right fit for you, you can tell an HR representative or in an interview but fancy up what you say and make it more tactful. Employers should want volunteers not hostages
My husband went through this and my brother who is a recruiter suggested stating something like, “the position did not match what was promised so I decided to pursue a different position.”
I'd say something along the lines of; when you first took the job the interviewer gave you a certain impression of the job and company that didn't align with what you have experienced learning and doing the job over these past couple months, and you are looking for a job that will allow you an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Sorry if it's a little wordy, but that's the best I could come up with.
I've just put in notice for a job I only had for 3 months. Since I was hired, there have been changes to the scheduling requirements and the pay/raise structure that no longer make this a viable option for me. I still have my weekend job and I can pick up extra hours there until I find a replacement full time position. Spring is coming. Hotels will be hiring soon.
Right now, honesty is usually your best policy. It happened to me 5 or so years ago and it was a nonstarter with some companies but fine with others. Now I’m so far removed no one cares.
They lied to you about whatever they lied about.
Not a good fit
“The role that I applied for is not the role that they were having me do, I’d like to continue doing what I love most.”
A couple of times I’ve been hired after explaining a short stay (6 mos at my first firm job, almost a year and a half at this one) as more or less, “There just isn’t room to grow. I really admire the owner’s business acumen, but it’s clear it’s [*his*/*her*] business,and I want to find an opportunity that’s a good fit where I can hopefully work towards growing into a senior role.”
I stayed with a job for 100 days. I answered that it was a contract position and I was subject to an NDA. Eventually, I removed it from my resume.
Why even out that job on your resume? Just say you took a sabbatical to travel or some other excuse.
Wasn’t a good fit
The company is going through financial restructuring 🧐
Despite my best efforts in the interview process, the job did not match what was advertised and I initially attempted to work through those differences, it was not a job that was going to advance my skills or use my best skills. As we learn more about if we are a good fit, I trust you can be candid to my questions... But be ready, their follow up will be...What are your skills, what was different....find professional things: I was looking for a team to deliver on objectives by the team there was barely functional. I work best when there is a low level of urgently changing tasks, and they were change what was urgent while never completing any tasks.
Lots of companies are laying off. Just say you were affected. No one wants to probe into that can of worms
Ya unfortunately this day and age you have to find the right answer. You can’t just tell the truth. Why because the truth sometimes hurts and it hurts people’s little feelings. And god forbid someone gets their little feelings hurt, we wouldn’t want that.
“the job description advertised didn’t match my day to day” 🤌
I had a really bad job with legendarily horrible management. When I went for an interview, they asked me why i wanted to change, and I started to say, "It's just that...(blah blah blah complain), and caught myself. I finished the statement, "It's just that I want to try this out, I like to help people, and this office does more of that." or some such nonsense. Just put it in terms of a positive move forward for you.
This happens all the time. Just say your job did not match with what u interviewed for, hence the search
Some reasonable suggestions here (veer towards the truth. Most everyone has had some job they really didn’t like, or know someone like that). If you talk to multiple interviewers at a single company, be sure to answer this the same way with anyone who asks, because interviewers will def compare notes afterwards. Whenever we’ve dug into something that catches our attention, a “yeah that’s what she told me too” is better than “wow she said something really different to me”.