How should you answer a potential employer about why you quit your last job?

Question

I walked out because I was fed up with how my supervisor was acting. She wouldn't gather all the facts before harshly letting me know what I did wrong. It wasn't just me that she did this to.
I realize now that I could've handled the situation differently and am currently looking for a new job.

Answer 1

Gently and with finesse. The issue between your supervisor and yourself can only be interpreted by how you respond.. And since your objective is to get another job, what you want to do is turn your negatives to positives in your own mind, then represent that in your answers to others.

1. You ARE introspective and care about your role, or you would not be considering how you handled the situation.

2. You do seem to be conscientious about the work you do and your intent seems to be to deliver quality. Let that intention be known.

3. Your walking out did not really give your supervisor the feedback directly on how they could have handled the situation differently, and sometimes if you can work through difficulties you can turn grumpy, judgemental sorts into your greatest cheerleaders, without having to get another job..

Give people a chance, and ask them to do the same for you. Give people more reasons to want to hire you than to consider the risks you might bear.

Best wishes in your continued career success. You will be great, so long as you remember that you have choices, and can learn and move on. :D

Answer 2

Usually it doesn't pay to criticize a former employer. you might say something like "I realized there were very limited chances for advancement there" or, "they were a nice company but I could see that the order volume was way down and that they were in trouble financially"

Make sure that what you say is true even if the reason you give isn't the complete reason for leaving.

Your counter question is: "Why is this position open? What happened to the last person who worked in this position?"

Answer 3

I would say that I left my other job because of the lack of professionalism that was displayed by my previous boss. Sometimes I would just say I needed some time off or usually I blame it on school, but if a potential employer is going to call them as a reference then I'd be honest. If you're not going to write that in your work history then don't say anything!

Answer 4

Do not bad mouth your last employer. Say because i am looking for a more challenge position and i believe i can be an asset to this company because of the skills, experience i have obtain along with my education. Also, i am a quick learner. Be confident within yourself and believe you are the best person for any job you apply for. If they reference your employers certain things they can not say either about you. Reference questionaire: attendance, dependence, how long, etc.

Answer 5

You can be assured that your potential employer is
going to check out your previous work experiences.
I do when I am looking at hiring a new employee.
I would strongly encourage you to explain to him exactly what the situation was that caused you to quit ... exactly what you are explaining here.

He is likely going to get a different side of the story from your
former employer. From experience, we have to be able to
tell who is telling the truth. In the long run, however, it is
the quality of your performance that your prospective employer is looking for. Accordingly, I would select as one
of your references a co-worker at your former job...who also
knows what went on at your former job.

Best of luck.

Answer 6

Just be honest. Tell him that you disaproved of your previous supervisor's management techniques. If he asks for specifics, give him exactly that. Tell him that you realize that you could have handled things differently, as you state in your question. He will, hopefully, be impressed with your honesty, and the admittance that you were wrong in your handling of it.

Answer 7

Be truthful, but say it more like "I enjoyed the work, but my manager and I did not communicate effectively." Add that you have learned a lot since then, and that you "realize how you could have handled the situation differently.

Employers know that people have disagreements, but they like to hear how you have grown from your experiences.

Good luck.

Answer 8

A good thing to tell them is that you didnt think you would get anywhere in your last job.

Answer 9

tell them as much as they need to know without telling a lie. But always shed your mistakes into a good light!

Answer 10

tell them the truth including that you think you could have handled it better. explain that you have learned from the experiance. and how you would handel it now.