Employee Insights Volume 9
Interviews are tough enough, you are being asked tough questions about your experience, leadership, tenure, etc. this alone makes a tense experience! Now, add some questions about a job you left, a bad manager you worked with, and the dynamics just get more tense! This may make you feel outright discouraged!
Let’s face it, we’ve ALL had negative experiences at other jobs, like poor environments, bad managers, weak working structures, etc.
The reality is that not all companies are great places to work, and some people should not be in leadership or management roles but it’s the nature of our current workforce. The tricky part is not talking about these experiences, as weve all had them, but yet, separating the experience, from the circumstance.
Todays Masterclass shows us how we can use these negative experiences in our favor to highlight our growth and new added value to our repertoire. Remember, your goal is to highlight your positive mindset despite these setbacks and ability to handle adversity.
Lets get started!
Be honest!
If you were laid off, fired, let go, it’s ok. Acknowledge it, Focus on the circumstance of the situation and avoid using emotional or subjective language that can be interpreted as whining or complaining, lack of accountability, etc. Stick to the facts and end on a high note, such as a better successive job afterwards.
Use your career as a point of reference.
Most people leave companies, or get let go, usually due to differences with their direct managers. Instead of saying you were let go because the manager was rude or mean to you, you can say the same thing without sounding like you played no part in your separation. “The managers leadership and communication style made it difficult to produce my best work; I chose to look for employment where my skills and expertise would be better leveraged and where I could be an asset to the operation given my years of growth.”
Focus on the upside
Every adversity comes with it a seed of equal opportunity. What was it for you? Was it a better job? More learning opportunities? If in fact you’ve left employers due to poor leadership, you might have an opportunity to emphasize how you’ve learned and grown from that experience and demanded strong communication from yourself with other colleagues.
Stay professional and concise
Avoid getting into too much detail or focusing on the negative parts of your story. Pivot your conversation back to your skills and experience as quickly as possible.
Be impersonal
Yes, you had a tough situation. Don’t tie your identity to this experience and remain impartial to the story. The job simply was not a good fit for you, the managers were simply not the best for you to work with, etc. The more you tie yourself in personally, the more difficult it is for the interviewer to see you for who you are and not your resume.
Sounds like a lot? FLAG recruiters are highly in tune with the best practices in the recruiting world and constantly trained on how to best help you with your interview process!
If you need recruiting support, and access to exclusive opportunities, our team is a call away!