Leave Feelings about Former Employer at Home When Interviewing

Ninety-nine percent of us have all had that employer we didn’t like, who messed up our careers, made eight-hour days seem like 16 hour days, and on and on.

That being said, have you gone on a job interview recently and purposely or accidentally trashed a former employer? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance you are still job hunting.

While your feelings may be justified, they need to stay bottled up during the interview process so that you don’t get one strike against you before you even get out of the meeting.

Let’s face it, a potential employer doesn’t want you going on and on about how a former employer did this or that to you. In many cases, complaining about your former company will lead you to a short interview with the prospective employer.

Been Down This Road Before

Speaking from personal experience, I was laid off years ago via an email after a five-and-a-half year run with a company. To put it lightly, it stung and came across as a classless way to let someone go who had devoted much time and effort to helping the company succeed.

That being said, I was asked a number of times on different interviews about how I left the company and always found it best to be honest. While I did not bad-mouth my former employer, I did explain how I was laid off and in a mature manner.

For those interview prospects who wonder whether or not it is a good idea to speak honestly about their former employers when interviewing, keep these things in mind:

• While Mom and Dad always told you that honesty is the best policy, there are some instances where less is better. If you’re asked about why you are no longer with your most recent employer, simply be as upfront as possible without saying negative things about the company. For instance, you can say that the company was trimming staff and you were one of the cuts. You can also note that a new manager came on board and wanted to take the department in a different direction. Lastly, you can point out that you voluntarily left after coming to the conclusion that you wanted to take your career in a new direction. Whatever the case, the last thing you want to do is say that the company was terrible to work for, you didn’t like your co-workers, and so on;
• You can come across as negative. If you start going off on a former employer during your interview, the prospective employer may find you a bad fit with that alone for their company. As many employers know, it costs money to continuously be bringing in new people and training over and over again. Companies want to find someone who is positive, will fit in nicely with the staff already on hand, and will essentially be low maintenance. If you come across as a complainer, chances are you will never get past that initial interview;
• You might be a short hire – As noted above, companies do not want a revolving door in their offices. While more and more people change jobs on a regular basis in today’s day and age, a prospective employer doesn’t want to hire someone who may only be there for the short haul;
• You may badmouth this employer next – If you go off on a former employer, what’s to say you won’t do the same if this company hires you and you leave them? Most companies are concerned about their images and don’t want to risk hiring someone who may speak ill of them now or down the road;
• You could be perceived as not that intelligent – You can be the brightest person in the world when it comes to education, but ranting about one or more former employers will be perceived by most folks as not being too bright. Putting a more positive spin on a negative situation will show you to be better educated, more mature and someone who can deal with adversity.

The bottom line is we’re all different personalities, both on the job and in our private lives.

When you stop and think about it, interviewing for a new job is both exciting and stressful; why add more stress to the situation by being negative during the interview?

Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2B lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like credit card processing companies and is based in San Diego, California.