reasons you left on application form...

debrag

So what reasons can you give for why you left a previous job? can you say stuff like career change, relocation, commute etc you can't really say 'i didn't like my job'

EconomicsGirl

I'm never sure what you're supposed to put I always put to join next job and seem to get interviews. Sometimes its to see if you were made redundant/sacked. At interview you tend not to be able to get away with just that though. Career change or relocation or promotion would be fine - less sure about commute unless it was really long like 2 hours. Definately don't say you didn't like your job / manager etc.

heretolearn_2

you can't really say 'i didn't like my job'. I basically did this once and it was fine. I'd only been in that job for 3 months though, after a history of staying in jobs for a good time. I just put 'role is not as I expected so I am looking to move on'. I think it's ok if it's a short term job as sometime s mistakes happen in recruitment, it's not the right place for you, or you are not the right person for it, and most companies understand that. If you've stayed more than a few months though, this starts to look suspicious.

This is always a hard question to answer. Whatever you put can be taken negatively if they want to, other than redundancy. So just be honest without making yourself look bad.

(OK, I didn't put quite the real reason, which was that the job itself was ok but the firm was run by a crazy family with Queen beeatch in charge, and their staff turnover was nearly 100% just in the 3 months I was there, and the family members used to stand in the middle of us all having screaming rows and slapping each other! Don't go into that much detail...)

FunnySaving

I think it's perfectly reasonably to say you didn't like the job, although you may want to put it slightly more diplomatically e.g I felt that my skills weren't being used to their best; I wanted a role more in my field of interest etc. I suppose it depends what you didn't like about it - you don't want to say anything that suggests you aren't a team player for example or specifically say you didn't like a manager or colleague, but if there was a specific aspect of it that you didn't like (ie too much admin/expected to work long hours/constant reorganisations) then it might be best to mention it to avoid ending up in a similar position with a new role.

InsideInsurance

A lot will depend on what your career history is like, is it all continuous or do you have periods of unemployment (?) and what the real reasons for leaving were.

I have in the past been intentionally exceptionally vague in terms of simply stating my reason for leaving was resignation which tells them I wasnt sacked etc but not my motivation for resigning. In cases where employment was unbroken then I've also previously stated its due to taking on the new role but again not saying why I had applied for the new role in the first place.

People are generally only really checking that you havent been sacked and you aren't overtly negative.

I felt that my skills weren't being used to their best

You can spin this to be more positive by saying the new role was a better match to your skills/ experience or that it would give you the opportunity to get them rather than saying the old job wasnt, this works for both short term jobs or ones you've been in a while

debrag

well the current job he's been with since 2009 over 2 sites, the one before that was about a year & the one he really didn't like (management) as soon as he handed in notice they were trying to find reasons to sack him. the one before that was for a year but with his current company, the one before that was for 20 + years and the one before that was for 5 years.

Job A - 2009 to present (company A) - bluewater + croydon
Job B - 2008 to 2009 - royal standard
Job C - 2007 to 2008 (company A) - bluewater
Job D - 1984 to 2007 - central london
Job E - 1977 to 1984 (company A but before take over) - holborn + lewisham

Apart from job d it has all been shop work, he is now looking at local (to save money) and applying to shop & cleaning.

For me I usually put relocaton, career change, better hours, etc

an9i77

I tend to put 'career progression' where I have left a permanent job.

eyelinerprincess

I think on my CV the reasons I put for leaving were:

Job 1 - To concentrate on studies (truth being that I was fed up of cleaning puke from a nightclub floor)
Jobs 2 & 3 - To procure a job with more hours.
Job 4 - Position unsuitable

debrag

you but reasons on a cv? I haven't

eyelinerprincess

My bad, I meant on application forms, not on my CV.