What can I tell a potential employer when I left my job because I was bullied.

BrusselSprout

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to read this thread.
Basically what happened is I left my last job because I was being bullied by my boss.
I wrote them a letter and explained everything but I did not give them any notice......stupid I know but at the time the bullying was so bad I was close to a breakdown.
So now I find my perfect job and I have an interview but I do not know what to tell them.

Thanks for reading this.

GotToChange

I am not going to suggest the old "personality differences" chestnut - but a lot depends on how good you are at acting and how well your CV/application can back you up... and your actual circumstances.

An example - one gap on my CV states that I travelled with family for some time - the actual duration is not stated and therefore open to interpretation. It was not an actual lie as I did take my daughter to see my Father in New Zealand and stayed for quite a while.

I also once went for a position after leaving a job due to bullying and, on that occasion, eyes filling with tears worked (genuinely - and also helped by the male interviewer, female interviewee combination....). Equally though, I interviewed for another job after the bullying, was offered it and STUPIDLY named the barstewards as a reference. That cost the job offer. And that may be where the main trickiness will lie, so take care at that point.

Is there anything in your life - again, we come back to the fact that people are measured and judged by their employment [status] - which you can build on/use for the purposes of leaving that job or having a gap? There is no generic answer I'm afraid.

zzzLazyDaisy

What have you been doing since you left that job and how long ago was it?

BrusselSprout

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

What have you been doing since you left that job and how long ago was it?

It was just under a year ago now, since then I have been doing my best to find work.

zzzLazyDaisy

Sorry, what I meant was, have you been a SAHM, for example, or caring for an elderly relative, or some such thing that you can possible elaborate on?

InsideInsurance

First of all are you sure your resignation was accepted? Certainly with a former employer of mine you would have been sacked for gross misconduct (ie being AWOL during your notice period).

How long were you in the former role for? The rule of thumb is not to be negative about your former employer but that is going to be difficult both with the gap in employment and from a practical view if you are understandably upset about the situation, I imagine you will need to find a succinct way of saying what happened with being as dry about it as possible.

Acc72

Hi,

I presume that the new company have seen your cv / application form ?

If so, then they already know that you have not worked for almost a year and they have still asked you for an interview, so they must still think that you could be right for the job.

You need to come up with a plausible reason why you left your last employer.

eg. How long were you with them for ? - could you pass this off as a temporary job ?

I would not advocate telling lies, however I would not mention anyhting about bullying or not getting on with your boss / colleagues etc. as most jobs involve working with others and you don't want to give any hint that you may not be a "team player" (I know that this is unfair, but you do not want it to be interpreted this way).

Just be positive, tell them the positives of why you would be good for the role.

nightingalesgarden

If you didn't get any further correspondence from your previous employer - letter inviting you to a disciplinary meeting/a letter stating you had been dismissed then you are probably okay - the company will have just accepted your resignation. In all the companies I have worked for we would have just accepted your resignation and marked this as your reason for leaving (but everyone is different).

On the reason for leaving - My advice is not to lie about the job that you had (don't leave a further gap in your CV) just make sure that you are confident about your reason for leaving and that the reason is positive. Practice with someone asking you questions about your reason for leaving until you believe the reason and can clearly, simply and calmly explain this in interview. Something simple like "My OH was offered overtime so I stayed at home with the kids (if you have them) or "I was offered a better paid job by a friend who runs a small business - but the recession really hit and there wasn't enough work for me to start"

If you believe it - likelihood is that the interviewer will believe it. Just don't make it complicated or open to lots more questions by the interviewer.

Good luck

j.e.j.

Well, you weren't dismissed, you resigned, so it shouldn't count against you. Why is someone not allowed to just leave a job? I left a job 6 years ago because quite frankly I could stand it no more!! A lot of companies in any case don't provide references these days, - they will only confirm dates of employment.

You could I guess just say you wanted to take some time out in order to do XYZ if the new employer were to ask you, but don't go making up elaborate stories, - BAD idea!! Can you get a recent character reference from someone so that you don't have to go back to ex-employer?

Callie22

I left a job due to a shocking pair of harpies that were making my life a misery. As I had left (and wasn't fired), whenever I was asked about the job I just made up something about the job involving a lot of travel, and that this didn't fit in with my family commitments. Obviously it depends on the kind of job you're going for (don't say you left because of travelling if the new job involves erm ... travelling) but as long as you come up with something plausible and say it confidently then most people won't press further.