Reason for leaving previous job - what would you say in this situation

Cosmopolitan

Hi

Just after some advice on behalf of my OH.

In June he quit his job working in the call center for a well known private healthcare provider and we are now struggling with how to word his reasons for leaving when he goes for interviews for new jobs.

Sorry if this gets a bit long winded but I'll try to be brief.

Basically he started in January after suffering a slippped disk in his spine at his old job meaning he couldn't continue in that employment because of the bending and lifting etc.

When he started with the private healthcare provider he told them the situation and they said they would do a desk assessment etc when he started and see if he needed a different chair/back support etc. This assesment was eventually done in June (by an external company) and a reccomendations made to get a chair etc. (he had already been signed off for about 6 weeks before this with his back because they were really strict about him leaving his desk, even standing up to streatch out got him a telling off) during this six months from January he was becoming increasingly un happy with the way he was treated at work and had a bit of a breakdown, was signed off with stress and depression, when he went back to work he handed his notice in and left (just nearing the end of his probation period.)

Now the question is what to say to prospective employers about his reasons for leaving the old company? He is capeable of office based work as long as he's not practially tied to the desk all day, just like being able to get up and get a cup of tea whenever you want etc is enough movement for him.

I had suggested he tells the truth but just be vauge unless questioned further, eg say he had existing back problems which were made worse because the company didnt offer the support they promised. Making sure to emphasise he can work in an office if he can move around.

He has been to a couple of interviews since and used this but hasn't got the jobs and now im wondering if it is because potential employers see this as an issue they don't want to have to deal with.

Has anyone got suggestions of what he could say about reasons for leaving his old employment? Any ideas greatly appreciated. Thanks

fleesaurus

Honestly not many employers will bother with him. Is this injury permanent?

DVardysShadow

Cosmopolitan wrote: »

.... even standing up to streatch out got him a telling off

Left for the above reason and reluctant to engage in a fight about it?

Cosmopolitan

fleesaurus - That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear, I know he has made things far more difficult for himself, but whats happened has happened and now we need to deal with it. In a way I suppose the injury is permenant in that it will never go away completly, but it can be managed to tolerable levels by being able to move around and not bending or lifting too much.

DVardysShadow - Thanks for that, will try that one next time.

It's just frustrating that there's not many jobs around and employers can have their pick of who they want at the moment which makes this harder for him.

jinger_2

He could always say that due to an injury sustained x weeks/months/years ago, he needs the occasional opportunity to get up and stretch his back/legs now and again but unfortunately due to the nature of his previous job, he was not able to do this. If pressed for more info, then he could explain that his last employers were not very sympathetic to his disability, and he had no option but to resign before his disability got worse.

Last year I applied for a job and got it not realising how much standing I had to do. I was up front with the employer that I had leg problems and couldn't stand for long periods which the employer was ok with. But when I started, each time I sat down (which wasn't very often), I was barked at and accused of being lazy. After 8 weeks, the last straw was when I burst a blood vessle in my leg after being on my feet for so long. I resigned the next day with immediate effect. I have since applied for another job. At interview I was asked why my last job didn't last long and I explained I needed to occasionally sit down due to my disability but due to the nature of the job (and unsympathetic manager/staff), the position was unsuitable due to long periods standing with little/no rest. I have now been employed with that company for 8 months.

whitewing

Is he actually applyimg for call centre jobs any more or not? If not, I can see nothing wrong with saying about him needing to get up and walk a bit but that didn't really turn out to be feasible with a headset on and new calls coming through immediately after a single beep (or whatever it actually did at his place).

Sharon87

Office, but not call centre jobs would be preferable for him I reckon. I agree with what jinger says about the reasons at job interviews. If it's a disability, employers legally aren't allowed to not give someone a job based on just their disability, but maybe it's just the way he worded it at his interview?

eskimo26

jinger wrote: »

Last year I applied for a job and got it not realising how much standing I had to do. I was up front with the employer that I had leg problems and couldn't stand for long periods which the employer was ok with. But when I started, each time I sat down (which wasn't very often), I was barked at and accused of being lazy. After 8 weeks, the last straw was when I burst a blood vessle in my leg after being on my feet for so long. I resigned the next day with immediate effect. I have since applied for another job. At interview I was asked why my last job didn't last long and I explained I needed to occasionally sit down due to my disability but due to the nature of the job (and unsympathetic manager/staff), the position was unsuitable due to long periods standing with little/no rest. I have now been employed with that company for 8 months.

Why did you resign? Did you go through any disability discrimination afterwards? If they were aware of your needs and didn't meet them they needed taking to task!

Cosmopolitan

jinger wrote: »

He could always say that due to an injury sustained x weeks/months/years ago, he needs the occasional opportunity to get up and stretch his back/legs now and again but unfortunately due to the nature of his previous job, he was not able to do this. If pressed for more info, then he could explain that his last employers were not very sympathetic to his disability, and he had no option but to resign before his disability got worse.

Thanks, that sounds brill!

SandC

I'm with Jinger Cosmopolitan. I think in interview situations/applications he should always emphasise that it was due to the 'nature of the job' and not point fingers at unsympathetic individuals or companies as a whole.

You do have to look at it from a potential employer's point of view. Do you take candidate a) who will require risk assessments to workplace before starting as there are medical issues which have been problematic in previous positions or do you take candidate b) who hasn't any of the above but there is not much else between them in terms of experience and suitability?

Kynthia

People are aware of what call centres are like; virtually no breaks, time restricted toilet trips, calls automatically put through one after the other, serious pressure to hit targets and reduce cutomer waiting times, etc. If you explain that the nature of this work conflicted with the need to occassionaly stretch and walk round the room then I'm sure they'd understand. The rule of not criticising the former employer still applies.