Secured an interview but worried

marginalone

Ive just secured an interview for the first time since Spring but Im worried about answering the question as to why I left my job after almost 5 months.

The job was missold, I never got any training and had to deal with the worst manager I have had in my career due to passive aggression. Of course Im not going to mention this on the day.

Im trying to put a positive spin on how to answer in an interview situation.

What would you do?

hcb42

It is ok to mention reasons as long as you give them in a positive light (and as long as you are certain you wont hit exactly the same issue with the new company - or how you have overcome them etc)

E.g. "The role was in outbound telesales selling xxx, I had expected it to be more of an inbound/administrative role, and it wasnt for me. I am keen to get this role because it is data entry and reception work, and your company has a good reputation for training" .....that sort of thing?

shmeeko69

marginalone wrote: »

Ive just secured an interview for the first time since Spring but Im worried about answering the question as to why I left my job after almost 5 months.

The job was missold, I never got any training and had to deal with the worst manager I have had in my career due to passive aggression. Of course Im not going to mention this on the day.

Im trying to put a positive spin on how to answer in an interview situation.

What would you do?

It might be difficult if asked the question, but I would try to put a positive spin on your experience, as you want to move on and show any potential employer that, you bare no grudges and just want to do the best you can.

Savvy_Sue

Whatever you decide you want to say, practice saying it beforehand!

bevanuk

Don't slag off the company - just explain your reasons.
The people who are interviewing already know you left after 5 months, they have seen your CV! Any reason for leaving after such a short amount of time isn't going to be 'good', so I really wouldn't worry about this.

Don't focus on it also, make sure you have prepared for the other questions and not fixated on this one.

pinkshoes

Just say that once you'd started the job, they were unable to give you the type of work that was in the job description, so although you gave it 110%, it's just not what you want to do.

Voyager2002

Did you perform well in a previous job?

Most employers would recognise that bad luck can happen to anyone once, so if you can say that you worked well with your manager in two previous roles over a five-year period but then had the bad luck to be managed by someone with a personality disorder, you are likely to be OK. Of course, anyone who claims to have had three or four such bad managers is going to arouse suspicion, and if the job you left after five months was your only relevant experience then you really need to think carefully about what to say.

marginalone

Well, my career prior to the last job was successful and never had any serious issues with managers, owners.

I was warned not to take the job as nobody could work with the Company Owners.

Its an experience I don't ever wish to repeat

aileth

Yours is a mirror of a position I was in many moons ago, job said it was a secretary role, in fact it was a teamaker and I got zero training or work as a secretary and left because my 'boss', who shouldn't have been my boss as she was head tea-maker and I should've been under head-secretary, swore at me.

The job afterwards I explained the recruitment company had misadvertised the role, and as much as I enjoyed working for them, the role I was wrongly placed in was not a role I would like to pursue for my career. Got me the job so couldn't have been that bad!

DCFC79

Good luck with the interview.

Floozie

marginalone wrote: »

Ive just secured an interview for the first time since Spring but Im worried about answering the question as to why I left my job after almost 5 months.

The job was missold, I never got any training and had to deal with the worst manager I have had in my career due to passive aggression. Of course Im not going to mention this on the day.

Im trying to put a positive spin on how to answer in an interview situation.

What would you do?

This sounds so familiar to me as I am in exactly the same position. I left my previous job which was a nightmare. I did a distance learning course NVQ Level 2 in Business & Admin and have been looking for work. I have an interview next Tuesday and was worried about being asked the same question but reading this forum has given me some hope.