by Liz Ryan
Nearly everyone has been there. The job interview is sailing along, when all of a sudden, the interviewer asks you the question you've been hoping she wouldn't--for instance, "Why did you leave your last job?"
You pause to reflect: Do I say that my boss was psycho and that if I didn't quit I might have punched his lights out? Or do I make up a story on the spot, or take a sip of my coffee while I think of something intelligent? You don't want to end up reacting in the moment. On-the-spot improvisation is a great skill, but it's a high-risk endeavor when your next great job is at stake.
Here are some handy answers to potentially sticky job-interview questions. You might want to memorize a few of these!
How not to say, "My last job was in hell."
You hated your old job or you hated your boss (or both) to the point where you hated yourself for staying. Now you've left the place, either on your own or after being invited to take a hike, and as you meet prospective employers, you're finding that you've got some 'splainin' to do.
The question: "Why did you leave Acme Dynamite?"
The answer: "Oh, I learned a ton in that place, but I didn't see more challenges on the horizon there, and I knew I wanted to get into [whatever this job entails]. I didn't want to job hunt while I was working, so I've been pursuing my job search full-time--and having tremendous fun doing it."
But what if you were fired?
If you left your last job on your own, that's one thing. But what if you were, as HR people say, "invited to leave"? You know that saying "Well, they fired me" is a non-starter. The interview won't last very long once those words leave your mouth. Here are some alternatives:
"I had some great experiences at Acme Dynamite, but at that point there was a management change [the scope of my job was reduced / the department was reorganized], and my manager and I agreed that we'd reached a good juncture for us to part ways."
"Pitstop Productions was switching from an in-house sales force to an outsourced one, and there was nothing especially important for me to do there, so we agreed that I should move on."
How to explain an employment gap
Just when the interview is rolling along, the recruiter's eyes fall on that pesky employment gap of yours. You've got to account for your time, but how? Lots of us have jumped off the conveyor belt for a while, and may not have much to show for it.
The question: "Now, what were you doing between 2003 and 2005?"
The answer: "That's when Toontown Productions had just been sold, and I'd made some good investments and wanted to explore [origami], so I took a break from the corporate world to recharge and get clearer about my goals. That was a fantastic learning experience--I'd recommend a mid-career sabbatical to anyone--and it helped me decide what I'm passionate about at work. When I went to Pitstop Productions in '06, I had a wonderful, fresh perspective."
How to justify a short-term job
Who hasn't at some point taken a job only to quickly learn that doing so was a terrible mistake? If you can wake up to the horror quickly enough to bail within a month or two, you'll leave the short-term gig off your resume entirely. But if it takes longer for the terrible reality to sink in, you may have six or nine months of a going-nowhere job to account for.
The question: "Now, what was the story here at Rabbit Enterprises? You didn't stay there very long."
The answer: "They were looking for someone to [train fleas], and that's a specialty of mine. I got in there and put the program together, but the job was not so much a job as a consulting assignment. After the initial launch, the role was going to be strictly maintenance, so I made the move over to Roadrunner Inc."
Evaluate your resumes for quirks, and you can anticipate the trickiest questions an interviewer might throw at you--and you can prepare your answers well ahead of the big day. Get comfortable with your responses, stay in your power, and knock 'em dead!
Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, a former Fortune 500 VP, and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new-millennium workplace. Connect with her at www.asklizryan.com. (The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.)
Nearly everyone has been there. The job interview is sailing along, when all of a sudden, the interviewer asks you the question you've been hoping she wouldn't--for instance, "Why did you leave your last job?"
You pause to reflect: Do I say that my boss was psycho and that if I didn't quit I might have punched his lights out? Or do I make up a story on the spot, or take a sip of my coffee while I think of something intelligent? You don't want to end up reacting in the moment. On-the-spot improvisation is a great skill, but it's a high-risk endeavor when your next great job is at stake.
Here are some handy answers to potentially sticky job-interview questions. You might want to memorize a few of these!
How not to say, "My last job was in hell."
You hated your old job or you hated your boss (or both) to the point where you hated yourself for staying. Now you've left the place, either on your own or after being invited to take a hike, and as you meet prospective employers, you're finding that you've got some 'splainin' to do.
The question: "Why did you leave Acme Dynamite?"
The answer: "Oh, I learned a ton in that place, but I didn't see more challenges on the horizon there, and I knew I wanted to get into [whatever this job entails]. I didn't want to job hunt while I was working, so I've been pursuing my job search full-time--and having tremendous fun doing it."
But what if you were fired?
If you left your last job on your own, that's one thing. But what if you were, as HR people say, "invited to leave"? You know that saying "Well, they fired me" is a non-starter. The interview won't last very long once those words leave your mouth. Here are some alternatives:
"I had some great experiences at Acme Dynamite, but at that point there was a management change [the scope of my job was reduced / the department was reorganized], and my manager and I agreed that we'd reached a good juncture for us to part ways."
"Pitstop Productions was switching from an in-house sales force to an outsourced one, and there was nothing especially important for me to do there, so we agreed that I should move on."
How to explain an employment gap
Just when the interview is rolling along, the recruiter's eyes fall on that pesky employment gap of yours. You've got to account for your time, but how? Lots of us have jumped off the conveyor belt for a while, and may not have much to show for it.
The question: "Now, what were you doing between 2003 and 2005?"
The answer: "That's when Toontown Productions had just been sold, and I'd made some good investments and wanted to explore [origami], so I took a break from the corporate world to recharge and get clearer about my goals. That was a fantastic learning experience--I'd recommend a mid-career sabbatical to anyone--and it helped me decide what I'm passionate about at work. When I went to Pitstop Productions in '06, I had a wonderful, fresh perspective."
How to justify a short-term job
Who hasn't at some point taken a job only to quickly learn that doing so was a terrible mistake? If you can wake up to the horror quickly enough to bail within a month or two, you'll leave the short-term gig off your resume entirely. But if it takes longer for the terrible reality to sink in, you may have six or nine months of a going-nowhere job to account for.
The question: "Now, what was the story here at Rabbit Enterprises? You didn't stay there very long."
The answer: "They were looking for someone to [train fleas], and that's a specialty of mine. I got in there and put the program together, but the job was not so much a job as a consulting assignment. After the initial launch, the role was going to be strictly maintenance, so I made the move over to Roadrunner Inc."
Evaluate your resumes for quirks, and you can anticipate the trickiest questions an interviewer might throw at you--and you can prepare your answers well ahead of the big day. Get comfortable with your responses, stay in your power, and knock 'em dead!
Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, a former Fortune 500 VP, and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new-millennium workplace. Connect with her at www.asklizryan.com. (The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.)
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