Of leaving a job quickly & interviews

Krikee

To start, I'm looking for a new job when I've been at my current one for approximately 6 months. Now, I imagine this is not something that will be looked over on my resume (I'm too young to drop it off entirely); so, how do I explain it?
I was thinking of being completely honest and saying the company culture was not for me; (the place is more focused on being cool with the team rather than doing good work or even work and it's a technical job!) but, I've been told this sounds negative. On the other hand, I will be looking for a step up position wise so I could say there is a lack of higher positions when I was initially lead to believe otherwise. Suggestions?

Metalbourne

At your old job, tell your supervisor that you're putting in your two weeks notice and follow any instructions from there. You don't need to tell him anything other than that.

At your next job interview, if you're asked, say that you wanted to find better opportunities where you could apply your skills and experience.

Regardless, I wouldn't drop it from your resume unless it was very short, like less than a month.

illirica

You definitely do not want to bad-mouth your previous company. This is one of the major interview pitfalls. It seems you know this, so let's not belabor that point, and move on.

In your favor: You are still employed with that company, from what it looks like. This is good, because other companies will see that you weren't fired. However, they will be asking you why you're looking for other opportunities.

So, how do you approach that? Well, the line "The company culture is not what I was looking for" isn't bad by itself, but unfortunately it begs the question "What are you looking for that wasn't there" which makes it very hard to avoid saying bad things about the company. That bit about being cool with the team rather than doing good work sounds very negative, so definitely don't say that. Instead, you could say something like "I am looking for a more structured environment" or something to that effect. HR people are going to be pretty good about piecing together generalities. That's their job.

I'd stick to a combination of "It was a great opportunity and a valuable learning experience / I'm looking for a position where I will be valued for my expertise and professionalism / I'm looking for a position where there will be opportunities to advance my career."


Edit: Also, don't drop it from your resume. Then it looks like you were unemployed for 6 months, and if you later tell them you were employed, they will assume you were employed by your yahoo neighbor Fred who felt sorry for you and not by a real company. It's totally okay to have a job on there that just isn't working out.

starmanbrand

Yeah I'd go with the ol' "I thought there would be more opportunity for upward mobility." It really doesn't matter what you say as long as you don't make the old company or yourself look bad in the process.

Mugaaz

illirica wrote: »

I'd stick to a combination of "It was a great opportunity and a valuable learning experience / I'm looking for a position where I will be valued for my expertise and professionalism / I'm looking for a position where there will be opportunities to advance my career."QUOTE]

I hate when people do this. You can tell someone the real reason you left a company without badmouthing the previous company. These non-answers do get gain you any brownie points unless your applying for some job that involves you BSing all day. Also, if you DID leave a company for a reason, and that reason makes your interviewer uncomfortable then it's more than likely you don't want to work for this new company either.

Example:

If you leave a job because it's a dead end job then you can say something about how there was little growth opportunity and you wanted to continue expanding you knowledge and skills. If when you say this to the interviewer they shift in their seat a little, guess what? Maybe the job your applying for is a dead end job as well. This is valuable info.

Interviews aren't one way streets....if you already have a job. If you don't then go ahead and do whatever it takes to get food on the table. If you are trying to upgrade though go ahead and make sure this new place is better than the one you are leaving.

Thanatos

Mugaaz wrote: »

illirica wrote: »

I'd stick to a combination of "It was a great opportunity and a valuable learning experience / I'm looking for a position where I will be valued for my expertise and professionalism / I'm looking for a position where there will be opportunities to advance my career."

I hate when people do this. You can tell someone the real reason you left a company without badmouthing the previous company. These non-answers do get gain you any brownie points unless your applying for some job that involves you BSing all day. Also, if you DID leave a company for a reason, and that reason makes your interviewer uncomfortable then it's more than likely you don't want to work for this new company either.

Example:

If you leave a job because it's a dead end job then you can say something about how there was little growth opportunity and you wanted to continue expanding you knowledge and skills. If when you say this to the interviewer they shift in their seat a little, guess what? Maybe the job your applying for is a dead end job as well. This is valuable info.

Interviews aren't one way streets....if you already have a job. If you don't then go ahead and do whatever it takes to get food on the table. If you are trying to upgrade though go ahead and make sure this new place is better than the one you are leaving.

The entire job search process is all about who can put up the most appealing plate of complete bullshit. Saying shit like "it was a great opportunity..." is exactly what you need to be doing.

Mugaaz

Thanatos wrote: »

Mugaaz wrote: »

illirica wrote: »

I'd stick to a combination of "It was a great opportunity and a valuable learning experience / I'm looking for a position where I will be valued for my expertise and professionalism / I'm looking for a position where there will be opportunities to advance my career."

I hate when people do this. You can tell someone the real reason you left a company without badmouthing the previous company. These non-answers do get gain you any brownie points unless your applying for some job that involves you BSing all day. Also, if you DID leave a company for a reason, and that reason makes your interviewer uncomfortable then it's more than likely you don't want to work for this new company either.

Example:

If you leave a job because it's a dead end job then you can say something about how there was little growth opportunity and you wanted to continue expanding you knowledge and skills. If when you say this to the interviewer they shift in their seat a little, guess what? Maybe the job your applying for is a dead end job as well. This is valuable info.

Interviews aren't one way streets....if you already have a job. If you don't then go ahead and do whatever it takes to get food on the table. If you are trying to upgrade though go ahead and make sure this new place is better than the one you are leaving.

The entire job search process is all about who can put up the most appealing plate of complete bullshit. Saying shit like "it was a great opportunity..." is exactly what you need to be doing.

I don't agree, sorry. Everyone keep spouting off "never lie on you resume" then they get an interview and never tell the truth the entire time. These total BS answers are evasive and gives the appearance you are hiding something and since they don't know what it is they will just assume the worst. There is a nice middle ground between talking about how you hated your last job and giving a complete non answer. Also, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to leave a job you shouldn't be ashamed about.

Jaded

As someone who previously did hiring I have to agree with Thanatos.
Someone starts talking shit about their last job and I think to myself while I am interviewing "What are they saying about us should s/he decide to move on from here..."

Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and all that jazz.

DiscoZombie

Jaded wrote: »

As someone who previously did hiring I have to agree with Thanatos.
Someone starts talking shit about their last job and I think to myself while I am interviewing "What are they saying about us should s/he decide to move on from here..."

Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and all that jazz.

Well I have never been a supervisor or someone who has done hiring, but I can't see why it would be a bad thing to hear an interviewee say that their previous position was a valuable experience, but not structured or challenging enough... unless I think my own company is unstructured and undemanding.

And really, word of mouth? If you're not interviewing the future SVP of marketing or something, do you really have anything to worry about the future Joe from Accounting being vaguely negative about your department in your company in his next interview with another company that probably hates your company anyway because they're a competitor?

I admit I'm sort of just being argumentative here because I too think it's better to stay positive in most cases... but since the OP is trying to leave a job he's had for only 6 months, he needs to have SOME reason for leaving his current company. If he says "they're all sunshine and rainbows and I love them to death", then it seems like he's just going to try to move up in the world every 6 months even if he has a great job. He needs a reason for leaving, and that reason has to be *something* negative about his current job.