Reason for leaving last job

Oleander

I was working for four months last year but I made the decision to leave the job for a few reasons, 1) it was advertised as one job but was 3 jobs and I felt it was too much for me and 2) the boss wasn't very nice and 3) the location wasn't ideal as I depended on lifts. I was going to use the excuse of leaving last job because of the location but I may have an interview for a position which is located in the same area so I can't use the latter excuse. So, when they ask why I left my last position or why was it so short, I really don't know what to say. I won't tell lies because one of the people I worked for and has offered to act as a referee for me, I don't know what they will say about me. I left on good terms, having given plenty of notice. Could I tell the truth and say that the job involved more than I thought?? I don't want to give them the impression that I couldn't cope. The truth is, I could still be there but I did not like the boss and the amount of work was stressful (and the boss wasn't horrible because of the work load - this person had a very rude manner, I have always gotten on well with past work colleagues and management). I would really appreciate advice on this matter, I'm really stuck. Thanks in advance.

Stheno

Could you say it was a fixed term contract?

Oleander

Thank you for your feedback. I don't know what this referee would say about why I left, so I don't know whether I could get away with saying it was a fixed contract. I have a written reference but I can't stop anyone ringing them. I was thinking of saying that it was more of a PA role - the role was advertised originally as Administrator. But then that makes me look like I was doing mainly PA stuff when in fact, I was PA to every dept, managing a very busy switchboard and reception, running the office, doing other stuff on top of all that so I felt it was all a bit chaotic!!

I don't want to email this referee and ask them to lie and say it was a temp role but I may have to, I'm not sure I trust this person.

tatli_lokma

Personally, as someone who has interviewed a lot of candidates, there are times when honesty is appreciated. You just have to be careful about the way you phrase it.

You could say that during the probabtion period you realised that this job was not one that fit with your long term career goals, and after giving it a few months to be sure of the nature of the role, you thought it was better all round if you withdrew from the position. Explain that although there were many elements of the role you very much enjoyed, you appreciated them showing faith in you by giving you additional responsibilities, and you did enjoy the challenge of time managing the extra responsibilties, in the long term the additional duties outside of the administration role were not providing you with any new skill acquisition in the long term. This job (i.e the one you are now applying for) sounds like it would be much more suited to your existing skill set and you feel that you can not only bring these skills to the role but also learn many new skills and therefore it is a much more motivating role for you long term.

Also, if you don't trust the person acting as reference, I wouldn't be inclined to list them. You say they have given a written reference, so include that with any applications. Then find 2 more referee to give additional recommendations for you. A lot of places will only give a written reference and will not give verbal ones, and vice versa, so it wouldn't look so strange not to give their contact details and just give the written reference. I would advise that you include the written reference, do not give any additional contact details for them, and then list two more referees - ones you know you can trust.

The other alternative is to get someone you know and who would be up to the job to pose as a potential employer and phone this referee and see what gets said. It is a little bit sneaky, but it is a tough market out there for jobs and the last thing you need is for someone to stitch you up, even unwittingly. I had a manager in the past who said they would be happy to give me a glowing reference. But I subsequently found out that they told one potential employer that I was leaving my current role as I wanted to just work part time for a year before I gave up work to start a family!! never mind the fact that this was not true and I'm not even sure where the hell they got this from this was the last thing a potential employer wants to hear. Officially you won't loose a job on this basis as it would be discrimination, but who in their right mind would hire someone in a permanent role if they thought they would be leaving in 12 months or sooner?? Needless to say I wish I had asked someone to do a dummy run with that reference. Luckily for me the person checking the reference was a recruiter so no real harm done and I was glad to know this info before listing them as a reference elsewhere. But you do need to be confident of what will be said, so either check them out or don't list them.

Oleander

Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. I'm more about honesty in interviews but don't want to seem incompetent, so I'll def refer to your advice. You are so right about not including a referee who I don't wholly trust, I don't have these listed on my cv anyway, and this interview I have in mind is through any agency anyway so I presume it will be the agency doing the ringing for references. They could well have already phoned this company, I wonder is it worth asking them what the response was? The agency know that I left the position because of the work load, I didn't say anything else about what the management were like and I never would reveal that information to anyone (apart from asking for advice on boards).

Someone has said to me before about getting a friend to ring up and act as a potential employer, I think it is a good idea and I'd love to know what they say (I'm probably being paranoid and it would be fine) but I don't really know anyone confident enough to do it for me. So, when applying for roles in the future, I will include the written reference from this said company and two more. Most employers want a recent reference so that's why I would include them as they were my last (paid) job. I am doing some voluntary work and have been since last year so at least that will count for something in an interview.

tatli_lokma

A reference from a voluntary job also stands to you a lot - if you do a good job when not being paid then it stands to reason that in paid employment that your work ethic would be solid, so include a referee from your voluntary work if possible.

Oleander

Little Ted wrote: »

A reference from a voluntary job also stands to you a lot - if you do a good job when not being paid then it stands to reason that in paid employment that your work ethic would be solid, so include a referee from your voluntary work if possible.

I will indeed. I've also been made Secretary recently for this charitable organisation on top of what I already do, so this is good for my cv and it's keeping me busy. Thanks again.