I am currently employed by a family member and has not turned out to be an ideal situation for me. I am seeking new employment and I am concerned with how I should answer the question: " Why are you leaving?". There IS a personality conflict but I certainly don’t want to state it that way. It also has to be something that can be confirmed if the new prospective employer calls my current one. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
“I felt I wasn’t in an ideal place for me. I wasn’t being challenged or using my skills at [list skills here] sufficiently, and I wanted to move on to a more rewarding career path in a larger company such as [company you happen to be interviewing for]. I feel that working here would allow me [develop skills/ improve qualifications / whatever].”
There is no reason to talk about personality conflicts or people that you don’t like; you will encounter those at every job. It’s the way you handle the conflicts that are more interesting. Besides, when people ask that question they don’t want to hear about the coworker that always stole your lunch, they want to hear what the difference is between your current job and the one you are applying for and whether they can offer you what you are looking for (while you do the work they need!).
ETA: Also, in English, resume is acceptable - you don’t have to fake the accents if you don’t know how to do them. If you want to use them, use the ALT codes or use an international keyboard: résumé.
Either two accents aigus or none: resume or résumé. The code is alt+0233 on keypad.
If they know it was a family member, could you turn it in the direction of not wanting to mix family and work in the best terms possible.
A simple explanation is, “that project is ending soon so I’m looking for a new one.”
I’ll echo the sentiment that you never want to tell a prospective employer that you experienced “personality conflicts” or anything similar at your last job. They want to know that you were able to get along and work with anyone just fine. Also never bad-mouth your previous boss or company. There are any number of legitimate reasons you can give that won’t reflect negatively on you.
“Seeking new challenges.”
I’d not go into the fact that your current biz is owned by a relative unless specifically asked. And I believe that when your soon-to-be new employer contacts your soon-to-be ex-employer, they will simply confirm your title and start & end dates.
I as going to say the same thing
Brian
Interviews aren’t a polygraph test or testimony in front of the court. You are trying to sell yourself. The tips given above are good. Come up with your own list of positive reasons why the new company is a better fit for you than the current one. Sell it that way and you won’t go wrong. Like others said, don’t badmouth your current employer or mention the relation. It isn’t a counseling session and it won’t sound good. Find a friend to rehearse that part of your story in front of so that you have it down cold and it comes out naturally.
If your current position was great, you wouldn’t be interviewing somewhere else. That goes without saying and it won’t count against you if you keep it neutral/positive.
I’ve been in a very similar situation. I worked in a family business. I told perspective employers the truth, that working for family is hard. I told them I didn’t want to hurt my family relationships over disagreements at work.
This always went over well.
I concur with the not mixing family and work. Or you could say they made you wear pants when visiting clients and you preferred going Chicago style.
And just to emphasize what’s said here: If you’re going to use the accents, you need two of them.
Thanks for posting the ALT code too, thelurkinghorror. I use the US-International keyboard layout, where the accent is simply the apostrphe key… if I want an apostrophe followed by a vowel I need to hit space.
é (apostrophe e)
'e (apostrophe-space-e)
Very useful keyboard for someone who writes in both English and French regularly, but grew up on a US Qwerty keyboard instead of a Canadian or European one! 