Given that the actual reason is “my manager was a complete and utter power-tripping asshat who went out of her way to anger me into quitting.” I’m pretty sure I should couch it in more pleasant terms.
Reasons I am leaving, aka Things My Assistant Manager Has Done In The Months Since Christmas:
[ul]
[li]Called me into her office and threatened to fire me because I wouldn’t photocopy copyrighted works, including recent studio portrait photos. Yes, threatened to fire me in so many words.[/li][li]Changed my job, without my permission, from working behind the counter to working in front of the counter. Just informed me of it one day with no discussion involved. If I’d been informed that this was the job I would be working when they’d offered to hire me, I’d have turned them down.[/li][li]Wrote me up officially for “insubordination” - says I copped an attitude - then hand-wrote a list of job duties I’m expected to perform on the back of my copy of the write-up sheet. These are not the official company-sanctioned job duties, but things like “windex the front doors and windows every night.” She also told me that I am under no circumstances to take an order from a customer, and if she sees my name on an order form again she will write me up. If she doesn’t think I’ve improved my cleaning skills and ability to ignore customer needs within a month I’ll be fired. None of this except the insubordination was written on the official copy of the write-up sheet, of course.[/li][/ul]
Every time I go into work my “job duties” have changed until it’s reached the point where NOTHING is the same as it was a month ago. Nothing’s been written down, I’ve just been told contradicting things every day, and it’s a nightmare to work there. I wouldn’t have a problem if she’d just tell me straightforwardly what is actually expected of me - and if what she seems to expect wasn’t more suitable for the JANITORIAL CREW we have come in twice a week!!
So I’m going to be looking for different employment, but need something politic to say to prospective employers when they ask why I’m seeking a new job. Help?
I wouldn’t sugarcoat it, but I’d keep it simple and not give examples. If it were me, I’d say something to the effect of, “In spite of the fact that I made my feelings clear, my manager repeatedly instructed me to do things that were against company policy, and, in some cases even illegal, and my integrity is more important than the job was.”
Ok, the “t_:” thing is weird. I previewed several times, and there was always an underscore between my “t” and my “:”. “abou:” previewed correctly, but “about:” always had the underscore.
“Looking for new career opportunities and advancement.”
Do not go into specifics, either with the new employer (you come across as a potential troublemaker) or when you give notice at the current job (don’t burn bridges, no matter how tempted.)
I think “I’m looking to develop my skills in [whatever industry]” is your best bet.
On the chance that it’s an identical job, I’d go with something innocuous, like “I want to work closer to home/school/I’d like to get more hours/reliable schedule/responsibility.”
Tellling someone interviewing about the assholes at your current job would probably take up too much time that could be devoted to making it clear what a superb worker you are and that they’d be a fool not to hire you.
I’d go with what iamthewalrus(:3= said, but also keep in mind what Fionn said as well. If you are trying to get the same job at a different company, you definately don’t want to say that your current job is not a good fit for you (even if it’s not what your official position was when you were hired at the old job.).
Obviously you want to make it look as if your past experience is going to contribute positively to the job you are applying for, so you will have to adjust your reason for leaving accordingly.
Have you thought about how you’ll handle requests for references, especially since (I presume) you’d like to keep working until you have an actual job offer?
Even if you do decide to tell the truth, I don’t think “My manager threatened to fire me if I wouldn’t do things that were illegal and against company policy” would be the kiss of death to an employer.
I can’t speak for all employers, but I can draw on my experience with having read thousands of applications for entry-level positions in manufacturing and office work.
There are some things we accept as completely reasonable reasons for wanting a new job. They include: Better pay, better hours, more hours, closer to home, more benefits, more opportunity for advancement, using skills that you already have and would like to use more.
There are some things that will raise some serious red flags. They include: Fighting with coworkers, fighting with supervisors, claims that things are “unfair” or “unreasonable,” “things were fine until x happened,” “I didn’t like the work,” “not for me.”
There are caveats even in the “good” list. Example: If you say you want better money but the new position is for worse money, they could toss your application. If they give you info like starting wages of $8.00/hour, don’t say you’re leaving a job of $9.00/hour for better wages. They’ll assume you didn’t or can’t read what they gave you.
So, simply emphasize any of the positive things that would be different in the new position.
I agree with & emphasize what jsgoddess said. Never say you’re leaving because of conflicts with your boss - a lot of prospective employers will decide there’s at least a chance that you were the source of the conflicts and toss your application, especially in this job market. Why risk hiring something who may be a headache down the road? Along with the positive things, you can say something like “looking for more challenging job duties and advancement opportunities”, but don’t go farther than that.
Of course, “former boss” stories make great lunch table conversation after you’re hired.
Don’t worry about that. Even when people leave for good reasons, many companies forbid current managers from giving references. If they give a good reference, and the employee doesn’t work out, they can get sued for misleading the new employer. If they give a bad reference, and the employee doesn’t get hired, the employee sues. So you can’t win.
I echo the various suggestions on giving better opportunities as the reason. The new employer at least knows you are smart enough to keep from mouthing off at them, even if there is reason.
I’ve been through something similar. I left an employer because my manager wrote an appraisal of me which contained significant inaccuracies which he did not bother to check. I left another company on the second day to preserve my professional integrity.
You should raise this at the interview stage, not before. You can state that you were forced to choose betwen your integrity and your job, and the employer should not contact them for references. Or, you could give them a smile and say, “I don’t believe in criticizing former employers.”
It is crucial that your prospective employer finds out about this episode from you first: forewarned and otherwise impressed, they’ll give your version of events much more weight.
It’s not relevant in this case, but it’s even ok to say, “I made a very bad mistake and felt that the only honourable course was to resign and learn from it.” (This shows your integrity and positivity and provides the interviewer with an opening).
I disagree with some of the suggestions in this thread. I think it’s always a bad move to say anything negative about your current boss or job or company. You don’t know if the person interviewing you knows your boss, etc.
People change jobs all the time so you just need to give good, clear reasons why want to work for the company you’re interviewing with. One great reason you’ve identified is that your job description has changed from what you want to do. Emphasize the positive and don’t give any information that can be construed as YOU being a troublemaker.
Yeah, the idea that I’m a troublemaker for not wanting to break the law (in the copyright issue) is one thing that I’m incredibly bitter about, and I know the rule is not to make negative statements about one’s former employer… but since I’m not likely to make any significant changes in my actual job course (I’m not, for instance, changing career paths yet - not until after college) I’ve been uncertain as to how, exactly, to phrase things.
How you phrase things should depend on the way the interviewer phrases the question.
My experience may be unique, but I’ve always gotten the question “Why do you want to work here?” as opposed to “Why are you leaving your other job?” The effect is the same, because you can mention wanting a better schedule or working closer to home, but you can also mention what specifically about the interviewer’s company that you like.
So the downside is the person interviewing you may know your boss, and get feedback - outside of normal channels - that you’re a poor employee. The upside is the person interviewing you may know your boss and think “if you could work for that asshat, you can work for anyone.” Even if the references your present company provides are only to confirm that you work there, you shoud be prepared for repurcussions if they find out you’re applying elsewhere. It may help if you use the same type of reasons others have suggested for why you want to work for your new company - closer to work, better hours, etc. You can save the real reasons for your exit interview, after you have that better job somewhere else.
You may be bitter, but that’s not the point. If you tell your interviewer this story, he may think " this employee looks like a real trouble maker".
Remember a basic rule of life–whoever has the power (i.e. the boss)makes the rules, and whoever doesn’t-(i.e. you) has to follow them.
Being right may make you feel good, but it won’t get you a salary. If your boss told you to copy material, then do it. (yes, I know, that’s the old argument that the Nazis used in the Nuremburg trials “I was only following orders”—but get real here! you werent being asked to murder somebody, and you weren’t doing anything that YOU personally could go to jail for (disclaimer:I am not a lawyer).The legal violation was your boss’s responsibility.
There are lots of moral issues that crop up in daily life, and you have to pick and choose when your ethics are more important than your source of income.One guideline–if your boss tells you do something that is so illegal that you BOTH :
1. want to quit the job
AND 2. report it to the police,
then you should quit, and even include the story in your interviews for new jobs.It may make you look like a good citizen.But if it wasn’t serious enough for the police to get invovled, your new employer won’t want to hear about it in an interview.
chappachula, I’m bitter, but I’m not an idiot. The whole reason I started this thread is because I KNOW NOT TO TELL THE ENTIRE STUPID STORY TO THE NEXT PERSON WHO INTERVIEWS ME.
I work at a copy shop, and it’s against company policy AND the law of the land AND my personal feelings as the wife-to-be of a professional photographer to make copies of copyrighted things for the customers. The manager kept telling me to do it anyway and when I finally found the employee handbook (a copy of which was never issued to me) and showed her the relevant passage IN THE COMPANY’S BOOK, she told me that I’d do my job or I’d be fired. I refuse to believe that I’m in the wrong in this, but I’m smart enough not to be bringing it up left and right at job interviews. The copyright issue is only one of the issues that is driving me to leave; it by itself is not the last straw, and I was getting along fine the way things were. You needn’t lecture me as to what I should and should not do; legally, I could have been fired for MAKING copies of the stuff, as it’s against store policy, just as much as she threatened to fire me for NOT making copies. Your apparent attitude that I’m the one in the wrong for not meekly shutting up and taking my orders is the reason I’m so bitter about it.
There’s two other options that haven’t been raised:
Not admitting your current employment to potential employers in the first place. You’re a student, right? This should be relatively easy to get away with.
Is your copy shop a franchise of a national corporation, like Kinko’s? Maybe you could go over the head of your jerkoff boss and get her in trouble with some corporate muckety-muck. If your boss gets the ax, you’ll either move up to her job or get a different boss, who couldn’t possibly be any worse… but if I’m wrong, you’ll still have the first option to revert to.