How to Explain Why You Left Your Job at Your Next Interview

When you are at your next job interview you don’t want to say that you left your job because of a bad boss, poor working conditions or bad employees. These reasons will just reflect back on you and give the impression that you couldn’t handle the job well, following instructions or work well with other people. However you can put a different spin on why you left your previous job to make it more acceptable.

Blame it on Burnout- It would be more acceptable to an employer that the reason why you left was because you became physically and mentally drained and that you needed time off to recharge. Explain that you loved your job and got along well with the other workers but you just needed the time off for health reasons.

Industry Change- Explain to your interviewer that you needed time off to re-examine your career and passion. Making a switch to a different industry would be an acceptable reason for leaving your job. Even if the job you are interviewing for is of the same type that you were doing, it would be in a different industry.

Family leave- If you needed to take extended time off for a sick family member, childcare or elderly care, by all means say that at the interview. The Family and Medical Leave Act don’t provided workers with enough time off and protection for this type of leave.

Last but not least- If none of the above falls into your category, examine your reason for leaving. Remember that your reason for leaving can not reflect in anyway that you could not handle your job, get along with your co-workers or your boss. This would only suggest to your interviewer that you may have these same problems if you were hired.