My first few interviews I tried to be positive. Even I almost vomited in my mouth from how fake I was being. As I’ve gotten bolder and more confident, I am honest and brief. The last employer said, “we all have these stories, and at least you’re able to talk about them with compassion and respect.” We do ourselves a disservice by assuming all employers want to hear the “right” answers. I believe that really good employers want to talk candidly.

http://www.wetfeet.com/Experienced-Hire/Getting-hired/Articles/The-Do%E2%80%99s-and-Don%E2%80%99ts-of-Explaining-Your-Recession-L.aspx

- Lewis, Seattle Interview Coach

Kudos. That’s the other half of the story. The point of answering an interview question is not to win the job. It’s to figure out whether the job is the right one for you. Don’t just try to come up with the “right” answer – give the honest answer and watch the manager carefully for the reaction. Then ask yourself, Is this for me?

Interviews are two-way streets and I fear this is forgotten way too often.

When I first started in the work world I noticed some safety issues with how our workers were using an industrial machine and I brought the issues to the boss’s attention. The boss told me not to worry about it as it only looked dangerous (from my perspective as an admin asst) but that all employees had received proper training and it had all safety guards in place so no one could ever misuse the equipment. Three days later a worker was pulled through the safety bars into the machine. His foot was so badly damaged he had to have it amputated at the age of 18. I learned a very hard lesson deeply and thoroughly. That lesson was to always ask why a process or procedure is in place that doesn’t make sense or that I don’t agree with (not on a personal level but from a professional level and in a professioanl way) and to keep digging until I find out why.

By asking why and probing until I understand all of the components and key players I have developed into an excellent project manager as evidenced by X,Y,Z projects. My success in managing projects continually reinforces my belief that asking “why” is vital to me as a person and as a professional. At the first professional place I worked asking why was strongly encouraged within HR because it brought about results and enabled learning to the degree needed by HR to solve problems within the organization. I was laid off along with 30% of their employees as a result of this economy combined with my lack of seniority.

I found this new job because of my ability to manage projects and get results. I am leaving because asking “why” isn’t framed the same way within my current employer, asking why is seen as questioning authority, not assimilating into the team environment, and reaching far beyond my station as an HR Generalist. My bosses love what I do for them and will strongly recommend my skills, technical abilities and probably express extreme disappointment in my leaving because they really need my skill set but I think even they would say that asking why is part of my nature and doesn’t fit in with the culture.

I am here with you because I think your company culture embraces the belief that asking why helps you learn and be able to mentor future employees. I also think asking why will help me analyze data, manage projects and be detailed oriented enough to help you do XYZ as described on your website and in the job description…

But if the reason is negative, problems arise. At it’s core the question is: What do you say if you left because your boss was a jerk?

I agree with Marcia that many cases have two sides which one could discuss, but as Neva pointed out, not always. Therefore, I think one should be allowed to say that you left because the boss was a jerk without the fear for not getting the job.

However, the right way to formulate it is probably not “he was a jerk” but “I had some peronal difficulties/conflicts/strong disagreements with my boss” – brief, but honest. If they probe further, may be the best is up front say that “you may not like this, I hope it will not scare you, in case please tell me” – and then simply tell the truth; avoid bad words, but mention specific disagreements, say that the boss was angry or didn’t appreciate your work.This way, you show the hiring manager that you understand his concerns.

I just have to comment.

Don’t assume that your candidate contributed to the failed relationship in his/her previous job. I’ve been in the workforce long enough (in management and as part of the troops) to know that is not always the case. Often but definitely not always.

Having said that, as I said in my post, I recognize that one has to be professional, but it would be so much better if we allowed frank conversations (albeit with all causes and contributors on the table), with an eye to the future. The cloud and judgement over open, honest discussions make the job market doubly difficult and superficial for both employers and job seekers.

Look to what your candidate can do for you in the future; not to a personality clash somewhere else in the past. The people in the past were different. The management was different. The environment was different.

HR once advised me not to hire a candidate because he had received a poor performance review and had been embroiled in a hellish personality clash. It turned out that he was overqualified for his job and that resulted in tensions. His qualifications were exactly what we needed. His personality fitted in well with our stressful financial services environment. We determined that by talking to him. We never even phoned the previous manager. Had I listened to HR, we would have missed the best candidate.

A person’s performance in a dysfunctional office vs. a well managed office can be like night and day.

The candidate, whose previous boss gives you a bad reference, may be the very best person for the job. You don’t want to miss out, because of any insecurities about the ability of your management to focus on strengths and give the opportunity for each and every employee to shine; to manage potential personality clashes before they happen.

Also, for legal reasons, these days many, if not most, companies do not allow their managers to give out information about previous employees; and HR will only confirm that the person worked there for a certain period.

If a manager were to give someone a lousy reference, I would question the manager and his/her motives. Why would he/she find it either decent or useful to give someone a bad reference. It serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever, other than to sabotage another person’s future. It’s a lose/lose game.

There is no need for it, unless the person concerned had committed some criminal or egregious act and then the matter should be referred to HR/legal to handle with the barest of facts — just enough for the potential employer to get the drift.

“When I finish a painting, I don’t wait around to watch the paint dry.”