How to Talk About a Previous Job in an Interview

Author: Paul Michael / Source: Wise Bread

There are several gotcha questions that interviewers can and often do ask. One classic is, “Tell me about your weaknesses.” That one is easy enough to sidestep. But when you’re asked to talk about your previous or current employer, or the boss, you must tread lightly.

If you answer this question the wrong way, or are brutally honest, it can backfire drastically. (See also: How to Answer 23 of the Most Common Interview Questions)

Never go on the attack

There’s a high probability that the reason you’re interviewing for another job is because you don’t like your current one. Even if you were laid off or quit, and it has been many months since you were at your previous company, you may still harbor some severe ill will. None of this should seep into your interview.

The question is going to come up at some point, and you need to get your poker face ready if the answer to, “Tell me about your last job” is, “It totally sucked.” There are ways to turn negatives into positives, and you should focus on those techniques. Phrases like, “Every day presented an exciting new challenge” and, “There were a diverse array of people who all found a way to work together” are better than saying nothing at all.

So, why shouldn’t you go on the attack? Why is it so bad to be honest about your current or previous nightmare experience? Well, for a start, it’s subjective. Your experience may have been terrible, but that’s just one side of the story. Your employer doesn’t know everything, and may think you are just being overly-critical or have sour grapes.

If you didn’t get on with the people, especially your supervisor, that can be another red flag to the interviewer. Why didn’t you get along? Are you difficult? Are you unable or unwilling to resolve conflict? Why should the interviewer take a chance on hiring you when you could be the issue?

Even if the interviewer insists on you providing one aspect of your current or previous job that was difficult or irritating, don’t take the bait. Again, think of a positive way to phrase it. If you had a nightmare coworker who stole your ideas and blamed you for mistakes, say something like, “There was a colleague that could be overly critical from time to time, but we always found a way to get to the heart of the matter, resolve those issues, and get the job…

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