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Suppose you left a company because your coworkers were very difficult to work with. Poor communication, weird social dynamics, that kind of thing. Explaining t

Suppose you left a company because your coworkers were very difficult to work with. Poor communication, weird social dynamics, that kind of thing. Explaining that without coming across as a "troublemaker" can be pretty difficult. You just sound like you're ragging on the company / people rather than explaining the issues well. And do you really want to get in a deep conversation about cultural issues at your previous company?

jaaron 7y ago
Then just be honest and say it. "I left this organization because I felt uncomfortable there. If you want more detail I can provide it." And yes, as the hiring manager, I may want to understand the cultural issues at your last company. Why? Because I want to understand (a) what you value, (b) how you deal with conflict, (c) will you be able to help me improve our culture here and (d) what cultural issues you may or may not bring with you. If I'm going to help you be successful here, I do want to understand your background. I may not need all that information before hiring, but I will get to it eventually because it's pertinent to helping you and the team succeed.
- aspaceman 7y ago
  The point is that it's a negative thing to talk about, and frankly sometimes you can't just turn it into a positive story of what you value and how you deal with conflict. Sometimes a person sees bad shit and just runs, and that's a valid approach. Psychoanalyzing every decision they make is the trap of interviewing.
  - modwest 7y ago
    Agreed, and to move up one level of meta, the interviewer should be thinking about this kind of analysis when they construct their interview process/system. “How can I moderate this conversation so the questions themselves are not obstructing the candidate’s answers?”
scarface74 7y ago
I’ve answered that very honestly. “the software development manager was originally hired to bring new thinking into a company in $small_town so he spearheaded opening an office in $bigger_city. After awhile, the old guard pushed him and my manager out and that left us without a voice in the satellite office and our input was ignored. I want to be somewhere which allows me to be impactful”.
- scarface74 7y ago
  I should also add on, that it helped in that situation that I had two levels of management that respected me and who I used as references. It would have been a lot harder to explain if I actively didn’t get along with my managers.

jaaron 7y ago

Then just be honest and say it. "I left this organization because I felt uncomfortable there. If you want more detail I can provide it." And yes, as the hiring manager, I may want to understand the cultural issues at your last company. Why? Because I want to understand (a) what you value, (b) how you deal with conflict, (c) will you be able to help me improve our culture here and (d) what cultural issues you may or may not bring with you. If I'm going to help you be successful here, I do want to understand your background. I may not need all that information before hiring, but I will get to it eventually because it's pertinent to helping you and the team succeed.

aspaceman 7y ago
The point is that it's a negative thing to talk about, and frankly sometimes you can't just turn it into a positive story of what you value and how you deal with conflict. Sometimes a person sees bad shit and just runs, and that's a valid approach. Psychoanalyzing every decision they make is the trap of interviewing.
- modwest 7y ago
  Agreed, and to move up one level of meta, the interviewer should be thinking about this kind of analysis when they construct their interview process/system. “How can I moderate this conversation so the questions themselves are not obstructing the candidate’s answers?”

scarface74 7y ago

I’ve answered that very honestly. “the software development manager was originally hired to bring new thinking into a company in $small_town so he spearheaded opening an office in $bigger_city. After awhile, the old guard pushed him and my manager out and that left us without a voice in the satellite office and our input was ignored. I want to be somewhere which allows me to be impactful”.

scarface74 7y ago
I should also add on, that it helped in that situation that I had two levels of management that respected me and who I used as references. It would have been a lot harder to explain if I actively didn’t get along with my managers.