should you talk bad about previous employers in interviews?
Pepe Silvia
Posts: 3,758
i always thought no, they don't want to hear that so i didn't. i had an interview a few weeks ago that went really well, they asked if i ever had any bad experiences but i didn't give them any, i thought about it but didn't....i called their hr lady who set up the interview and she said a previous employer had told them i was chronically late, which isn't true at all.
i was a quality engineer for a company that made a line of products, when the economy started going down the shitter the president of the facility was replaced with some former saleman turned exec. and as usually happens when you get people in charge only worried about profits things go down hill. there were a lot of changes, some of which violated federal laws. they screwed a lot of people out of money, had several osha and safety violations, sold products they knew had a pretty good chance of failing....i didn't get screwed out of any money but i know several people that did. to sum it up they changed how over time was determined, the main problem being their new rules violated federal law. i tried to bring it up, nicely, at a meeting and the head of hr walked out saying she didn't have time for this but i was assured by another manager they followed and upheld every law.
eventually i called the dept of labor and tell the guy a decent sized list of violations and he says he'll look into it. this schmohawk calls the company and gives them my phone number!!! i later ask wtf??? and he says i never expressed a desire for anonymity and i said i thought that was pretty much implied, if someone calls in a domestic abuse or murder the cops don't tell them you're the one that called! i had given him a fake name when i called and he said they told him that person didn't work there so he gave them my number, he had to verify my story :roll: i had already told him some of the violations were in print and to ask them to fax them a copy and gave him the date they distributed it.
so now i'm royally screwed. i had been looking for a job but there really weren't any to be had. next thing i know my supervisor gives me a sheet from hr writing me up for being late 4 times in almost as many months, the last of those being several months prior! back then i had a girlfriend that had kids and in all those cases i was late because of taking one to a doctor's appointment (which i would tell my boss well in advance) or one of them getting sick and having to pick them up at school (in which cases i would call my boss at work or his cell phone and tell him and in all cases i would stay over and make up the time i was late!!) the warning also said pretty much since i had a problem of chronically being late if i was late once more i could be fired. i wasn't late again and was eventually laid off.
but i feel like i really can't say something like this in an interview.....
i was a quality engineer for a company that made a line of products, when the economy started going down the shitter the president of the facility was replaced with some former saleman turned exec. and as usually happens when you get people in charge only worried about profits things go down hill. there were a lot of changes, some of which violated federal laws. they screwed a lot of people out of money, had several osha and safety violations, sold products they knew had a pretty good chance of failing....i didn't get screwed out of any money but i know several people that did. to sum it up they changed how over time was determined, the main problem being their new rules violated federal law. i tried to bring it up, nicely, at a meeting and the head of hr walked out saying she didn't have time for this but i was assured by another manager they followed and upheld every law.
eventually i called the dept of labor and tell the guy a decent sized list of violations and he says he'll look into it. this schmohawk calls the company and gives them my phone number!!! i later ask wtf??? and he says i never expressed a desire for anonymity and i said i thought that was pretty much implied, if someone calls in a domestic abuse or murder the cops don't tell them you're the one that called! i had given him a fake name when i called and he said they told him that person didn't work there so he gave them my number, he had to verify my story :roll: i had already told him some of the violations were in print and to ask them to fax them a copy and gave him the date they distributed it.
so now i'm royally screwed. i had been looking for a job but there really weren't any to be had. next thing i know my supervisor gives me a sheet from hr writing me up for being late 4 times in almost as many months, the last of those being several months prior! back then i had a girlfriend that had kids and in all those cases i was late because of taking one to a doctor's appointment (which i would tell my boss well in advance) or one of them getting sick and having to pick them up at school (in which cases i would call my boss at work or his cell phone and tell him and in all cases i would stay over and make up the time i was late!!) the warning also said pretty much since i had a problem of chronically being late if i was late once more i could be fired. i wasn't late again and was eventually laid off.
but i feel like i really can't say something like this in an interview.....
don't compete; coexist
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
Post edited by Unknown User on
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take a good look
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i just need to say
I was asked something similar at the interview of my last job, and why it was I was looking elsewhere for employment, and I told them that due to continuing changes in management (3 different store owners in 12 months) I didn't feel there was any continuity in the way the store was managed and that I was after something more stable and the obvious "new challenges".
In your situation, I would leave them off your references and if asked about it just say that due to your personal situation at that time, the management and yourself chose to agree to disagree to your requirements and you decided it was best to move on. And state that the situation you where in then has changed and the flexibility you required is no longer an issue.
There are ways of saying what is needed to be said whilst being diplomatic and not burning bridges.
This is 100% true. My mother used to run the business that I worked for and she said that you basically can only answer if the employee had worked there or not. you are very limited on what you can say.
Not sure if an opinion with so many "as far as I knows", "Pretty sures" and "probablys" garners much cred!
lol we can never make up our minds
i am considering talking about this at the interview. When they ask, how would your old boss rate your work? And i could say, he was a very intense and scary individual, but through hard work and doing my job to the best of my abilities, i won his respect and that is one of the things i am most proud of. That i was one of the few employees he liked.
Can i use the boss's actions to my advantage as in the above actions? He was yelling at others, but nice to me?
Not entirely true... you can say that an employee was late or didn't show up or anything that you can really back up with documentation (if sued or whatever). Almost any companies' policy is not to give out any of that info though, just to avoid these kinds of situations.
I never put any stock in references from old employers, unless I know someone at that company where I can get an off the record reference. 99% you just get the generic dates of employment.
For the OP, I'm amazed that the new company would tell you what your old company said... Unless you have some sort of relationship with this new hr lady, I can't imagine any HR person that I know actually giving out that info instead of the generic "we have several qualified candidates, and we went with a different person, blah blah blah".
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
This is true. I know some consultants and whenever they go to get another gig they use me as a reference and whenever the new company calls to verify their employment I am only allowed to give dates and that's about it. Anything else would get my company into trouble.
But to answer the OP's question, I would just be honest when asked about previous bad experiences. It happens to everyone at one point or another.
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MTL-9/15/05, OTT-9/16/05
PHL-5/27/06,5/28/06,10/30/09,10/31/09
CHI-8/2/07,8/5/07,8/23/09,8/24/09
HTFD-6/27/08
ATX-10/4/09, 10/12/14
KC-5/3/2010,STL-5/4/2010
Bridge School-10/23/2010,10/24/2010
PJ20-9/3/2011,9/4/2011
OKC-11/16/13
SEA-12/6/13
TUL-10/8/14
edit: that being said, it looks like you got screwed Pepe. I would simply not bring it up and don't list that person as a reference.
Wish you were here...
♥~RIP Dad
I don't see anything wrong with this........just emphasize that you were able to earn his respect. Thats the important part.