Moving on from a toxic office

By Daisy Carrington, amNewYork Deputy Features Editor | dcarrington@am-ny.com

June 4, 2007

At my previous job, I was harassed and later terminated in retaliation for filing a complaint. When going on job interviews, how should I answer the question "Why did you leave your last job?" without bad-mouthing the company I used to work for?
-- Starting anew

You are right to want to focus on the positive. Regardless of the situation, hiring agents tend to regard any negative comment about a previous employer as a red flag. That said, make sure that neither your lips nor your body language convey any ill will toward your previous employer.

"Any emotion that you have left over from a previous job is going to show up in your next interview," says Maggie Mistal, a career consultant and host of "Making a Living" on Martha Stewart Living Radio SIRIUS 112.

"If you're angry or upset about a situation from your old job, the interviewer is going to take a cue from that and say, 'Hmm, something happened.'

It taints the individual and gives the interviewer a reason to rule them out."

Try answering the question with an honest, straightforward approach. One possible answer is, "It was a very educational experience. I learned a lot from it, but ultimately it just wasn't a good fit."

You can then use the question as an opportunity to segue into why you know the company you're applying to would be a better fit.

However, if you have any residual resentment from your last job, you'll probably want to deal with that as soon as you can.

"When exiting from a bad situation, the biggest problem for people is getting over the anger. You really have to make peace with the situation, forgive yourself and the other person for what happened," Mistal says. "Do anything you can, whether it's meditating, going to therapy or talking to a coach."

Also, carefully observe the environment of the office you're interviewing in so you know you're not entering into a similar situation. Mistal advises paying close attention to the attitude and expressions of employees around the office.

"Look at people's faces. When you're walking down the hall, do the employees say hello? Or do they have scowls? You can tell if the employees don't feel happy just by looking at them."