Employer

So... What Didnt You Like About Your Last Job/Employer As weve said before, when it comes to job interviews, there are always a couple of questions that are guaranteed to appear. From Why should we hire you? to Where do you see yourself five years from now?, these questions are almost a dead cert so its always worth putting some time and effort in ahead of time to ensure youre not left struggling to find a decent answer. Now, in addition to these guaranteed questions, theres also a collection of possible questions which might crop up but it all depends on the employer, their approach to interviewing and what they actually want to know about you as a candidate. The What didnt you like about your last job/employer? definitely falls into this category. Needless to say, this ones tricky for a couple of reasons. The main issue? When it comes to answering this particular question, it can be all too easy and tempting to break into a full blown rant about how much you hate your current boss, how youre sick of being treated as a dogsbody and how you cant wait to quit your rubbish job. The problem? Rant too much and you could end up talking yourself out of the job and alienating the interviewer who might be on good terms with your current boss (some industries are extremely small!). On the other side of the coin, if you say theres nothing you dont like about your last job or employer, youre going to leave the interviewer confused as to why youre looking to move on and it could leave them  as to how truthful youre actually being I mean, no one likes every aspect of their job do they?! When it comes to answering this question, the key is to try and be as professional and respectable to your old employer and position as possible. OK, so you probably dont like them or it (you are interviewing for a new job after all!), but that doesnt necessarily give you the right to bad-mouth them in a professional capacity, particularly when youre talking to a prospective new employer. Hmm, so what should you say then? Well, just like any other interview question, its important to be as truthful and professional as you can be but remember, tact can go a long way! Think realistically about the specifics that you didnt like or agree with in your last role or place of work and try and pinpoint exactly what the issue is. Remember, its all about trying to be objective and professional so try and keep personal feelings out of it. Yes, you might have had a number of blazing rows with your last employer and think theyre a total loser who should in no way be in a management position but its probably best not to admit that in a job interview. Again, if you want to make a comment on your old employer, try and keep it professional and talk about their management style, rather than their personality and personal attributes. Like I said earlier, this question is particularly tricky to answer because its all about finding the right balance in your answer. But there is one answer thats always guaranteed to succeed: saying your old job wasnt challenging enough. This one is successful for two reasons. Firstly, employers want candidates who are ambitious and want to be challenged so As ever, Im keen to hear what you guys think. Have you successfully answered this question in the past? Or are you a recruiter who has some great tips on how to approach this question? Leave a comment below.