Quitting within 6 months because of poor working conditions. How to mention it to a recruiter?

Question

I recently quit my first full time position after just 6 months. I have had several internships in past so it was not my first position.

My main reasons for quitting were,

• Very long working hours: 10 hours/day compared to 8 hours/day which is normal here everywhere.

• Micromanagement: Lots of it. I had to give update 2-3 times a day.

• Too heavy a workload: Staring at screen constantly without being able to take a break also used to hurt my eyes.

• No vacations: Although I was allowed x paid vacations per year, they were always rejected every time I applied for them during my time. Later I was also suggested to ask 1-2 months in advance in future.

• Lack of senior developers: My colleagues were around same level as me, and I am not even a senior developer.

• Lack of quality code or even initiatives: It was development agency and their goal was to ship product ASAP without proper testing whatsoever. I tried to take initiatives in ways such as refactoring code I am working on, but my boss used to push me work fast and deliver working results, rather than spending time doing this.

So far, the only reason I have told recruiters is that I quit was due to poor working conditions, and when they ask, go on to tell about the 10 hour days.

My friend suggested it's not a good enough reason to mention to a recruiter and that it may reflect poorly on me.

How should I handle the question "Why did you leave your last position" in the future?

Answer 1

I agree with your friend.

Focus on the "forced us to ship without enough testing" and "lack of senior developers". Anything else could be misinterpreted by the recruiter who could weed you out just because that recruiter does not know any better.

That being said, make sure that you don't end up with a similar employer again in the future.

When being interviewed, and near the end of your interview, you can ask to speak to your future co-workers and ask questions such as what is your typical work day here.

For instance, at what time did you go home last night? And at what time did you come in the morning? Is that pretty regular? And what about crunch time? What happens if you have a deadline? Until what time do you work? Do you also work on weekends?

And if they ask you "why", "Would that be a problem?", you could just say, no, no problem. It's just that if you work 12 hours a day, I know to ask for way more money (since I'll probably be exempt from receiving overtime pay).

Answer 2

The best policy for any interview question is always, be honest.

However, within the realm of honesty, you obviously need to tailor your responses to meet your goals.

So - before thinking of your answer, you need to ask yourself: what is my goal during this hiring process?

If your goal is to avoid working for a certain type of company, then you can tailor your answer appropriately. That may result in you not getting a job offer (as has already happened per your comment on another answer) but sometimes, not getting an offer is a good thing if the company would have been a poor fit.

Besides honesty, another good interview policy for any answer is, when talking about negatives, take the time to show how you've learned or grown. Once again, you need to balance this against your own goals. You mentioned being unhappy because your last employer had no senior developers. I'm guessing that made you upset because it meant there was no one to mentor or guide you. So: instead of just saying, "they had no senior developers," you can say,

what I've learned is that I'm interested in an environment where I can continuously grow, regardless of my own level of seniority or experience. My last employer really wasn't able to offer any sort of mentorship, continuing education, or other growth opportunities.

That way, you're being honest, you're helping them understand a factor that's important to you, and you're avoiding the impression that you just like to complain about your past employer.

All that said, as a footnote: It's important to also take time to reflect on your own contribution to the problem of "poor working conditions." You mention things like vacation requests requiring a certain lead time - that's common with lots of employers. And having to give updates 2 or 3 times a day seems pretty reasonable for a junior employee who may need extra guidance. Make sure you're learning from this experience about the importance of understanding and reviewing policies as appropriate, upfront, and taking things in context, before blaming the employer.

Answer 3

You could say the position was not a good fit for your skills, and as such you left the company to find a position that did. If they ask what a typical day entailed, you can briefly tell them what went on, but not elaborate unless they ask.