Good 'reason for leaving' for prospective employers

C

Caveat

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Hi

A friend of mine has been in a niche public sector position for about 1 year - had been in another niche public sector area for the preceding 4 years or so.

Basically, he wants out - he feels the move from private to public was a bad idea generally but the current position is almost intolerable. Terrible management, unprofessionalism, utter disorganisation, laziness and office politics are the main reasons for leaving.

When going for interviews for new (private sector) positions what would be regarded an acceptable reason for leaving a position after 1 year? One year in a job rarely sounds good.

Would appreciate any suggestions/advice
 
Not necessarily, he could say it is a commuting issue, that after working in the public service now for 5 years he want to work in the private sector.
 
The reasons posted above should be enough. Stating the move was disappointing and they felt under resourced and that ambitions could not be met there. A positive spin can be put on most reasons for leaving and i wouldn't see leaving after one year as a negative point, at least they tried to stick it out.
 
I think that outlining the reasons as stated by the OP would go down well. He's not lazy and is professional in how he does his work. Sounds good to me.
 
Thanks so far - sounds reasonable I suppose.

I think he's so distracted by the real reasons that anything else sounds like a poor excuse!
 
Purple said:
I think that outlining the reasons as stated by the OP would go down well. He's not lazy and is professional in how he does his work. Sounds good to me.
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Are you serious? I always thought that 'dissing' a previous employer - even if it's true - was a big no no at interviews, even if you are circumspect about it.
 
I think it's a bad move to explicitly criticise a former employer, managers or colleagues in an interview even if it is actually justified. Better to put a positive spin on things - e.g. not challenging enough (as mentioned above), looking for a different working environment (e.g. smaller versus bigger company, process orientated versus dynamic/creative approach etc. etc.).
 
I agree with Clubman on this issue - I have always looked for positive reasons for leaving rather than negative. A new employer will be wary of an employee who is critical of current/previous employees as they might come across as troublemakers, no matter what the justification is.
 
God, that sounds where I used to work in the public sector!! I stayed 15 months, moved to the private sector as I didn't like what I saw in the public.TBH, I was straight up with prospective employers, in terms of my reason for leaving, without totally going for the jugular, and also focussing on the positive rather than the negative aspects!! I think most people working in the private sector have an idea (not always correct!) what the public sector is like. I must admit, not as cushy as lead to believe, but (in my experience) riddled with politics, cronyism and bullying... glad to be out of it.
 
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I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the job did not turn out as expected and then expanding on that without slagging off the employer/manager/colleagues/processes etc.
 
Everybody in the private sector will have that anti public sector bias so reinforcing it in an interview will do no harm.
I would leave out the office politics bit but other than that it's fine.
 
Purple said:
Everybody in the private sector will have that anti public sector bias so reinforcing it in an interview will do no harm.
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I don't and I know plenty of others who don't too. I have never worked in the public sector other than a summer job in a semi state between third and fourth year in college. If I was interviewing somebody and they started slagging off their former employers/managers/colleagues etc. then I would mark them down for that - regardless of whether they were coming from a public, semi-state or private sector job.
 
Purple said:
Everybody in the private sector will have that anti public sector bias so reinforcing it in an interview will do no harm.
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That's an incredibly generalised and ill-informed comment - but is pretty typical of the type of anti-public sector vile I've come to expect on this board.

I have worked in the public sector for the past number of years and the comments of the OP do not in any way mirror my working environment. I am surrounded by hard working, dedicated and committed professionals who provide an excellent service to the public at a fraction of the cost that would be charged by private sector companies. I'm not naive enough to think that the public sector does not have inefficiencies - but to sully the professionalism of hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens with a sweeping generalisation such as yours, I find contemptuous.

Many many private sector companies are dependent on contracts from the public service to keep in business and would therefore be unlikely to share your tendentious, ill-considered views.
 
Purple said:
Everybody in the private sector will have that anti public sector bias so reinforcing it in an interview will do no harm.
I would leave out the office politics bit but other than that it's fine.
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I can't agree with that. What does it say about the OP's friend that he stayed in such an environment for a total of 5 years? I don't believe he'll get away with bad mouthing the previous employer(s) without it reflecting poorly on him.
 
They are not my views, I was making a general comment about the anti public sector bias in the private sector. That's why I referred to it as a bias.
 
Purple said:
They are not my views, I was making a general comment about the anti public sector bias in the private sector. That's why I referred to it as a bias.
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You said that this bias was universal. A single exception (e.g. me) disproves that hypothesis. And I know that I am not the only exception.
Purple said:
Everybody in the private sector will have that anti public sector bias so reinforcing it in an interview will do no harm.
I would leave out the office politics bit but other than that it's fine.
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rmelly said:
What does it say about the OP's friend that he stayed in such an environment for a total of 5 years?
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It says that he is dedicated and not a quitter IMO.

In general his experience has not been good but in the original post, the specific comments I mention only relate to the last year.

Thanks to all for the comments/advice.
 
Caveat said:
It says that he is dedicated and not a quitter IMO.
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Not an unreasonable analysis - especially if, when interviewed, they support this with some background info and evidence (e.g. about things that they saw as wrong or not ideal and how they worked to improve them - even if they failed in this endeavour).
 

Agreed, but this approach won't succeed if he bad mouths previous employers as Purple suggested - which was my point.
 
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