How to Discuss Your Bad Work Experiences in a Job Interview

Finding a decent job involves going through a stringent process. Among all the challenges associated with the recruitment process, the job interview is without a doubt one of the most important stages that has a significant impact on the hiring board’s ultimate choice. One of the most important topics to touch on before determining whether or not the corporate culture would fit you is to discuss the bitter job experiences that you may have had in your previous organizations. Hence, Stephanie Heath, the creator of SoulWork, describes how to discuss your unpleasant work experiences in a job interview in this audio episode on the Find Your Dream Job channel.

Discuss your bad work experiences in a job interview

Stephanie stated that some of the most prevalent difficulties that could be perceived as unpleasant job experiences include getting laid off, harassment, covid issues, and finally, a less inclusive atmosphere. This causes candidates to bring the same nervousness to their job interviews, which may negatively impact their first impression of the recruiters. She says that rather than hiding bad job experiences out of the fear of being rejected, it is always preferable to discuss them professionally.

Stephanie’s first tip for effectively discussing difficult work experiences in a job interview is to take accountability for your role in the situation. She suggests taking ownership of your role in the situation and expressing what you learned and how you would handle a similar issue in the future. Second, she advises determining the best way to bring up the matter during the job interview. Most commonly, during the interview, there are certain essential questions addressed, to which framing the poor work experiences as a few of the challenges faced by you in your previous positions might be an efficient method to talk about them.

Finally, she advises that if something unjust happens to you in any of your professional positions, you should discuss it with someone in your network to obtain their opinion on the problem. This is due to the fact that when we approach an issue emotionally, we tend to overlook a few essential elements that should have been noted. Getting a fresh opinion might help you see things more clearly.

Talking up your unpleasant work experiences during a job interview may be difficult, and many applicants avoid doing so out of fear of being rejected. The aforementioned are a few ideas to consider while discussing them properly.