How to explain leaving a job due to bullying

To explain leaving a job due to bullying you need to be transparent and direct, talk about your decision to leave, and highlight what you learned from the previous job. Here are some details on these tips and others to help you explain leaving a job due to bullying:

• Be transparent and direct

  You need to be honest, transparent, and direct. Let your potential employer know the reasons you left the job, feel free to go into some detail, but don't get too extensive. You should not speak too negatively of your previous employer, the workplace, or ex-colleagues, just emphasize the fact that you had some unpleasant experiences while working there.

• Talk about your decision to leave

  This is important, while you do need to tell your potential employer why you left your last job, ultimately you should focus more on the fact that you made the decision to leave, rather than just going into a long and detailed explanation of the bullying. This shows that you are a proactive person that demands respect, and should be viewed upon favorably.

• Positivity

  You should focus on the positive experiences you have had during the previous job, even if the experience was more of a net negative. Touch on any skills you picked up while working in this job, detail how it helped you grow, and highlight the ways in which it will help you with this new potential job opportunity.

• Shift the focus

  Regardless of the exact approach you choose to use in explaining this, you should then try to pivot your explanation at some point to focus on the new opportunity with this potential employer. You should make it clear that this potential new job is not one that you are excited for and detail your fitness for the role.