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I've been trying to figure out what's the best way to explain to an interviewer why I quit my job I only had for a month.

I worked for a call center company and was on the phones all day. I started getting stressed out and got sick and started having coughing fits and had to see the doctor.

It turns out I don't like being on the phones and it was making me stress out. I'm also an aspie so I knew the job wouldn't be right for me but I wanted to try to break out of it and go out of my comfort zone but it backfired on me and I learned my lesson. I ended up telling my supervisor all this and she said she understands and let me know that its up to me what I want to do from then on.

I ended up resigning because being on the phones affected me so much mentally and physically.

With that being said, how do I explain to the next employer why I left my previous job without saying all this in a way they will understand and not probe me with more questions about it?

L.Dutch
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Tasia
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  • When you took the job, was it clear you were going to be on the phones all day? – Tas Mar 13 '18 at 00:39
  • Are you not wishing to disclose to your potentially new employer that you're an aspie? – Tas Mar 13 '18 at 00:41
  • Does the job you are applying for require you to take phones all day, or have you do something that you might be "allergic" to? – Masked Man Mar 13 '18 at 00:44
  • How long ago was this? Are you applying for a similar (e.g., customer-facing) job, or something in a different field? – cag51 Mar 13 '18 at 01:22
  • This was a month ago. It was a work from home position and I want to continue working from home. I want to apply either for a chat representative instead or something like data entry or any remote job I can do that doesn't involve speaking to customers over the phone. I'm not sure if I want to disclose that I am an aspie because it may reduce my chances of being hired. Plus if they ask about documents as proof, I don't have up to date papers because they expired last year and I tried to get them renewed but I was told I have to get a written approval of a psychiatrist which I cannot afford. – Tasia Mar 13 '18 at 02:15
  • I was a technical advisor so I was definitely required to be on the phones. I knew I had to take calls when I applied but I wanted to endure it till I was able to work as a chat advisor but I found out the company doesn't do chat support. – Tasia Mar 13 '18 at 02:17
  • @Tasia - if you work from home you would probably have to spend some time on the phone - even if it's chatting with your boss/colleagues. – komodosp Mar 13 '18 at 09:12
  • Are there any other reasons you could use as excuses to quit the previous job? e.g. I left my previous job because of deteriorating working conditions, poor pay and unreasonably increasing workload, but I told my new boss it's because the company was moving to another city (which was true but they would have let me work from home) and that I found the type of work I was applying for more interesting (which was also true but not the reason I was leaving). – komodosp Mar 13 '18 at 09:17
  • Relevant: Is it OK to leave very short-term employment off my resume? – David K Mar 13 '18 at 12:11
  • @colmde I am ok with speaking with bosses and colleagues. Its just customers on the phones I rather not do. – Tasia Mar 13 '18 at 19:25

1 Answers1

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You have two Options:

  1. Don´t mention this job. A one-month gap is nothing these days and it will not bring you any significant bonus to have that in your CV.

  2. Tell that being on the phone constantly is not the right occupation for you. You don´t want another job where you have to do that anyways, so this should not count agonist you in an interview. If they inquire further, try to tailor this for the job you are aiming for, i.e. for the data-entry job say you want more concentrated work than the constant switching and so on - see how you could turn your weakness in the last job into a strengt for the one you are applying to.

Daniel
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  • Thanks for your answer. I thought of not including the job in my resume but if I am applying for another work from home job and they ask if I worked from home before (which I have been asked during an interview before) , they will want to know more about that job and possibly why I left so soon. – Tasia Mar 13 '18 at 19:37
  • @Tasia One month isn't a lot of experience. It's not going to make or break. Just leave it off. – user70848 Mar 13 '18 at 22:47