During a job interview- how to answer..UPDATE

Been at my current job for 11 years. Manufacturing - plastic injection molding. I have reasons important to me for being willing to leave. I wont go into the details but I will say I am currently in good standing with my employer and would part ways professionally with the proper two week notice and no shenanigans during the final two weeks. So during the interview at a potential new employer how does one CORRECTLY answer the age old question: "What do you not like about your current job? Thanks.

UPDATE 06/24/2022: I start at the facility I was pursuing on July 11th. Ultra modern shop with impressive automation and best of all- their reputation is fantastic. Interviews went well and I have already given 2 weeks notice to my current employer. Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions. An added benefit- I was satisfied with my current salary but the new job is paying me more than $5 MORE per hour! They were confident in me. Thanks again everyone!
Mike

Looking for a new challenge

No opportunity for advancement. Also you could say "There's nothing I don't like about my job BUT ..." and then ad a reason you want to leave.

Thanks for the input thus far guys.

You already know why you want to leave. I interpret your question as, "I know why I want to leave but if I honestly say why, I won't get another job, so what do I say." If that is the case, telling anything but the truth is a falsehood, plain and simple. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't spin your reasons in the most acceptable way, that is just part of the game. I'm also not saying you should bare your soul during an interview. But I've found that in an interview if you minimize your negatives and accent your positives accurately, you will generally be better off in the end.

I always stated the honest answer. You know why you want to leave, don't lie to a prospective interviewer, it never works out well...

I do know its never good to bash your current employer and answering that question carefully and honestly can still come off as bashing and maybe even whining. Employers hear complaints so frequent it makes their head spin and I want to avoid that. I have read the generally accepted answers stated at various sites- but I know many moparts members are business owners and have insight from the other side of the interview desk.

Id have to know what type of interviewer your expecting to sit down in front of. Youtube has some modern type job interviews and tips and its clearly not even like it was 20 years ago.

Things that were important 20 years ago for hiring a worker are much different today and some is not based on work productivity and the factors we were raised with.

Are you going into the same field?

I think this is most often best. I really do. Unless it's just too distasteful I would go with honesty because I think a prospective employer will see through b.s. standard answers.

Turn the "negative" into a positive,
I'm looking for growth, I'm underutilized and want to be in a dynamic situation that I can be a valued contributor.
Today's HR is all about buzzwords, much like politicians, say a bunch of gobblygook and they eat it up

And the best of all, if something stumps you, don't try to answer, rephrase the question and ask it back to them.
You'd be surprised, most interviewers would rather talk than listen

Tell them you are being sexually harassed. Be as graphic as possible.

Speaking from experience, this stands VERY true today. Do not lie as stated above. Never, ever, bash your current employer.

Over 55 years old looking for a new position with another firm is difficult. Over 60 years old, really really hard in a mid management position. Shoot, over 50 years old puts you in a marginal situation.

When they say "we are building for the future", that is not you.

I see people, much younger than I am, who started the same time as I did, have moved on to other firms The organization again looks for other young hires, that is how business in America thinks.

Age discrimination is very real, don't kid yourself. Reference articles about others over 55 wishing to move but can't so they retire.

If your goal is to work to increase your retirement situation, think long and hard.

The "gig" economy with no security or benefits is not at all friendly to older workers. It is not friendly to young marrieds either.

The goal for a lot of people seems to be, have a startup, sell out. Or flip something after a couple of years for a large upside.

Be honest with your answers, phrase answers positively, and try to anticipate what the potential employer is looking for. Lower end jobs are easy, upper management is harder than you think, and mid management is really hard.

Whatever you think about your skills, realize that older workers are being discounted-fact of life..

What are your goals?

No Offense to BDW but
the bolded part in IMO may be interpreted as negative comments. "I'm looking for growth" a negative that says your current employer is not offering it, "I'm underutilized" is complaining/ negative, "that I can be a valued contributor" a negative indicating your current employer doesn't value you

What about: I'm looking for a change and am hoping to find a progressive / dynamic company in which I can utilize my skills and experience to become a valued part of an established team or contribute to building one. Sounds like a good line a BULLSH-T to me

I am looking to stay a Process/Mold Technician. Applying at other are shops. I am happy working the production floor even though I am qualified for Process Engineer. I like predictable hours, hourly pay and the hustle and bustle of the manufacturing floor. I assume I would interview with an HR manager first- then be handed off to a supervisor- supervisor/tech. Very helpful gentlemen. Thank you.

Say Ive been there a long time and burnt out I want a change of scenery. All true no lies.

With all the canned typed answer heared as an interviewer, I swore it was the same as watching the interview portion of a beauty pageant.... Just a bunch of fluff.

Don't trash your current employer is the first thing to avoid.

I conducted many interviews during my time in management and the above statement would be like getting a ten page resume! Honestly, this should be the first line in a cover letter but does not belong in an interview.

There is nothing wrong with complaining about your employer i.e. the company changed ownership and benefits have been cut, etc.. OR there's been a management change and I don't get along with the new manager. This happens all the time and is nothing to be afraid to mention. It will often bring more questions that will shed light on your own personality, work ethic, etc..

Also, having done my share of job hunting, I always felt that if the interviewer judged me solely based on one sentence without further elaboration or clarification then they didn't deserve me.

Find something to say that is at least partially true. If it was me I'd go with something like "I liked the job but the commute was killing me".

My company did change ownership last July. Good advice. Thanks.

Well then there is your answer. Say you loved the job for a long time but the company changed hands and it isn't quite the same so you're looking for a new opportunity.

Interesting topic.

Do the suggestions actually work? I have personally tried a few of them and just ended up having them bite me in the a$$.

If you’re older than 50 you’re just filling their job interview quota. They’d be real hard up to offer a job. A buddy worked 28 years as a safety inspector, new company bought the company out just to pass regulations (cheating on nuclear stuff) he would not do that so they laid hm off (fired) finally got another job that lasted 3 years. He wouldn’t get vaxed so they ‘had grounds to let him go’. He’s 58, un-hire able. He’s Picking up scrap metal now to make ends meet. On The first job he had credentials to enter ANY building in DC and shut it down if he saw a safety violation. So top to bottom in a few years because of age.

I agree. If you are in a field that is not constantly advancing because of technology, you have a chance if you are in your 50's and change jobs. You may also have a chance if you are trained on the latest and greatest of something. If that is not the case, no one will hire you because they don't want to invest in any employee training for an employee that will be there less than 10 years,

I just went through this in November. When asked why I wanted to leave my job I simply said "I don't, but you've been trying to recruit me for 6 months". They hired me.

Never, ever, bash your current employer - all the hiring person sees is you bashing them next time you're looking for a job. Also, somewhat related make sure you do a full search on employee reviews of the place on indeed and glassdoor, don't go work for some dump that treats their workers like crap.

Funny….. back in the day being at one employer for a long time showed dedication and hard work. Now it shows you’ve become complacent and not looking to better yourself.

I once worked for a guy who would hire two or more with the intent of keeping one. The one he wanted to keep would magically present themselves after the others showed signs of poor reliability/flakiness in a short amount of time.

When I worked at Xerox we only hired contract employees. If one of the contract employees showed some promise then they were offered a full time position.

A lot of it really depends on who or what is giving the interview. Anything you say can be misconstrued and more often than not - will be. Doubly so if you get a woman giving the interview.

I've never gotten a job when a woman has interviewed me. I believe they find me sexually intimidating.

One could consider how to answer the job interview question:

Please describe your most troublesome personality trait....

I don't understand how getting fired because he refused to comply with the company's vaccination mandate could be considered age discrimination.



2Bolt.... Be sure to highlight your experience in processing. A good Injecting Molding Process Technician that really understands material rheology and how the machine actually works is really hard to find. Explain the principles of Scientific Injection Molding to the interviewer and explain the virtues of transferring on position vs. transferring on pressure. Give them an exapmple of how you establish the optimun injection speed and explain how to establish gate seal. Tell them what happens in a process when you have a bad check ring. Even if they don't understand what you're talking about, it's good conversation material and will really separate you from other candidates. Don't let all this talk about age discrimination deter you. If you are good or the best at what you do, age won't be a factor. Companies are having a difficult time right now hiring qualified candidates and you are in a field of high demand if you really understand how to set up a solid plastic injection molding process using scientific principles.

Hey a fellow technician! When I am interviewed by a tech/supervisor I will be sure to discuss that- My education that's backed up with experience. Previous employers paid alot of money for the RJG Training I have. All good advice. For the record I am 53 years old. I never pursued anything higher than a floor process tech because in my experience- the supervisory and process engineer positions- while paying more included ALOT MORE GRIEF AND HEADACHES than the lower paid technician job.

that's easy, Honesty, although it may get one bounced a they don't always like to hear the facts / truth.

the last interview I had I knew I blew it with my response to one question but actually didn't care as it was honest and factual. in addition i was tired off Corporate America and the BS associated with it.
We were discussing my Knowledge and experiences with Kaizen implementation and how to deal a problem employee that was not participating in the concept.
I said Step 1. was to counsel them and try to get them involved to accept the philosophy. Step 2. If they weren't responding, move them to a different work group. Step 3. Repeat step 2. Step 4. start the paper trail (written warnings etc.). Step 5. Termination
I clearly sensed they did not like nummber 5.
They the asked, what if the employee has been with the company 15-20 years. My answer was the blowing it part, I said, you may choose to try a bit harder to bring them around but in my experiences some just won't and if that's the case termination is the nly option. The interview ended very shortly thereafter.

Times have changed just in the past 10 years. A BAD employee in these crazy modern times still has tremendous value. Not my opinion but its the new norm. When you get rid of a bad employee you didn't do something positive- you made it so the crew is down by 1 worker. Its maddening.

My number one rule for this is to always ask the employee a lot of questions and always ask them for their ideas. Work together with them and even implement some of the things they want to do even if there is little intrinsic value in doing so. After enough discussion, you can usually end up with the employee thinking some of the ideas you are proposing are their ideas, and from then on, things get easier. Getting their cooperation is crucial. An employee on the plant floor can make the worst idea a winner or make the best idea a loser. Without their buy-in and cooperation, chances are the idea will fail. Also, find the "leader of the pack" in the department. You know....the one who is the most outspoken and the one the others follow. Convince the "leader of the pack" and the rest will follow.

Companies don't want to deal with terminations and the possible/probable lawsuits that follow, so termination is always the last resort. Termination involves months and months of documentation and paperwork let alone then trying to find a new hire that will be any better. That's why the interview ended abrubtly after the suggestion of termination entered the conversation.

Yep, sad. Firing someone is helpful if you can replace them with someone who is (or can be) better. But that is easier said than done right now.

Unless the guy is downright toxic, sometimes a mediocre guy is better than no one at all.

They usually want to hear:
-Perfectionist
-Neat Freak
-Time Freak (everything must be early to be on time, therefore 5 minutes early is late, and on time is late)

"Describe to me a situation where there was a problem at work, and what you did to solve it"
When this happens, whatever example that personally comes to my mind is usually not a great one.
My strategy was take the time to think of two or three issues that really happened, physically write or print them on a piece of paper, and have that in front of you
when interviewing to refer to in the heat of the moment.
Use this same paper to take notes on what the interviewer says that is of interest.

Don't be afraid to have a musician's "set list" of best possible answers to all the weirdo questions you know they are probably going to ask.
Just because you can answer them in the heat of the moment doesn't mean the answer you choose at that time will be your best one!
Work on it ahead of time. They work on their weirdo questions ahead of time and are reading them from a script.....you can do the same....

There are good books out there
https://www.amazon.com/Interviews-Dummies-Joyce-Lain-Kennedy/dp/1118112903

LOL...was it that you were parting your eyebrows with your tongue?

Now I know why I became self employed. I didn't plat BS very well, nor did I care to.

Where crummy jobs that are hard to fill is concerned this is true. You know they want to can the person, but the fact that nobody else applied for the job, ect. plus they can't go very long with the spot vacant stops them.

Worse is when they try to reward crummy workers thinking they are going to straighten them out somehow. Huge morale killer for everyone else.

This is a good question to be prepared for. What I see- in my field is a person whos credentials on paper are fantastic plus they interview WONDERFULLY. But after hiring them their lack of motivation lack of knowledge and care as well as their plentiful "Don't really give a dam" becomes apparent. I plan to offer myself for a non payed several hour dry run at any place I am interested in. Many office type positions ask this of potential candidates. Candidate actually shadows/works with an employee for 2-4 hours- non paid so the employer can get some insight as to what the candidate truly is like.

It is a pain to be called for 12 months of “Grand Jury” duty, and even worse to have it extended from 12 months to 18 months.

However, the experience of being with 24 other jurors and listening to a prosecutor’s methods of interviewing both innocent witnesses and very questionable suspects is educational. Afterwards the insights of the other jurors who pick up things you missed is humbling.

But I do not feel you can spot a good worker by talking,
either miners or home health care workers.

I will also admit to being an “Old Coot” who thinks young people who must check that cell phone screen every ten breaths are not earning their pay.

Employers rejecting 50+ year old job applicants should re-think.

Age discrimination is real I was let go for that reason ( they claimed I could get covid based on my age ) and used that as an excuse. I never got covid and am fully vaccinated. Despite performing three different jobs at the time I was still "laid off " I would have tried to bring some sort of legal action against the company but with the covid thing at the time its would have been difficult. The place was awful with clueless management and I was the oldest employee by far. I was always perceived as having an attitude the entire ten years I was employed there.yes I did! I worked my butt off always going the extra mile while most of the rest of the employees hid and went out of their way to avoid doing anything but they were the ones favored and relished by management . They actually did me a favor letting me go as I received my first SS check a few weeks before my termination. I really don't understand the age discrimination , the older employees like my self have so much knowledge , experience , a better work ethic and are more reliable in most cases this toss them out at a certain age attitude is such waste of talent. a word of advice : try not to give your current employers name during the interview, I did once and it came back to haunt me, my boss at the time ( different than one I was let go from ) called my in his office and asked why I was looking elsewhere.

UPDATE 06/24/2022: I start at the facility I was pursuing on July 11th. Ultra modern shop with impressive automation and best of all- their reputation is fantastic. Interviews went well and I have already given 2 weeks notice to my current employer. Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions. An added benefit- I was satisfied with my current salary but the new job is paying me more than $5 MORE per hour! They were confident in me. Thanks again everyone! Oh and when they asked what I don't like about my current job I was honest but not super specific. We were purchased back in July of 2021. New owner has brought in many new customers and many more injection molds but the current 6 molding machines, 2 technicians and one 8 hour shift per day department simply cannot and has not been able to come close to satisfying the new customers needs.

BTW- I did not tell my new employer this but I am telling moparts member because I was vague here on the forum on what I don't like about my current job I have been at for 11 years. Last September the new owner claimed by June of 2022 we would have our current machines repaired- our water cooling system repaired and at least 3 more machines. Also claimed additional new hire employees would make it so we can run 3 solidly staffed shifts as opposed to the current ONE shift. None of this has happened yet. The new customers are demanding their product and my new owner/boss is unbearable and places some blame on myself and my coworker tech.
Thanks again everyone. Mike

Congratulations! Enjoy your new job.

Thank you slant.

andx Congrats,
Update us in 6-12 months after the honeymoon is over LOL

That happens quite often with new ownership. Happens even more often with new management. Managers come in and think they have all the answers, change things and the results are worse - which they blame on staff who "resist change". Or they think they'll implement new processes only to discover the budget isn't there to support them.

Good luck in your new position.

Reminds me of a joke
A new plant manager is hired. His predecessor leaves 3 envelopes in the middle desk drawer with instructions not to open any of them until the sh-ts really hitting the fan.
At that time open #1 and the others if needed in succession.
About 6 months goes by and it's getting pretty bad and so he opens #1.
It says, blame it all and your predecessor, say you have things under control and a plan but need more time to smoothly implement it.
About 6 months passes again, and it worse than it's been yet, so he opens #2.
It says, Say it was a bigger mess/problem than you expected, but have a reorganization plan that will definitely straighten things out. But need time to implement it.
Another 6 months passes, he opens the 3rd envelope. It say's Prepare 3 envelopes.

The last company I worked for I was hired to replace a manager who had only been there a few months. He was fired on the morning I was to start so our paths crossed and as he was walking by he said "good luck". The office was a mess indicating he lacked organization and people said he 'd spent a lot of time outside smoking. HOWEVER, three days into the job and I knew I'd be gone in about 2 years. Why? Because the company had a 50% per year turnover of admin staff. I was gone 26 months later. And while I did make a lame effort to find employment my heart just wasn't in it. That was 2006. Since that time I started three small businesses, the sum of which earn me a decent wage while also giving me a lot of freedom and free time. I sold one of the businesses a few years back. I'll be 70 this year and I could continue with the remaining two for probably another five years but my wife retires in a couple months so I probably won't continue too much longer. If you have a skill set, some initiative, ambition and a few smarts, nothing beats being self-employed.

Cant thank everyone enough. Stanton I am not in management but I can see everything you and TJP are saying.