Dear Employment Specialist,
I am an experienced bookkeeper who recently left a job that I had held for 7 years, after having a very difficult experience with my boss that lasted years. I have now begun looking for new work, but am unsure how to explain why I left the job without looking bad.
I left because I was feeling bullied by my manager, and was becoming very unhappy at work. For the first 5 years, I was perfectly happy – I enjoyed my work (and am good at it!) and I had a positive and supportive relationship with all my colleagues, including my manager. 2 years ago, the company was taken over by new management, and they replaced many of my colleagues and managers with their own staff. The atmosphere in the office completely changed. My new manager never had a good word to say to me. She wasn’t clear about what she wanted and yelled at me in front of my colleagues. I tried to not take it personally, but I was getting unhappier by the day, going home crying and hating my work. Eventually, I had to leave, for the sake of my own mental health.
I am now looking for a new job. What do I tell interviewers when they ask what happened to the last job? What do I do about a reference? Do I tell the truth?
Signed: Bullied