They Lied to Me!

I was recently asked -- by someone just starting their professional career and looking for a new job -- how to explain why they were leaving their old company after just three months on the job.  

Their candid explanation (which some interviewers didn't like) was that their current (old) company followed few standards for good coding and software development, even though in the interview process the company portrayed itself as cutting edge, state of the art, and a great place to learn best practices.

The age old advice of not bad-mouthing your former employer is still a good starting point.  Can a sophisticated critique be used?  Sometimes.  But it's better, easier and safer to just "own it."  Take responsibility for it.  Demonstrate that you have learned from it.

It=the decision to accept your current (old) job.

I realize this feels awkward, even wrong, but it's also the most constructive approach.  

How do you do this?  This is what I recommended:

"I failed to ask about whether they follow particular software design principles and coding practices."  or "I asked about whether they follow particular principles, but I did not probe closely enough to see what their answers really meant."

But wait, you say, I did ask!  Maybe you did ask the people at the company about these things during the interview process.  Apparently they didn't give you an answer that revealed the situation enough for your to understand how the company actually operates.  Sorry, that's a really unpleasant and frustrating thing.  But now you have learned:  People lie -- or mislead, or obfuscate, or misunderstand, or simply have different standards and a different perspective from your own.  (I'll guess you already knew these things, but maybe didn't think such a bit of confusion / mis-alignment could happen to you, in a professional setting?)

Here's a reminder:  At your next company, there will also be people that don't see things the way you do.  In some cases, that may amount to lying.  In many cases, it may simply be a difference of perspective.  But if you are lucky and observant and pay close enough attention, you will begin to understand or suspect when someone is not telling you the whole story that you need or want to know.

Let's make the assumption that the "worst case" happened and that you were clearly lied to.  If someone did lie to you about their development practices, you need to "own it" as well.  (Yes, that is really an unpleasant idea, I know.)  

Explain it in one sentence:  "I took the statements about development practices at face value, but I was wrong and didn't understand what I was getting in to."  And then quickly move on to talking about the future.  Follow up with lots of good questions about development practices at this new company.  Don't stop with a simple single question and answer, but ask questions about the answers until you feel confident that you are getting a complete picture.  This, by the way, demonstrates that you have learned from prior experience and can turn that learning into new, more productive results in the future.

I realize it feels crappy to feel or to be misled, and to not be able to shout about it to everyone you meet:  They lied to me!   But remember, maybe no one misled you.  Maybe you made assumptions based on your understanding of their non-specific, general statements.  Or maybe they lied to you.  Either way, you are learning about how diligent you need to be, next time.  Take that learning, and act on it.

And, sometimes, the fact that we each have to learn a few lessons this way just sucks.  Sorry.  But best of luck next time.  I bet you'll not fall into the same trap, again.