I had my first phone interview yesterday. It was with a recruiter for a fairly large hospital system. He was really excited about my resume. I have a lot of good experience. But when he asked why I left my previous job, I said "it's kind of a long story, I'd like to discuss it in person." He just wouldn't let it go! So then he asked "well, were there any problems? Are you eligible for rehire?" So I answered "well I didn't really ask." And he still wouldn't let up. He asked "did you give notice or did they give you notice?" I answered "they gave me notice." He said he would call back that day to schedule my interview with the hiring manager. He never called back obviously.
I don't know anything other way to get around that. Everyone is going to ask why I left my previous position after 10 years. How do you get past that to get an interview scheduled?
I could say that I needed some time off for personal reasons. But that implies it was my idea to leave and that's definitely dishonest too! I was fired.
I'd like some help on how to answer the question "why did you leave your previous employer". I'm sure I'm going to get that question again. I think I can explain things better in person, but not if I can't get past the phone interview.
