4 ways bad-mouthing your former employer can ruin your job prospects

The job interview seems to be going well. You're getting a positive vibe from the hirer, and she even laughed at your jokes in between nodding approvals at your well thought responses to her questions.

You start to relax as you warm up to the interviewer. She casually prods about what caused you to leave your last employer. Caught unaware, you start confiding in her the negative aspects of your former employer that ultimately led to your decision to quit. At this point, you might wonder about the consequences of bad-mouthing your former employer.

You might think there's nothing wrong with being honest, but that's where you're wrong. Every moment of your interview is a test. Putting you at ease is the interviewer's task. After all, it's their job to pierce your exterior so they get a glimpse of your personality and values.

It's important to be genuine and natural in the way you present yourself and your views, but it's equally important to stay neutral and positive as much as possible in your responses. You are there to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job - every word you utter will shape the interviewer's perception and impression of you.

Here are four reasons bad-mouthing your former employer may ruin your job prospects:

1. It creates a negative vibe

There's a right time and place for everything, but a job interview is never the time or place to start bad-mouthing your former employer, or share critical feedback about previous companies and their operations. Always focus on neutral or unbiased aspects of your previous work experience. Nevertheless, if you absolutely have to highlight a negative point about a previous boss, make sure to frame it in a positive way.

For example, if you're talking about a company's limited employment perks, make sure to compensate with something else that's positive, for example an open and creative work culture, or regular training programms. But where possible, negative statements of any sort should be avoided lest you create a negative vibe you can't shake off for the rest of the interview.

2. It indicates unresolved issues

Whatever issues you had with your previous employer(s), that's all in the past. Moaning about it doesn't change things. Let bygones be bygones. You're on the hunt for a better job, so focus on that and the exciting possibilities the future brings, rather than harping on negative experiences in the past.

Bringing it up at a job interview tells the hirer that you have unresolved issues which you're having problems moving on from. It also sows doubt in the hirer's mind that you might bad-mouth the company in the same way further down the line if they hired you.

3. It's unprofessional

However you look at it, bad-mouthing your former employer is simply unprofessional, regardless of the circumstances. You wouldn't bad-mouth a client publicly, so why would you do the same to a previous employer? It makes you look petty and untrustworthy.

No company or boss is perfect. You aren't perfect either. Imagine if a hirer called up your former employer for a reference and the latter complained about your bad habits? So beware of your words. It's a small world. If word ever got back to your previous boss that you had been bad-mouthing her or him, or the company, they might decide to retaliate in some way.

4. It shows emotional immaturity

Holding grudges is immature. If you're still obsessing over your bad experience at your last company, ask yourself why. Don't waste your energy and time being preoccupied about things you can't change. Focus instead on the present and what you can do to improve your current quality of life.

You might not realize it, but fixating on negative thoughts will affect your state of mind and the energy you project. If you're at a job interview but you're preoccupied with critical thoughts about your previous employment, your hostility towards the latter will reveal itself in one way or another. If it really bothers you that much, perhaps you should arrange for a casual meet-up with your former boss to hash things out. Brooding about it doesn't solve the problem.

The bottom line is, bad-mouthing your former employer(s) at a job interview is one of the biggest interview faux pas you can make. It can destroy your chances of landing the job, however unintentional it was. It's easy to underestimate how quickly one can undo a positive impression by a single badly worded comment. Remember, when you're at an interview, every word matters.

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