A prospective employer asked me why I left my jobs.

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I told them that my interest was in a certain field. I worked at 2 retail jobs for about 5-6 months according to my work history. I'm always asked what made me left the job. I want to put a positive answer, even though the truth is I don't necessarily like retail.

Maybe make up a sick cousin you had to take care of.

Great minds think alike kraftiekortie! yep use the generic Sick cousin sick father/family member sick <noun here>.

Try this one...
The family business started growing and my help was needed. I helped to automate processes and cut down on labor requirements so that the full time staff could manage the new workload. This freed me up to pursue my interests.

Don't lie. There's nothing wrong with telling that truth. You left your previous jobs because you did not find them challenging or compelling enough. Not enjoying a particular job is a good reason to leave it. People are always looking for the next opportunity, especially if they think it will be better than the old one. The really important thing to do is a) don't badmouth your former employer and b) don't badmouth yourself when describing why you moved on from a particular position.

You embarrassed me in a good sense, Rhapsody. It's the best approach not to lie.

This is especially true in high-end positions. However,alas, you have some idiot HR people with preconceived notions about employment gaps. This is why I advocated the cousin thing. It's a tough job market out there.

Assuming your new job isn't in retail; just flat-out tell the employer that you didn't like working in retail.

If your new job is in retail; bend around the issue a bit without lying: tell them that you didn't like working for that company; the work wasn't what you expected, it didn't "click" with your collegues, that sort of things

I wouldn't mention anything at all about the other employees. It gives the impression that you were either looking for a social scene and not a job so you left when it wasn't what you wanted, or that you are hard to get along with.

What did you tell your boss when you quit? That is what you need to use here, just phrase it nicely. When they call your former employers to ask what kind of employee you were, one of the questions they ask is why you left. They will match that up with what you wrong. If you put something completely different than what your old boss says they won't hire you because they will know you lied and think you are dishonest and not trustworthy.

It depends on what you're interviewing for. If it's retail again, I agree with Kraftiekortie. Except I wouldn't say it was a cousin. I would say it was a parent/sibling/grandparent. That that person was ill and it was not reasonable for you to take that much time off from your job to take care of them so you regrettably had to leave.

If it's in another field, yes you can mostly tell the truth and say it wasn't challenging enough and you left to pursue other opportunities.

Telling the truth is optimal, I agree. But you can't always tell the truth. I am a lazy and gossipy employee and as a boss, I will flat out let my employees do whatever they want because I do not care and will never care about any company I work for. Who would hire me if I said this? No one. It's the truth though. I'm aware of my shortcomings and when I have to work I say I'm a hard worker, that I care about the company, and that I see myself as a representative of the company.

Doesn't saying you didn't find the job challenging enough count as badmouthing your former employer?

No. You can also say there "wasn't growth potential."

I had employees who were smarter and more capable than me but the only way they could advance would have been to take my job. There wasn't room for them at our company to move forward and they left to get better opportunities at other companies, at the level I was at. This is normal and expected.

A side note- Many people on the autism spectrum COUN'T advance because they had higher skills than their jobs warranted but they didn't want to oversee others and they weren't good at dealing with people. Most companies don't have jobs for "information experts" although restructuring would make room for people like this and probably make a lot of companies more efficient.

When filling up a form for job different from what I had been doing previously, I wrote "wanted to do something different" as my reason for leaving the last job.

Why did you really leave? If it's because you got promoted, were offered more money someplace else or headhunted... be honest and tell them! It shows you are good at your job!

this is precisely why I hate this species.

they're just asking you that question so you can incriminate yourself and then they will enjoy the privilege of not hiring you.

that question, and many other questions like that, is exactly how employers f*** with people. I don't know why workers let employers treat them like rats and rodents. you shouldn't be subjected to a criminal investigation every time you look for a work. because ultimately that's what it is, you are under suspicion for being a low life. and one way or another they're going to find you guilty on something.

and people wonder why capitalism doesn't work.

Duh

As someone who gets asked this question every 3-7 years, due to my illness, I've always given personal sabbatical as my first excuse. It doesn't leave them much room to dig farther. After all, saying I was in a crisis unit for the last month does not enhance my prospects. It also has the benefit of being true.

Eric7921,

What do the numbers after each diagnosis mean ?

"ASD(299), ADHD-PI(314), Schizophrenia(295.3), GAD(300.02), Persistent depressive disorder(300.4)."