No matter how much you believe the actions of another contributed to you losing a job, leave it out of your interview and networking discussions. Quite frankly, suggesting others are to blame for your current situation rarely rings true in the ears of those you hope to impress.

For one, if the individual has been in management for any length of time he has probably let go of individuals for poor performance and then been blamed for their demise. “He didn’t like me. He was playing favorites. I didn’t kiss his #@$ enough.”  Sigh.  I know I have a few former employees out there telling others how I wronged them. I’m biased, of course, but I’m confident I’ve always been fair. The candidate could be 100% correct that a co-worker/manager did him in. Since there is no way for me to know for sure, I take any “he was out to get me” explanations with a grain of salt. Actually, it’s probably a block of salt. I consider it professional courtesy since I hope those on the receiving end of candidates throwing me under the bus are doing the same.

The second reason finger pointing fails to impress is you are essentially admitting another person outmaneuvered you. A petty and unethical person, at that. How is that helpful to your search? People who play these kinds of games are hardly the real movers and shakers amongst us, they are the insecure who need to get rid of you to protect their own position. Announcing you allowed them to win isn’t wise. Take into consideration most people have had to work with others who did not like them and would have enjoyed seeing them fail. If they managed to persevere and neutralize that person, they aren’t going to understand why you couldn’t do the same. In most situations if you concentrate on making yourself invaluable to your employer it doesn’t matter who does and doesn’t like you along the way. That may not be true all of the time, but it’s true enough that grain of salt creeps back in the mix on the part of the listener.

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