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A Frustrating NDA
Late last year I left my job with nothing lined up due to an incredibly toxic boss. The situation was bad enough, and easy enough to show evidence of, that I was given a generous severance, in return for which I had to sign an NDA agreeing not to “disparage” my former workplace. I easily landed a new job in the same field in the same city after taking an intentional break for a few months, but now have to tangle with how to explain my sudden departure and employment gap. This is a relatively small and interconnected community, and I still work in the close orbit of my former workplace. I was not there for very long, uncharacteristic for me, and have been in this field for over 15 years, so I have a large network, many of whom have been reaching out to connect with me in my new role.
I’m struggling with how to explain this transition. I legally cannot be fully honest and disclose my misgivings about my former workplace and especially my former boss and how my particular situation was handled by the leaders, but I also don’t want to come off as flighty, as getting a reputation as someone who changes jobs a lot would not be good for my future. I remain worried that my former boss will try to retaliate against me, as they did while I was under their employ. My new position, which I am VERY happy in, is technically a step down in title, which I fear makes the optics bad, even if the reality is that the actual responsibilities and growth potential are greater.
In essence, I wonder if there is a way to subtly communicate the fact that I was leaving a bad situation without explicitly saying so. Is there such professionally coded language? I tend to be a very direct communicator, so this kind of discreet and politic language is not my strong suit.
P.S. The NDA did include the legally required language that I cannot be prevented from speaking honestly about my workplace in the event that I am specifically asked about the conditions of employment.
— Anonymous
This is a complicated question with a relatively simple answer: Just tell people, if they ask, that your former job was not the right fit for you.
People take breaks in between jobs all the time, often for personal reasons, and you won’t raise eyebrows if you explain the pause in your employment that way.
You may also want to use this as an opportunity to convey your excitement about your new job. This keeps things focused on the present, not the past, and helps explain why you took, as you put it, a “step down” in terms of title. Talk up your new company; communicate how happy you are, and why you’re grateful for your current gig.
If pressed by people on the reasons for your departure from your previous job, you can repeat that the job was not the right fit for you and that as part of your departure package you agreed not to talk about your time there.
But ultimately, you’re just going to have to be OK with people wondering — if they wonder, that is — why you left your previous job. It’s part of being in the work force. It is what it is.