Help with potential interview questions please!

[Bobbish]

Hello - hoping there are some HR / experienced interviewers out there who can give me a bit of advice.

I am on maternity leave at the moment, but really don't want to go back to my old job so I have been applying for new roles recently. DD2 is now 10 months old and my old job will only be held open for a year so I need to get something now!

I have got an interview on Monday for a job. It is basically the same job I was doing but with a different agency. I am anticipating a question along the lines of 'why are you leaving your current job'. The real reasons are as follows:

There is a terrible atmosphere of bullying in my current job. This is not really a secret - our chief exec has recently been under investigation for bullying (manhandling) one of his PAs. This made the national press. The whole atmosphere is one of 'the abused kick down' so people at the bottom (like me) cop a lot of flack

I don't really feel at all engaged with the place. It is very cliquey - the 'head clique' is made up of childless young yuppy types - if you don't get involved it is hard to get taken seriously

I applied for (and was offered) a new job around 18 months ago. The job offer fell through when the new job people told me my manager had given me a poor reference. Bemused by this I spoke to him - he denied giving me a bad reference (he said he just told them i hadn't fulfilled my potential), told me they wanted me to stay and offered me a pay rise. The next day I found out i was pregnant so did not bother following this up as was just holding out then for maternity leave.

I was told there would be no problem with me working 3 days a week on my return to work. I was due to go back in January. Just before I was due back I was told it would have to be full time. I therefore extended my maternity leave to the full 12 months. (this new job is also full time - it is impossible to find anything part time that covers cost of childcare for 2!)

Anyways - my question is all of the above have the potential to make me sound bad - should I just steer clear of all of this in the interview and make up the reasons I am leaving? What is the accepted response to that question :)

Sorry so long! Also just need to add I am on the other side of the world so UK maternity rights do not apply (sadly).

Can you concentrate on the positive things about the new place? So if they ask why you left, say something like you didn't like the organisational culture, but having spoken to people at the new place, you feel you will really fit in because of x,y,z. ?

Yu could just avoid getting into it and say that you are looking for a new challenge

Thanks all - I suppose I will take that approach and just go on about the good things about the new organisation - just a bit nervous about getting back into the whole work frame of mind!

Dont mention anything negative at all about people/relationships at the old place. Say you out grew the role, your outlook has altered as you have grown older/changed priorities.

Perhaps alter what you are asking your old firm to reference? Give the new place a couple of character references to follow up outside of this place? That way they can compare contrast views. In the UK its not allowable to give a negative reference. Firms usually get round that by being very basic in info (i.e. just start end dates). You can ask the new firm for a copy of references received usually. Particularly if negative. Think slander etc laws in most western countries would probably cover.