Hi guys,

i hope everyone is doing great. It has been 2 weeks since I had dropped out of PhD. And I am happy to have gotten some good job offers. I am currently at a stage where I am planning what I should say if asked why I had dropped out of PhD. For those of you who did not know, I had gotten medically depressed as a result of several factors - toxic lab environment, lack of guidance etc.

In my resume, I had vaguely stated that i was a 'research scientist' for the past 2 years without going into the fact that i was a PhD student. But then, they asked for my recent payslip - which is a problem because stipend is not exactly a 'salary'. So I realise there is no other way than to mention that I had gone through training as a PhD student. And I did tell them this extra bit of information by email and the HR just mentioned that I leave that document out and submit the rest.

Now, i am pretty sure i will be asked during the interview why i had left my PhD program. To state medical depression would be a no-no as that would disqualify me for the job - this is how things work in singapore. I dont think I had the mental illness record in the public domain either so i was thinking of giving another reason. Maybe stating that I had lost interest in scientific research work. This would be a good reason for other non-science related jobs that i had applied for but for this specific job, which involves research work, it is not entirely a good reason to give. To state financial reasons would also be a weak reason for dropping out as i was paid quite a good stipend during my studies. I had thought about saying wanting a more work-life balance sort of job which would be understandable as it is known that PhD students work even on weekends. But i fear they might think i am unsuitable for this job if it indeed requires commitment.

What reasons do people give for dropping out during job interviews which does not harm their chances of getting the job?

Great that you are ok and having job offers.

However, it is NEVER ok for companies to ask for your recent pay slips. This is inappropriate, and the only reason they ask for this is to see the lowest salary they can offer you based on your previous pay. Never give this info. They could have asked for reference as proof of employment instead of payslip. If they insist on pay slip, think twice whether the company with such awful work ettique is the right one for you.

Why did you leave your PhD? Well, you could say that you realised that PhD wasn't for you, that you didn't want to have a career in academia any longer and wanted to work in the industry. So you decided to cut your losses and leave your PhD. My friend answered that after leaving her PhD, got a job with a mega firm, and has never looked back since.