How to deflect interview question about most recent job

There is no shame in saying that you realized that the role wasn't a good fit for you. Or that you had different expectations.

Everyone knows that at some point you are going to work somewhere that sucks.

The key thing is to never bad-mouth a job. You can say things like it wasn't offering the advancement opportunities you were looking for, or that you were after a more competitive salary, etc.

Just don't say it was a hell-hole that you are glad to be rid of.

I learnt nothing,

Now that's a problem right here.

Apparently you went from a great job to a crappy one. Any half way intelligent interviewer will think: How did that happen, where did you go wrong and what will you be doing differently in the future?

Chances are you made a mistake in evaluating whether this job was a good fit for you or not. That's ok. Mistakes do happen and in fact mistakes are one of the most effective (if painful) ways to learn. However, that requires you to be able to see it through this lens.

You can ALWAYS learn something. Talk about what you have learned from this experience and how this learning will benefit you and your potential new employer in the role your are discussing.

From DJClayworth's answer:

By all means tell them that you would rather talk about positive experiences from the job before last, but don't lie, and be prepared to answer questions about your last job if that'swhat they want to know.

Not quite my recommendation, but close. I don't recommend outright saying, "I would rather talk about..." That just sounds a bit inflexible,a nd like you are trying to suggest they focus on something other than what they have in mind.

So, basically, don't ask for permission. Just try to simply do it. It will probably work better.

Remember that an interview is a two-way conversation. I recommend directly answering any question, so you don't appear to be evasive. But if they ask you a question, then the flow of the conversation naturally flows to you. So, give them an answer, but before you sound like you're ready for the next question, elaborate upon the subject. Explain how things worked well for you in the past.

Likely, the interviewer will notice that you're focusing more on the earlier time. If they want to try to control the conversation a lot, by all means you are likely best off cooperating. So maybe they will force your hand to get the conversation on the subject you wouldn't prefer (which sounds like is that recent job).

But, often the interviewers are really focused on getting to know you, and are happy to provide some leniency in giving you an opportunity to try to present relevant information the way you think best communicates ideas to them. So if that involves focusing on the earlier job, that may not be something they deem very significant at all.

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer that will apply to every interviewing company and every set of interviewers. But I recommend giving this a try. To recap: directly answer, but then unless they seem to be indicating otherwise, freely elaborate in whatever way you think will be most useful.

I don't think you should lie about your previous jobs. What matters is what the prospective employer thinks about the position you would like to hide.

It is totally irrelevant what you feel about and what you did or did not learn from it.

On the other hand, its not lying if you happen to omit a position from your CV. But if asked in the interview about the gap in your CV, then you need to tell them. You could use "I omitted it because it was irrelevant to my career".