There's one way to deal with these "jerks" - cite them as the reason you're leaving. Too many people don't want to "burn bridges" when leaving and so they talk about new opportunities and blah, blah, blah rather than being truthful and saying they can't get along with this person. If you don't want to burn a bridge then you can be insightful and say you just can't seem to get along with that person, cite the effort you've made in trying to do so, whether you went to your manager, or what have you and that you just couldn't make it work and that as a result the working conditions weren't the best you thought they could be and that as a result you're looking for opportunities elsewhere. You don't have to be mean. You don't have to be nasty. You don't have to throw anyone under the bus. After all, sometimes it's just personality clashes. But if HR receives enough honest feedback like this then they may conclude no, it's not the people who left, it's that person - they're a jerk and we need to deal with them. Now everyone is better prepared to identify the jerk more quickly the next time around.<p>Bottom line - all jerks are a drag on a company and none of them are necessary. They're a net negative asset whom you're better off without.