HOW TO ANSWER, “WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR LAST JOB?’ AT A JOB INTERVIEW

One of the questions interviewers ask most often is “Why do you want to leave your current job?”

Maybe you left under odd circumstances and don’t want to share the whole truth. But you’re not sure what to say instead.

Here are some safe, acceptable answers for why you left a past job. If you give one of these reasons, the interviewer is likely to be satisfied and quickly move on to the next question.

“I had been with the organization for a number of years and wanted to experience a new environment to continue growing.”

No hiring manager would blame you for wanting to have a well-rounded experience with your career and gain a new perspective.

“I left for an opportunity to advance my career.”

You do not have a promotion in terms of work title, but at another organization, you saw a better way forward. Alternatively, for an opportunity to develop a new skill that was important to you, you joined a new business. If you believe it will help you move forward in the future, it is fine to change jobs, even if it is not an immediate promotion. Therefore, you ought to be good at using this as your answer.

“I left to work on a product I was very passionate about.”

Often an awesome chance pops up those suit your interests perfectly. Nobody would blame you for leaving to do anything like this. Yeah, that is a valid explanation why you quit your last job.

“I didn’t feel the job was using my abilities to the fullest or challenging me enough”

It is difficult to remain motivated and focused on your job and your work if you are bored or not being challenged. Therefore, offering this as your reason for quitting your last job is no problem. Just make sure that when you say this, you do not sound spoiled, negative, or ungrateful. Do not make it sound like the work or something like that was not worthy of you. Only clarify that you figured you were capable of more and needed a bigger challenge.

“I was fired.”

I suggest that you say the truth if you’ve been fired, and come clean. When they search references, it isn’t worth lying and getting caught later. Make sure your former boss never badmouths you, however, and continue to take responsibility for what happened. Show the interviewer what you have learned and what steps you have taken to guarantee that this will never happen again.