Any interview focuses on the question “What is the reason for leaving current job ” if you’re trying for a new one. This seems to be an uncomfortable question but it is essential to prepare an appropriate answer for the question ‘why are you leaving your current job’.
Lynn Taylor who is a career expert mentions that the answer for this question should definitely be a deal breaker. As the answer is supposed to reveal more about you, it is important to answer this critical query with the right stuff.
Taylor also mentions that a red flag might be raised and hence prior homework and perfect research is important to answer this question. These tips can be kept in mind to answer “why do you want to leave your current job”.
The interviewers can also ask this question “Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job” in different ways like:
- Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job
- Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?
- Why are you leaving your current job after a short time?
- Why do you want to leave your current job so early?
- Why are you leaving your current job so soon?
- Why do you plan to change your current job?
- Why do you want to change your domain?
- Why are you leaving your current job after a short time?
Job Interview Question: Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?
When you are planning for a job change, leaving your current job without a new job is not a great idea. You need to prepare yourself and attend interviews without leaving your current job. It is very important to do so as the time for getting a job cannot be defined, it might sometime take 1 week, 1 month or more.
So it is better to quit your current job after getting a new job. Being is such a situation you will surely be asked the question “why are you leaving your current job?” when attending the interview.
Now this question cannot be considered as a sudden or tricky one, moreover, this would be an obvious question and you need to prepare yourself for facing such questions.
Some of the convincing reasons for leaving your current job are as follows:
- To better the work-life balance
- Taking more time for the commute
- Change in the job role
- Want to learn a new skill
- Career change
- Relocation
- For developing yourself in the niche
- Wish to learn more
Tips to Answer Why are you leaving your Current Job:
Quitting your job is not easy and also there will be many valid reasons for leaving a job. The following mentioned are few tips to answer “why do you want to leave your current job” and “why do you want this job”.
1. Your desire:
To begin answering this critical query it is mandatory to avert negative aspects, make the interviewer know that you require a positive transitional change. Present in your verbal expression that you’re lured by this job and not forced from your present job.
You can also pinpoint that the company you’re looking for is what motivates you and what you desire for. The candidate should make sure to present every sentence in a positive view to answer for why you want to leave your current job.
2. Thirst for challenges:
To make the answer more careers oriented, the candidate can put forward that the current work is boredom when looked from any angle and thus you’re looking for some excellent challenges.
You can also mention that you are an excellent employee and your dreariness at work should have no effect on the employer or the work you do. For the same reason you can mention that you’re looking for other opportunities and like to leave the job.
3. Relocating:
This critical question has many phases to view from where one aspect can be relocation. An employee can put up a relocation with the family as one good reason for leaving a job.
4. Career growth:
Career growth is one important aspect that many employees look forward to in an organization. In that manner, the employee can answer that the current organization does not seem to be an ideal place for your career growth and hence you are looking forward for big challenges, adapting a new path with the appropriate job. This can be an acceptable and positive mode of an answer for such a question.
5. Bigger objective:
The question can be answered in a number of ways where few aspects are to be thought of. In that manner, you can mention that you have higher goals and challenges to meet in order to make others turn around you. The current job does not seem to be the right place and hence you decided to quit job.
6. Lay off:
Lay off can also be another aspect for many people to leave their current job. You can mention that during the time of corporate restructuring the department that you had been working was abolished and this made you leave your present job and search for another.
7. No expected elevation:
As an employee you must be talented in a specific chore may be programming, the management or other skills. You skills are something that would lead you to the organization and make you stand in higher positions.
In that manner, you can frame out saying that your current employer has no opportunities in the field you are expert in. Your skills has no way to enhance themselves and hence you are out for another job which is appropriate to your skills.
8. Inappropriate Direction:
The candidate can mention that the direction in which the company moves is inappropriate to the one he desired. The organization is not leading the way the employee desires and hence he wants to quit his current employment.
9. Looking for a new environment:
Another way to answer this critical question can be that you wanted to contribute your ideas and get involved in a new team to use your technical skills. You can mention that you wanted to contribute your part and add to the company success. The current job is decided to quit as you have been there for many years and still you do not find your team with high spirit.
10. Economic status:
With such brilliant answers for the query, another tip can be to talk about the economic status of the company. You can always mention that your current employer seems to be unstable and you are looking for some stable organization to carry on with your career and growth.
11. To diminish travel time:
You could be an employee who travels hours from home to reach your office. You can point out this as your answer that you desire to change your job to some organization that is close to your home so that you find time to spend with family.
12. For change:
Certain employees open up the truth. They mention that they required a change of job, where they hunted for few opportunities and found enthralling job opportunities and so they decided to quit their current job.
13. Matching your profile:
It would be true that not all employees could work in organizations where their experience, skills, knowledge aren’t being utilized in their jobs. Hence the employee can mention that he quit the current job for the same reason.
14. Avert bad-mouthing your boss:
There may be ample reasons for leaving your current job, but make sure you don’t bad mouth your previous employer. Do not ever mention out that the pay was less or that you hate your previous or current employer.
15. Learning:
This can be an appropriate reply for the query which is mentioned above. You can open up saying that you love the job and team but there is no room to learn new aspects. You desire to learn new aspects and hence you’re leaving your current job to broaden your knowledge and do new things.
16. Praise your current employer:
To frame that the output of your reply is in a positive aspect, remember to praise your present employer. Mention that your present employer has offered you more of opportunities and you feel sad about leaving, but you need to focus and look at your future.
Make sure that your reply isn’t over flattering and interviewers lookout for this as they look out for your loyalty and the way you respect your company. Badmouthing and gossip can revert the effect and make you null without the job you desired.
17. Never discuss about people:
There may be a number of reasons to leave job for you and to get to a new job but always remember not to discuss about people, which may put you under danger zone. Talk about good things and also about few aspects in your current job that has been outdated such as slow technology, inefficient policies and more if asked. This can be one way to frame your answer in a positive way for the query ‘why you are leaving your current job”?
18. Creative and innovative:
You can also mention that you need independence at your work where you need to show your creativity and innovation at work. Mention that you’re looking forward for a job destination where your innovation would be appreciated and accepted.
Though your current workplace can be a perfect one, you can mention that you’re looking for someone who views your creativity with inner sight. You can mention that you desire to leave your current position for this purpose.
19. Tips for answering:
Answering for such a critical query thus takes into account a number of aspects. There are a few things which need to be answered and a few aspects which should be avoided. In that manner, the employee who is about to quit the current job needs to look into a number of aspects and research a lot regarding the answers to be framed for the question.
Answering “Why are you leaving your Current Job”:
When answering there are few things that the employer would be expecting like what made you to take the decision of quitting the current job and what inspired you to apply for the job in their company.
The best way to answer is to start with the company’s best parts:
- Good work culture
- Exciting job role
- Growth opportunities provided to the employees etc.
Including this in your answer would give the employer an idea that the candidate has done enough research about the company. This actually is a very positive aspect of the candidate.
Other things to note while answering are:
- Showing interest in the job role
- Showcasing your accomplishments
- Providing details on what can you bring to the company
- Having a desire to improve your skills
- Learn new things
- Focus on the goals which match the company’s vision
- Past achievements
- Most importantly, never badmouth about the current employer or company
You can also add the best things that had happened in the current company, like how it helped grow skills, improve yourself, etc.
Though this can be risky but can go well in an interview. Still working in a company is an added advantage as employers usually prefer such candidates while hiring.
You can also share your expectations regarding the company work culture, work, facilities, and other related things. This would give an idea about you to the employer.
Sample Answers:
Example-1:
Example-2:
Quick Instructions When Answering “Why Do You Want to Leave Your Job?”
- Give your prime reasons for leaving the job
- Provide them details about why you are considering their job role
- Do not speak negatively about your current company
- Do not discuss about work performance-related issues in your present job
- Being honest
- Tone your answer positively
- Explain about your future plan of work and goals
- Brief them about the things you have learned in your current job and how it helped you
Conclusion:
All the tips mentioned above are beneficial and can be considered for answering the question in the right phase. Skills, experience, career growth, urge to learn and independence at work can be tools to use for the answer.
The candidate should also bear in mind to frame the answer in a positive mode. The answer should be formulated in a way that it does not affect the current or previous company in any manner.
The employee can also use the web as a source to find out the various ways to answer the query in the right tone. This would definitely add points to your career to gain entry into the new job. So employees can read through the above hints and get hold of it to answer the question “why you are leaving your current job?”
