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During job interviews, expect various questions, including the common “Why did you leave your last job?” or “Why do you want to leave?” Employers seek valid reasons for your job transition, aiming to gauge your motivations and suitability for the role.
- Seeking Growth: Exploring new challenges and opportunities for professional development to expand my skill set and knowledge.
- Company Restructuring: Experiencing organizational changes or downsizing that resulted in redundancy or a shift in my responsibilities.
- Career Change: Pursuing a different
career path that aligns better with my long-term goals, passions, and interests. - Relocation: Moving to a new city or region due to personal circumstances, family commitments, or seeking a fresh start.
- Work-Life Balance: Prioritizing a healthier work-life balance by seeking a job with better hours, reduced commute, or flexible working arrangements.
- Company Culture: Seeking a work environment that better aligns with my values, promotes collaboration, and fosters professional growth.
- Professional Advancement: Pursuing a role that offers greater opportunities for career progression, increased responsibility, and personal growth.
- Skills Utilization: Looking for a position that allows me to fully leverage and apply my specific
skills , expertise, and industry knowledge. - Company Instability: Faced with company uncertainty or instability, leading me to seek a more secure and stable work environment.
- Personal Development: Taking a career break to focus on personal growth, further education, skill enhancement, or engaging in volunteer work.
Reasons for being Unemployed:
Unemployment can occur for various reasons, including business downturns, company closures, and acquisitions. Factors such as economic recessions, industry changes, and shifts in consumer demand contribute to business downturns. Company closures result from financial difficulties or strategic decisions, while mergers and acquisitions often lead to workforce restructuring. Termination of employment can happen due to performance issues or external factors. Regardless of the circumstances, experiencing unemployment is challenging, but it’s crucial to remain resilient, adapt, and actively seek new opportunities to re-enter the workforce.
You Were Fired
If you faced termination from your previous job, it’s advisable to refrain from using negative terminology like “fired.” To gain insights into your reference check, consider reaching out to your former employer’s HR department. Conducting a mock reference check with a friend can help you understand how the information is presented, allowing you to better prepare for this question during future interviews.
If you've ever searched for a job, you know that you will be asked many different questions. One question you can be sure will come up is 'why did you leave your last job?' or, if still employed, 'why do you want to leave?'. Click To TweetYou Were “Downsized”
Facing a job loss due to downsizing is a situation many individuals encounter. Downsizing often occurs when businesses decide to close stores or plants or make cost-cutting efforts. Explaining your experience of being let go due to downsizing is generally easier as it is a well-known circumstance in the job market. In some cases, downsizing events might have even been covered by news outlets, providing additional validation to your story. By acknowledging this common occurrence and its potential public visibility, you can confidently address the circumstances surrounding your job loss during interviews or discussions.
You had to quit due to a personal or family tragedy
Perhaps you had to assume the role of a caregiver for a sick parent, spouse, or sibling, or maybe there was a tragic loss in your family, and you had to step in to provide support. Handling such challenging circumstances is undoubtedly difficult, but it serves as an acceptable and understandable explanation for any employment gaps or transitions.
You quit to find a better opportunity
Although it’s generally advantageous to secure a new job before leaving your current one, there are instances where quitting becomes necessary to dedicate time to finding a new opportunity. Even if you experienced dissatisfaction in your previous job, it’s advisable to frame your departure as a search for new growth and opportunities rather than focusing on negative aspects.
Typical Questions (and Answers):
Employers value insights into your employment status and motivations. Therefore, it is essential to understand your reasons for being unemployed or contemplating a job change. To prepare for interviews, familiarize yourself with common questions that may arise, such as:
Why are you looking to leave (or why did you leave) your current job?
- Looking for better opportunities.
- Your current company is downsizing (moving, closing, etc.).
- You were not looking to leave your current job, but are really interested in this opportunity and the company.
- You want to make more money (which should not be the main reason).
- Limited Opportunities at your current employer.
Did you leave voluntarily or were you let go?
- If you were let go, try to keep the answer short and to the point.
- Focus on the job not being the best fit for you and your
skills (have examples). - Maybe you were asked to take on responsibilities that your employer felt you could not handle.
Stay Positive:
Regardless of your reasons for leaving or being let go from your current job, it’s crucial to refrain from expressing negativity towards your former employer or company. Instead, emphasize the positive aspects of your prior role, such as the valuable
Being well-prepared to address gaps in your employment history is important when questioned by potential employers. It’s crucial to avoid attempting to conceal a job that ended poorly by manipulating dates on
Good reasons for gaps in your employment history would be staying home with the family such as taking care of someone who is sick or raising the kids. Other reasons could be for moving to a different town.
However, even if you really did take time off to say travel or say write a book, may to you sound OK, it may not sound so good to a prospective employer so you might not want to use that as a reason, even if it is true.
Nearly 50,000 people lose their jobs EVERY DAY. Are you one of them? Have you recently lost your job? Are you worried about what’s going to happen with your career next? Are you battling emotional issues such as self-doubt and anxiety? Before you burn down the building, read this first.
Joey Trebif is the pen name of Mark Fiebert, a former finance executive who hired and managed dozens of professionals during his 30-plus-year career. He now shares expert job search, resume, and career advice on CareerAlley.com.
