Don’t take out the dirty washing with your answer

Moving on from one job to another always begs the question: Why are you leaving or have left your job?

US career website, The Balance, says that how you answer will depend on whether leaving was your decision or not. Either way, prepare an answer that casts you in the most positive light.

And practise your answers, so you sound positive and clear about your circumstances and your goals for the future.

Make sure that your response reflects your particular situation. Be direct, positive and focus your interview answer on the future.

Let’s look at some of the answers for this question:

• I was bored with the work and wanted a challenge. I am an excellent employee and I didn’t want my unhappiness to have any impact on the job I was doing for my employer.
• There isn’t room for growth with my current employer. I’m ready to move on to a new challenge.
• I’m looking for a bigger challenge and to grow my career, but didn’t feel like I could give equal attention to my job search and to my full-time work responsibilities. It didn’t seem ethical to slack off from my former job in order to conduct my job search and so I left the company.
• I was laid off from my last position when our department was eliminated due to corporate restructuring.
• I’m relocating to this area due to family circumstances and left my previous job to make the move.
• My current work role is taking me in the direction I want to go in my career and my current employer has no opportunities in this area.
• After several years in my last position, I’m looking for a company where I can contribute and grow in a team-oriented environment.
• I am interested in a new challenge and an opportunity to use my technical skills and experience in a different capacity than I have in the past.
• I recently received my degree and I want to utilise my educational background in my next position.
• I am interested in a job with more responsibility, and I am very ready for a new challenge.
• I left my last position in order to spend more time with my family. Circumstances have changed and I’m more than ready for full-time employment again.
• I am seeking a position with a stable company with room for growth and opportunity for advancement.
• I was commuting to the city and spending a significant amount of time each day on travel. I would prefer to be closer to home.
• To be honest, I wasn’t considering a move, but I saw this job posting and was intrigued by the position and the company. It sounds like an exciting opportunity and an ideal match with my qualifications.
• This position seemed like an excellent match for my skills and experience and I am not able to fully utilise them in my present job.
• The company was cutting back and, unfortunately, my job was one of those eliminated.

Don’t badmouth your boss

Regardless of why you left, don’t speak badly about your previous employer. The interviewer may wonder if you will be bad-mouthing his company next time you’re looking for work. I once interviewed a person who told me that her last employer was terrible. They didn’t pay her enough, the hours were awful and she hated the job.

That company happened to be my company’s biggest – and most important – customer. And there is no way I would have hired someone who felt that way, justified or not, about our valuable client. So, she gave up any opportunity of getting the job as soon as she answered the “Why did you leave?” question.

Read previous articles in our careers series on Ummm … no, that’s the answer I was looking for , Getting to talk about weaknesses, Don’t dread the “tell me about yourself” question  and Damned if you don’t: Answering the salary question or visit our careers section.