How to Describe The Reason for Leaving a Job during an Interview?

How to Describe The Reason for Leaving a Job during an Interview?

When you’re preparing for an interview, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what questions they would ask. The most important thing is that your interviewers feel they’ve been given clear, succinct answers to their questions.

If you don’t know how to describe the reason for leaving your last job in an interview, then it’s best to prepare beforehand! In this article, we’ll look at some examples of reasons employees have left their jobs and how those reasons might impact your interview.

Be Clear and Concise

When describing your reasons for leaving a previous job, be as concise as possible. Stick to the facts and don’t go into too much detail. If you’re applying for a position at a new company, it’s best to focus on why you left the last one rather than dwell on what made that job challenging or difficult.

Overexplaining could cause unnecessary suspicion, so it is best to keep your answers short. However, that does not mean that you give vague explanations. Try to frame your answer in a way that gets to the crux within just a few sentences.

Avoid Including Negative Answers

When it comes to answering this question, you have to be careful. If your answer can be interpreted negatively, it’s better to rephrase it. The interviewer will probably not like your response to the situation and will judge your candidacy based on it!

For example: “I wanted more responsibility” or “There were some personal issues between me and my boss that made me want to leave” are both excellent reasons for leaving a job but they might make the interviewer think that these were valid reasons.

When in doubt, we suggest asking yourself these questions before answering: Is my answer going to make sense? Will I look like an idiot if I say it aloud?

Focus on Career-Related Reasons

In an interview, you could focus on career-related reasons for leaving a job. Here are some examples that you could refer to while drafting your answers:

• A new opportunity with an organization that you think will be better for your career.
• A change in the direction of your work after working at this organization for a while and feeling trapped by it.
• Wanting to pursue opportunities outside of the corporate world or being ready to move on from being a manager to explore other areas within business or management itself (for example, consulting).

Sample Answer

Try to phrase your answer genuinely and jot down a few bullet points instead of an entire paragraph so that your responses dont seem scripted. Here is a sample answer that you can take inspiration from:

“While my previous job was full of challenges and growth opportunities, I felt like the work culture was not the right fit for me. I would constantly catch myself overexerting and my creativity took a big hit because of it. However, my manager and my coworkers were extremely helpful and assisted me with learning new things. I think a change in work environment would help me put my new skills to fruition.”

Conclusion

Interviewers ask the question “why did you leave your previous job” to understand how you function as an employee and if you would be the right fit for their company. So it is important to make the right impression. Here are some tips you can follow:

• Avoid badmouthing your manager or coworkers as it speaks negatively about you
• Focus on the positives that you gained from your time at the company and add a few examples, if any
• While money can be a good factor, focus on career-related and skill-related answers to create a better impression