Interview Guide: “Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?”

By Ruoro Kairu   

Every interview you attend will be a little different and unique. You cannot expect to be asked the same questions every time.

However, some of the questions are predictable, and you can prepare for the interview. Practice your answer to increase your chances of passing the interview and getting the job.

Jacob has been looking for a job for seven months and was recently invited to an interview. In his words, the interview went well, until he was asked why he left his previous position.

“You mentioned you resigned from your previous position, why is that?” asked the interviewer.

Jacob did not know what to say and for a few moments, he was silent, searching for the best answer to give.

“The pay was too little,” said Jacob. “When I joined, they promised they would increase my salary after a certain time, but once the time passed, they failed to keep their word. I tried to bring it up severally, but there was no actual response or action. So I decided to leave.” he continued.

After this, Jacob says the mood changed, and the interview was done in the next two minutes.

When he left the interview room, he could feel he had not answered the question the best way.

He booked a one on one interview coaching session so he could better understand how to answer this question.

How should you answer the question, ‘why are you leaving your current job?’

I spoke with Ms. Carolyne Kariuki, a top recruiter here at Corporate Staffing Services, and she mentioned this is a common question as it gives the employer insight into what you really care about.

From the way Jacob answered, you can almost assume he only cares about money. And that would explain why the employer soon ended the interview.

While money is a key factor, no employer will give you a job if your sole motivation is money.

I also spoke with Ms. Lucy, an interview coach expert, on how best to answer this question. Here are the tips she shared.

“The key to answering this question,” advices Ms. Lucy, “is to focus a little on the reason you are leaving your current position, and instead shift your focus to the opportunities in the position you’ve applied to.”

If you follow this method, you’re showing the employer that you’re not looking at the negative effects that have caused you to look for another job. Moreover, you show that you’re looking ahead to the opportunities available in the position you’re interviewing for.

I spoke to several professionals who are currently looking for a job and asked them why they left or are leaving their current position. I then spoke to Ms. Lucy to come up with a response for each of the top reasons. These include;

1. Leaving a job because you’re no longer learning in your current role

Based on what Ms. Lucy has advised above, you should focus on your desire to grow and develop.

Your answer should sound something like;

“While I have learned a lot in my current role, I am now looking for an opportunity where I’m able to expand on my skills and build on my experiences, on a more consistent basis.

I believe this opportunity may enable me to do that, as I’ve found from my research that your company takes priority in training and developing your staff.”

2. Leaving a job because you feel undervalued

Here, the focus is not the fact that you feel undervalued, but instead on what you’ve achieved.

“In my current role, I am extremely proud to have achieved A and B. However, I feel that now is the time to apply my skills to another company, with the hope of achieving more success and delivering more value. Having read the job description, I believe I will be able to provide genuine value in C, D and E areas.”

3. Leaving a job for lack of growth

“Although I was promoted to a supervisory position, after several years with the company, the business structure has made it difficult to progress further. The chance to apply the skills I have learned in my current role, to the more stretching responsibilities of an innovative and forward-thinking environment such as this, is simply too good an opportunity to miss.”

Finally, how you answer interview questions will determine if you get the job or not –even if you’re the most qualified professional. Ensure you land that job by preparing for the interview and consulting a professional interview coach.