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Interview-GAF: Best answer to "why you are leaving your current job?"

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PistolGrip

sex vacation in Guam
So gaf, I always get this question and I am always left wondering what the best answer would be. You never want to say your actual reason (money, I hate my boss, I got backstabbed etc... )

So GAF whats your best ( or the best you have heard) BS answer for Why are you leaving your current role?
 

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
My first job after the 08 elections, I got asked "Why did you leave your prior position?"

I just kind of stared at her thinking, "Oh wow, you clearly haven't read my resume."

But she stared back and me, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, uhm. We won. That's why."
 

Leunam

Member
"I've learned a lot in the five years I worked there and I felt it was time to move on to designing other things."
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
samus i am said:
Looking to take on new opportunities and gain more knowledge.

First post nailed it.

No one can ever fault you for leaving a job to further your career by learning new things. The moment you cease to learn anything new, that is as far as your career will go.
 
D

Deleted member 81567

Unconfirmed Member
"Coworkers made me feel uncomfortable"
 

LosDaddie

Banned
Combine these 2 quotes...

samus i am said:
Looking to take on new opportunities and gain more knowledge.

cloudwalking said:
"there was no opportunity for advancement in my previous job"

....and you're golden.

As someone who conducts interviews for my firm, the "Why are you job hunting?" question is just a standard stock interview question asked of everyone. It's kinda interesting, but not all that important unless you have some weird answer.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
It all depends where you're moving to and from.

When I switched from a small business to an academic environment, I made it very clear in my interview that I wanted to work on projects that were useful to the world, rather than to advertisers. I felt as though my previous job subordinated good, high quality editorial content to profitable, ad-friendly content.

Of course the irony is that now, 2 years later, every single advertising employee has left the company. Moved on to greener pastures. Because they didn't give a shit what the company was making, just how ads could be sold on it, and ads can be sold on anything. Meanwhile, the editorial department, who believe in their product, are largely still intact and working for the company. C'est la vie

If I had been applying to another small business, naturally I wouldn't have focused on that. I would have focused on the fact that there was little room for advancement at my previous job, or that I wanted to emphasize a different skillset, or whatever else.

It's also a dumb question to ask in an interview.
 

ScOULaris

Member
"I tend to bounce from one place of employment to the next."

Or you could also use, "I don't know what I want out of life."
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
The worst job interview questions:

1. Tell me about a time where you did _____ at your old job (even though I can clearly tell by your old job as a waiter or a register biscuit that you never would have done something like _____ before)

Examples of the ____ include:

Managed other people
Implemented cost saving mechanisms
Overcome adversity due to a strict deadline
etc.

2. What's your greatest weakness? (such a loaded question where you're expected to answer a negative with a positive and really has almost nothing to do with whether or not you're qualified for the position)
 

Deku

Banned
ChiTownBuffalo said:
My first job after the 08 elections, I got asked "Why did you leave your prior position?"

I just kind of stared at her thinking, "Oh wow, you clearly haven't read my resume."

But she stared back and me, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, uhm. We won. That's why."

What was your position?
 

Dali

Member
wienke said:
The worst job interview questions:

1. Tell me about a time where you did _____ at your old job (even though I can clearly tell by your old job as a waiter or a register biscuit that you never would have done something like _____ before)

Examples of the ____ include:

Managed other people
Implemented cost saving mechanisms
Overcome adversity due to a strict deadline
etc.

2. What's your greatest weakness? (such a loaded question where you're expected to answer a negative with a positive and really has almost nothing to do with whether or not you're qualified for the position)
Sometimes it's not the content of the answer so much as how you perform when delivering it. If the question doesn't apply to your old job, stating as much and perhaps giving an anecdote outside of an old job that parallels the situation in the question may be satisfactory. There are any number of other ways to answer and get a positive reaction. One things for sure; Twiddling your thumbs and saying "uhhh... ummmm... errrr... i dunno" or "I was a fucking cashier, yo!" probably won't get you that follow-up.
 

T1tan

Neo Member
It's important to resist the temptation to slag off your previous/current employers in this question. The thinking here is that if you are willing to speak negatively about your prior employer behind their back (without them being able to defend themselves) you will do the same thing with your *potentially* new employer.
 

Soda

Member
I think if you make them very circumstantial it will work to your benefit, as well as being able to tie in why you are leaving with why you took the job in the first place:

I took the job in order to learn more about ____ so that I can have experience in _____ in order to succeed as a ______

edit: this only works if you are in some sort of industry where you are trying to move up. wont work if you left mcdonalds to work for burger king or a shoe store.
 

Medalion

Banned
joelseph said:
If you are in IT make a Star Trek joke about the Borg. Works for any interview situation.
I tried that but my interviewer was named Locutus and he didnt find it too amusing
 

legend166

Member
wienke said:
The worst job interview questions:

1. Tell me about a time where you did _____ at your old job (even though I can clearly tell by your old job as a waiter or a register biscuit that you never would have done something like _____ before)

Examples of the ____ include:

Managed other people
Implemented cost saving mechanisms
Overcome adversity due to a strict deadline
etc.

2. What's your greatest weakness? (such a loaded question where you're expected to answer a negative with a positive and really has almost nothing to do with whether or not you're qualified for the position)


I hate the first one. When I was applying for jobs after Uni, I got it all the time. And my only real work experience was delivering Chinese food.

So one time, they asked something like "When have you used innovative methods to help your team bond together" or something stupid like that. Clearly I didn't have an answer relating to work, so I gave some crappy example from a sports team I played in. And the end of the question the woman just said, "Let's just keep it to work stuff, ok?"

I DIDN'T HAVE WORK STUFF YOU MORON WHY WOULD YOU ASK THAT QUESTION TO A 20 YEAR OLD WITH NO REAL PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE?!


p.s. I got the job.
 
Dali said:
Sometimes it's not the content of the answer so much as how you perform when delivering it. If the question doesn't apply to your old job, stating as much and perhaps giving an anecdote outside of an old job that parallels the situation in the question may be satisfactory. There are any number of other ways to answer and get a positive reaction. One things for sure; Twiddling your thumbs and saying "uhhh... ummmm... errrr... i dunno" or "I was a fucking cashier, yo!" probably won't get you that follow-up.

Exactly, the interviewer knows it's a bullshit question, but it's the same bullshit question that's asked at every interview. If you can't come prepared for questions as common as those then they probably wouldn't want to hire you anyways.
 

Medalion

Banned
People who give the stock response to these semi tough questions ever had a pushback to make u think about the answer deeper...

A interviewer has probably heard that line a million times, so outta boredom they ask u more shit on that line of thought why the answer works or doesnt
 
cloudwalking said:
"there was no opportunity for advancement in my previous job"


This ...

You want to make sure you don't trash your last job, that just you're looking for a "greater opportunity for growth"
 

ha1f

Member
"They say if you're the smartest person at work then you need to move on... and I'm the smartest person where I work."
 

Dynedom

Member
Depends on circumstances but you might want to talk about challenge or relevancy to what you ultimately want to do.

This also largely depends on what type of job you're departing from too. Some jobs have high turnover rates and it's expected that you don't stay there for more than 1-2 years (e.g. working in a call center).

If you disliked your job, sometimes you need to explain why in a tactful manner. I've mentioned that I didn't like aspects of previous jobs in the past. You have to just word it right and comment on what you did like as well. You don't want to come across as ungrateful/a prick/a drifter.
 

PistolGrip

sex vacation in Guam
LyleLanley said:
Exactly, the interviewer knows it's a bullshit question, but it's the same bullshit question that's asked at every interview. If you can't come prepared for questions as common as those then they probably wouldn't want to hire you anyways.
Actually many interviewers ask this question for good reason. It is not really a stock question. They really do want to know because it makes a difference. If the person is leaving because he wants more money then you wouldnt want to hire him. If he is leaving because he had problems with his boss then that signals he may have problems with your team. Its asked in every interview because it absolutely important but I agree that most answers are BS.

Medalion said:
People who give the stock response to these semi tough questions ever had a pushback to make u think about the answer deeper...

A interviewer has probably heard that line a million times, so outta boredom they ask u more shit on that line of thought why the answer works or doesnt
Some interviewers can be aholes. I have seen and experienced this:

Interviewer: "why are you leaving your current role"
applicant: "I am looking for more responsibilities, and a bigger challenge"
Interviewer: "why not just move out within the firm?"
applicant: "There were no options to move"
Inteviewer: "In a big company like Widget Inc??"
applicant: "I looked but because of a bad economy there have been a lot of layoffs."
Interviewer: "In times of trouble is when the best opportunities present themselves"
applicant: "That can be true"
Interviwer: "We take hiring really serious here at Big Inc. I am not sure you are a good fit"
applicant: "then FU and your firm!"<leaves>
 

moojito

Member
PistolGrip said:
Actually many interviewers ask this question for good reason. It is not really a stock question. They really do want to know because it makes a difference. If the person is leaving because he wants more money then you wouldnt want to hire him. If he is leaving because he had problems with his boss then that signals he may have problems with your team. Its asked in every interview because it absolutely important but I agree that most answers are BS.


Some interviewers can be aholes. I have seen and experienced this:

Interviewer: "why are you leaving your current role"
applicant: "I am looking for more responsibilities, and a bigger challenge"
Interviewer: "why not just move out within the firm?"
applicant: "There were no options to move"
Inteviewer: "In a big company like Widget Inc??"
applicant: "I looked but because of a bad economy there have been a lot of layoffs."
Interviewer: "In times of trouble is when the best opportunities present themselves"
applicant: "That can be true"
Interviwer: "We take hiring really serious here at Big Inc. I am not sure you are a good fit"
applicant: "FU and your firm!"<leaves>

Missed opoprtunity for toppled magazine rack!
 
I would respond with something along the lines of "...the new job presents a logical progression in my personal and professional career development. It creates new opportunities for myself and the company to grow."

If i were to leave my current job it would definitely be because I don't think I've been afforded tools to succeed and to make the next step from my current position.
 

thefit

Member
Some good ones in here, I'm on the verge of moving on from my current career, pending my background check etc, gonna keep some of these although I don't think a face to face interview is in the cards as I've already been offered the position including a start date.
 

thefit

Member
teruterubozu said:
Being HR must suck. Listening to bullshit all day. How can anyone take these responses with a straight face?
That's how the working world works. Just part of the game.
 
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