How To Answer “Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?” In An Interview

Every interview you attend will be unique. You will not always be asked the same questions during interviews.

However, some questions are common, and preparing your answers can improve your chances of success.

Jacob recently had a job interview after searching for seven months. The interview was going well until the interviewer asked Jacob why he left his previous job.

He was not prepared for this question, and he was silent for a moment, looking for the best answer.

“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 several times, but there was no actual response or action. So, I decided to leave.” he continued.

After this, Jacob says the mood of the interview changed, and the interview was over in the next two minutes. When he left the interview room, he could feel he had not answered the question well.

He signed up for our interview coaching session to understand better how to answer this question.

So, how should you answer, ‘Why are you leaving your current job?’ in an interview?

I spoke with Mary Amondo, an interview coach expert, on how best to answer this question. Here are some of the responses she gave;

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

Alwaysfocus 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 more consistently.

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

2. Leaving a job because you feel undervalued

Here, the focus is not on your feeling undervalued but on what you’ve achieved.

“In my current role, I am extremely proud to have achieved. However, I feel that now is the time to apply my skills to another company, hoping to achieve more success and deliver more value. Having read the job description, I believe I can provide genuine value in various 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 too good an opportunity to miss.”

Finally, how you answer interview questions will determine whether you get the job or not—even if you’re the most qualified professional.

If you have been struggling to respond to this and other common interview questions, consider investing in our interview coaching services for you to sharpen your interview skills and ace your upcoming interviews.