Why are you leaving your current job?
This question is about how you talk about a job you are leaving. The reader is listening for blame, for a secret, and for whether your reason would match what a reference would say.
What the employer is checking
They want a reason that points forward and does not ask them to referee your last workplace. They are also listening for stability. A reason that is only about escape, with no picture of the work you want, makes the next job look temporary too.
How to answer honestly
Use a reason you could say to your current manager. Hours that no longer fit, work you have grown past, a move, a contract that ended, or a wish for a different setting are all fine when they are true. If you were laid off, say that plainly. Do not dress a firing up as a personal quest, and do not dress a quest up as a layoff. Skip gossip and a diagnosis of someone's character.
A short example
These are shapes, not answers from a real applicant. Use the stronger one only where every detail is true for you.
Good. The contract covering my current assignment is ending, and I am looking for a lasting role in the same kind of work. I am leaving on terms I can describe to the person I report to.
Bad. My manager is impossible and the place is a mess. I need out as soon as you will take me, and I will tell you the real story off the record.
Pitfalls
- A speech about being undervalued, with no picture of the work you want next.
- A reason that contradicts the dates on your resume.
- Hinting at a legal fight, a scandal, or a coworker's private life.
How ApplyASAP answers it
ApplyASAP drafts this from what your resume shows about the move and from anything you have said about why you are looking. It will not invent a layoff, a promotion, or a conflict to make the story neater.
ApplyASAP drafts answers from your real resume and never invents experience. It does not change your employers, dates, degrees, or titles, and it does not invent a number, a certification, or a person you managed.
Guides that support this answer
Cover letters are where the longer proof for this answer lives. The roles below are close to that proof. Reading a posting, tailoring, and follow-up live in the job search guides.
Questions
- What if I am employed and only exploring?
- Say that. Exploring while employed is ordinary. Pretending you have already resigned is a fact you will have to unwind.
- Should pay be the reason?
- You can say the level no longer matches the work if that is true. Do not use this box to name a figure. A complaint about pay, with no other reason, sounds like the only motive.