{"id":396,"date":"2011-03-21T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T08:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/why-did-you-leave-your-last-job-396\/"},"modified":"2024-07-17T12:23:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T06:53:43","slug":"why-did-you-leave-your-last-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/why-did-you-leave-your-last-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?"},"content":{"rendered":"
By <\/span>Margot Carmichael Lester, Monster Contributing Writer<\/span><\/font> <\/font><\/font><\/font>\n<\/div>\n


\nThere are many reasons you might have left your last job, and not all of them are rosy. Perhaps you worked for a toxic boss or you met obstacles on your way up the ladder. Or maybe you were just plain bored with your work. <\/p>\n

Interviewers generally ask why you left your former company so they can \u00a1\u00a7understand your motives and gain insight as to how [you] handle work relationships,\u00a1\u00a8 says Duncan Mathison, author of Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Search When Times are Tough<\/em>. \u00a1\u00a7In particular they are asking themselves, \u00a1\u00a5Will they leave us in the lurch if they become dissatisfied?\u00a1\u00a6 or \u00a1\u00a5Is there some dirt here?\u00a1\u00a6\u00a1\u00a8 In short, asking \u00a1\u00a7Why did you leave your last job?\u00a1\u00a8 is one way for the interviewer to ensure you\u00a1\u00a6re a person of integrity.<\/p>\n

How to Answer Interview Questions Like This<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best strategy for effectively answering this tough interview question is to prepare for it. Here\u00a1\u00a6s how to be ready and how to recover when you\u00a1\u00a6re not.<\/p>\n

Emphasize Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do:<\/strong> Focus on results: Make a list of things you accomplished in your last position and focus on those, ending with something like, “\u00a1\u00a5Having successfully done that, I’m ready for another challenge,\u00a1\u00a6” suggests Stephen Balzac, president of 7 Steps Ahead, a business consulting firm in Stow, Massachusetts. \u00a1\u00a7Now what you’re saying to the interviewer is: \u00a1\u00a5You can count on me to get results and stay here until I do.\u00a1\u00a6”<\/p>\n

Don\u00a1\u00a6t:<\/strong> Answer in a way that doesn’t reassure the interviewer. \u00a1\u00a7Answers such as, \u00a1\u00a5I wasn’t being challenged\u00a1\u00a6, \u00a1\u00a5The work was no longer interesting\u00a1\u00a6 or \u00a1\u00a5The pay was too low\u00a1\u00a6 all say the same thing to the interviewer: that you might leave at any time if things aren’t to your liking,\u00a1\u00a8 says Balzac.<\/p>\n

Recover:<\/strong> If you give a bland answer, circle back to it quickly. And if you can\u00a1\u00a6t, revisit why you left your last job just before you end the interview. This allows you to leave the interviewer with your previous accomplishments top of mind.<\/p>\n

<\/font>Be Polite
\n<\/strong>
\nDo:<\/strong> Remember that employers run the show and can act as they see fit, according to Mathison. \u00a1\u00a7Yet at the same time, make it clear that the organization you seek has the qualities to perform at a higher level,\u00a1\u00a8 he says. An example: \u00a1\u00a7We all know that sometimes promises exceed reality. Our CEO was comfortable, as many are, with pushing the limits. But I feel that lasting business partnerships and profitability are built on my ability to deliver on my promises, so I\u00a1\u00a6m looking for that type of company.\u00a1\u00a8<\/p>\n

Don\u00a1\u00a6t:<\/strong> Badmouth the boss or the company. \u00a1\u00a7That implies you may be difficult to manage,\u00a1\u00a8 Mathison says.<\/p>\n

Recover:<\/strong> Acknowledge you were hard on your previous employer and restate your answer like this: \u00a1\u00a7That might be a little harsh. I know that my former company is trying to do its best under the circumstances. I\u00a1\u00a6m looking for a company that\u00a1\u00a6s a better fit for me.\u00a1\u00a8 This also shows that you\u00a1\u00a6re self-aware and have decent manners.<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font>One Final Tip for the Interview
\n<\/strong>
\nDon\u00a1\u00a6t dwell too long on your previous employer — the interview is about you, after all. \u00a1\u00a7Always bring the conversation back to your results and reliability,\u00a1\u00a8 Balzac notes.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Margot Carmichael Lester, Monster Contributing Writer There are many reasons you might have left your last job, and not all of them are rosy. Perhaps you worked for a toxic boss or you met obstacles on your way up the ladder. Or maybe you were just plain bored with your work.  Interviewers generally ask […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-interview-questions"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39470,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions\/39470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}