3 Acceptable “Reasons” for Quitting Your Last Job

You quit. You probably quit for a good reason. That reason may or may not have to do with a tremendously annoying coworker, a boss whose suit always smells like your grandfather’s feet, or work that was considerably more difficult than it was supposed to be.

It should come as no surprise that if you are asked why you left your last job, you cannot share these reasons in your job interview. Your interview must be focused only on the positive. You massively harm your chances of getting the job if you complain about your last workplace in any way.

However, you do need to give a reason for quitting, and lying is never acceptable. So your best bet is to choose a harmless reason that is true in essence, even if it was not on the forefront of your mind when you left your job.

Reasons for Leaving

• “I realized the job no longer fit my long term goals.”

This answer is always true. Always. Did you have a job where you hated your boss? Chances are you didn’t want to work for them forever, so yes, the job did not suit your long term goals. If you are asked to explain this answer, though, you should say something like “The structure of the department made it unlikely that I would be able to continue doing the work I love long term.”

• “I wanted to work for a company that is more stable.”

If the company has had layoffs, but you were not one of the people that ways laid off, you have ammo for leaving. You can claim that you left because you wanted to work for a company where layoffs were less common, so that you could focus on the work instead of the organizational situation.

• “I have doubts about the company’s viability in the long term.”

If you work for a start-up, or a company that has been experiencing significant losses, or a company with a lot of quality competition, this is also a good reason for leaving. Companies will respect your decision to work for a company that looks like it will succeed.

Additional Reasons

There are other good reasons to leave your last job as well, including:

• You moved.
• Your department got cut and you had to take on a new role.
• You were looking for additional challenges and it would be a long while before a growth position became available.

Yet those three may not be applicable to your situation. Usually at least one of the 3 answers provided in the list above is applicable to every job, so if you quit and you don’t have a good reason like “I changed state,” you can use one of those and give an adequate answer that won’t harm your chances of getting the job.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Don’t give the real reasons.
• Give reasons that don’t speak negatively about your previous company.

Interesting Interview Question: If You Could Start Your Last Job Over, What Would You Do Differently?

In our last Interview QA post, we discussed how to answer questions about what you would do differently in your life. To review:

• Focus on your professional life.
• Don’t give an answer that they can hold against you.

Rather than what you would do differently in life, you may be asked something more specific, such as “What do you wish you did differently at your last job?” Even though the question is more specific, the same answer types apply:

• You can talk about education.
• You can say you would not change anything.

Ideally, though, you should take this opportunity to talk about education. Use the same tactics as described in the previous article, but rather than talk about college, mention the classes the company offered, or the classes you noticed were available when not in the office.

Bad Answer

“I wish I didn’t work there in the first place. It was not a pleasant environment. I also wish I didn’t try to flirt with my boss. When their partner found out, we were in a lot of trouble.”

Good Answer

“I wish I had taken advantage of some of the classes and conferences the company offered to pay for. At the time I wanted to keep my focus on the work, but I feel like I missed out on several potential learning opportunities.”

This is a respectable and real answer. If the company didn’t offer any trainings or paid classes, you can say that you wish you had taken your time away from work to study various things of your own (as related to your job, but not tasks that the new job needs you to do).

Take Away Interview Tips

• Don’t give the interviewer any ammo to use against you.
• Focus on something the interviewer will respect, that doesn’t speak poorly of your abilities.
• Don’t say you wish you took classes on something that directly relates to your ability to do the job you are interviewing for.

Difficult Interview Question: What Was Wrong With Your Last Company?

“Their coffee was legitimately disgusting. Have you ever sniffed something so foul that you could taste it? Imagine actually drinking it with regularity. Just awful stuff. It was like someone died in the coffee beans and we brewed it in a temperature that promoted bacteria growth. Once they refused to buy better coffee I was out of there.”

Chances are you left your last job because it sucked. The work was hard, the hours were long, the pay was inadequate and your boss’s breath often smelled as though he ate the same spicy Mexican food twice. For obvious reasons you do not want to share this with your potential employer, so your best bet is to choose something that is probably true, but wasn’t the first thing on your mind when you quit.

How to Answer

Acceptable answers for why you left your last company include:

• There were not enough growth opportunities.
• You had doubts about the company’s long term viability.
• Corporate restructuring changed your role within the company.
• You moved to a different city/state.
• You wanted to try your hand at starting a business.
• You want to look for a company that better suited your long term goals.

Chances are if you hated your job, it was unlikely you were getting a raise or a promotion any time soon, so that last answer should be the go-to answer when you cannot come up with anything better. All of those are acceptable reasons to leave your last job. Hating anything about the job is not acceptable.

Bad Answer

“My supervisor and I tended to have disagreements over the proper course of action. Over time I felt that those disagreements were starting to cause my anxiety at work, and I decided it was time to leave.”

Good Answer

“I realized that the job did not suit my long term vision. I wanted to work closer to the psychology field, but as my tasks started to change I ended up working closer with sales and marketing. I would like to find a career that I can do the work I am passionate about both in the short and long term.”

There you go. You left because you did not think the company would satisfy your long term career goals. Any time you are at a job you hate that answer is at least partially true, so if you cannot come up with a better answer, you can always go that route. Be prepared to explain what you mean.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Don’t give the actual reasons that you quit.
• Give reasons that are true, even if they were not the primary thing on your mind when you left.

Interview Question: What One Word or Phrase Would You Use to Describe Your Role at Your Previous Jobs?

“Manly,” she said with a smile.

For many hiring managers, a large part of the interview is trying to see how well you think on your feet. Asking you to sum up your entire work ethic into one word is difficult for even a seasoned interviewer. Some candidates laugh these questions off, and while the answer may not be too important, laughing off the answer like it is unimportant is a bad idea.

How to Answer

You only have one word. Try to choose one that makes you look intelligent. Avoid boring words like:

• Dependable
• Hardworking
• Smart
• Friendly
• Organized

None of these words are bad per se, but they are nothing special. Focus instead on words that by themselves are more impressive, like:

• Adaptive
• Expressive
• Innovative

Also, once you have chosen your word, make sure you have expanded upon it. Don’t leave to word hanging.

Bad Answer

“Leader. Because I was a leader at my previous job.”

This is a boring, easy answer. You can do better than this.

Good Answer

“Adaptive. My strategies, actions and sometimes even personality are based on what the situation requires, in order to do my job to the best of my ability.”

As you can see, this answer is a lot better. It uses a better word, it explains the word in terms that will impress the employer, and it shows that you are taking the question seriously. Your interviewer will be impressed by the thought that went into this choice and what it means about who you are as a person.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Choose a good word.
• Explain the word well.

Common Interview Question: Tell Me About the Work You Did at Your Last Job

“Alley-Oop”

There are a lot of interview questions that arise that make it difficult to discuss why you are such a good candidate for the job. For example, when someone asks “what didn’t you like about your last supervisor,” it is difficult to integrate reasons the company should hire you into your answer. With those kinds of questions, you are simply trying to avoid making any mistakes.

There are other questions that are the exact opposite. They give you the best set-up you can ask for to sell yourself to the company. They are giving you the alley-oop to give them a million different reasons to hire you. Your goal is to take advantage of it.

How to Answer

When asked what you did at your last job, this is a great opportunity to explain what makes you great. Focus on the tasks you did that will impress this employer, either by being relevant or showing that you have a considerable amount of intelligence. Do not gloss over this question.

Bad Answer

“Most of the time I spent working with my supervisor. We processed legal claims, contacted clients, and took phone calls when needed. I worked with Word, Excel and Access quite a bit, and I also helped create some organizational spreadsheets.”

This is not taking advantage of the opportunity. This is listing a few random tasks.

Good Answer

“In the beginning I spent much of my time researching case law and establishing procedural guidelines. Later, I would help the lead attorney draft pleadings and craft summarization documents. I spent several hours a week attending court hearings and compiling thoughts for the lead prosecutor of possible legal actions they could take with regard to witness testimony. Recently I have also had an opportunity to prepare clients for court hearings and work directly with complainants. I was often working independently on creating legal claims, and was in charge of outsourcing information gathering expeditions with contractors.”

This answer is much more in depth and (presumably) informs the employer of a broad range of experiences necessary to do the job, in this case as a paralegal. While you should not craft an answer directly for the job description, it is always a good idea to know what is important to the employer, and mention those tasks in your answer.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Take advantage of this question.
• Tailor your answers to fit the company.

Difficult Interview Question: What Didn’t You Like About Your Last Job?

Many interview questions have two versions – the positive version, and the negative version. For example “what is your dream job?” would be a positive, and “what would you never want to do for all of the money in the world?” is a negative. Positive questions are easier. You simply need to relate your answer to the job you are applying for and make sure it reflects well on you.

Negative questions are more difficult. Any time you answer the negative version of an interview question, you need to:

• Try and remain positive anyway.
• Make sure it does not relate to the job you are interviewing for.
• Continue to make sure you look like a good employee.

That can be very tough. So when you are asked “what didn’t you like about your last job?” you need to be certain that you are choosing something that doesn’t make it look like you are complaining and that you will not be a problem at the job you are applying for.

How to Answer

The best way to answer this question is to focus on one of these categories:

• Company organization.
• Growth opportunities.

These two are considered by interviewers to be fairly harmless, and all companies tend to believe that they have both an organized company and considerable growth opportunities, even if they don’t.

Bad Answer

“I didn’t like my last boss. He would constantly hound me over deadlines that I always reached, and would be looking over my shoulder at every moment despite me giving him no reason to believe I wasn’t working hard.”

This is an example of an answer that sounds like you are complaining. Don’t complain.

Good Answer

“The company did not have very many growth opportunities for staff in my position, because the positions were seen as independent parts of a whole. I would prefer to work for a company that will allow me to reach my potential in the future as I become a valued contributor to their team.”

This is essentially harmless, barely looks like you are complaining, and the company will respect your position on growth opportunities. This is a much better answer.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Focus on something harmless.
• Don’t complain.
• Make sure anything you say will not be a problem with the job you are interviewing with.

Common Interview Question – What Did You Like Most About Your Last Job?

There are a number of interview questions that are hard to mess up. As long as you give an answer that isn’t astoundingly stupid, you are going to get a “pass” for the question and the interviewer will move on.

The problem is that answering interview questions is not just about “passing.” Your goal is to stand out against other candidates. You want to be the best, not just “fine.” So when you are asked relatively simple interview questions, such as “What did you like most about your last job,” you want to take advantage of this easy question and provide and answer that will put you ahead of the other candidates.

How to Answer

Good answers will include the following:

• They will speak highly to your work ethic.
• They are related to what you can expect from the company you are interviewing with.
• They show that you have thought about this answer and have good self-awareness.

The more the interviewer can think to themselves “oh good, we have that here too” the more you improve your chances of getting the job.

Bad Answer

“My favorite part of my last job had to be the hours. 9 to 6 was the perfect schedule for me, and I enjoyed the 1 hour lunch, which we would often do as a group.”

Okay, that’s fine. You probably pass the question. Yet this doesn’t make the interviewer want to hire you any more than they did previously. This is simply an answer.

Good Answer

“What I most appreciated about my last job was the dedication to internal growth. They offered options for continuing education that helped improve my abilities to function within the company. It is one of the things that attracted me to this job, since your company also offers training to internal candidates in order to help them take on increased responsibilities.”

Here, you show that you are a dedicated employee devoted to improving yourself, and you tie it in directly with something the company has, so that they know that you put thought into both what you liked at your last job and what you are looking for in your next one.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Choose something that is applicable to the job you are interviewing for.
• Make sure it also reflects well on you as a candidate.

How to Answer Difficult Questions – Your Last Job

Over the next several months, we at Everyday Interview Tips will provide you with examples of some of the toughest interview questions as well as thoughts on how to answer them. Part of interview preparation is to practice both interview questions and answers so that you can become a master at supplying the perfect response to the toughest questions. In order to view other sample difficult questions and answers, click on the category “Interview Questions and Answers” on the top of this post.

Today’s Difficult Question: “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?”

Part of an interviewer’s strategy is to ask questions that are difficult to answer without giving away a part of your personality. The problem is that honest answers are going to reflect poorly on your candidacy, no matter how much the employer believes they value honesty.

Why do people leave their jobs?

• Their boss was a tool.
• Their pay was lower than they wanted.
• The job was boring.
• They got bad performance reviews.
• Their attractive coworker barely noticed them.
• They got fired.

Etc., etc. There are very reasons to leave a job that do not somehow reflect poorly on your character or your ability to do your job. However, since you are being judged on your character and your potential ability to do your job, answering this question honestly means that you could easily say something that scares the interviewer away. Instead, you need to come up with a “lie” that is based in truth in order to not damage your chances of landing the position.

The Truth is a Lie

It’s very hard to lie in an interview. If you get caught in that lie you won’t get the job, and if you are asked to elaborate you may easily find yourself rambling in a way that makes you look clueless and unprepared. The best way to answer the question is to say something that is true, but may not actually be the reason you left.

Examples (If You Quit):

• “I was hoping to commit to a company with more growth potential, but it was clear that with the way the company was currently structured, there would be very few chances to move up the corporate ladder.”
• “I wanted to work for a company whose products I could be more passionate about, and as I worked more with that business it became clear to me that where the products were headed was not in the direction I would have hoped.”
• “While I loved the company and treasured my time there, there were times where I felt that he company’s goals and my goals were not in sync. I decided it would be better to explore the job market and see if there was a company that could best benefit from my education and experience.”

As you can see, each of these examples can be true. Even if you left because your boss was a tool, chances are you were not moving up within the company. It’s not wrong. Avoid mentioning any personal problems or dissatisfaction with your work and keep your answers focused on the future and commitment.

Examples (If You Were Fired/Laid Off):

It is a little harder to come up with answers if you were laid off. In some cases it may be in your favor to be completely honest. For example “My company decided to outsource our department to cut costs.” This is a good answer that does not at all reflect poorly on your ability to do your work. However, if you were fired for a reason that is less complimentary, you can try answers like these:

• “It was clear that the company’s vision and my own had been growing apart in the months before I left. I still keep in touch with many of my coworkers though regularly and I keep myself updated on how the company is performing.”
• “When I came in the goal of my position was to do tasks X, Y, and Z. I completed those tasks effectively, and as time went on they needed someone else to with different experience to complete their newer goals.”

It may be tough to form an answer that does not mention any negative reasons for you being laid off, but if you sound as though you still care about the former company and everyone in it, even after being laid off, you should answer the question well enough to avoid any serious doubts. If you were fired it is even more important that you practice your answer as much as possible to avoid making any serious mistakes.

Overall, answering a question about why you left your last job can be difficult. That is why it is important to practice this question, as well as other interview questions and answers as often as possible to ensure that you are ready for any question the interviewer throws at you.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Remain positive, avoid any type of negativity.
• Look for a “reason for leaving” that is true, but only barely so.

Additional Links

• Other General Interview Questions and Answers