25th July, 2017

How to answer: Why did you leave your last job?

You’ll be asked a lot of tricky questions by the different HR managers that interview you during your job search, but “Why did you quit your last job?” is probably one of the most difficult ones to answer. After all, it’s often the case that you left your last role due to unpleasant circumstances. Even if it was nothing bad about that specific organization and you left because, say, you wanted to switch careers, it’s tough to answer the question without sounding like someone who is unsure of their career goals. However, if you prepare well enough and approach it the right way, this question is actually a great way to help the interviewer know you better on a more personal level. Just keep these tips in mind when forming your answer and you’ll do just fine!

Don’t go into detail

If, for example, you left your previous job because you had a major argument with your supervisor, then it’s totally okay to tell that to your current interviewer. However, don’t elaborate and explain every detail about the argument. The interviewer doesn’t care what the disagreement was, but more importantly, it makes you look petty and like you have something to hide. You need to find a good balance between convincing the interviewer that it was beyond your control and making it sound like you’re a person who can’t let go of grudges.

Don’t play the victim

In the situation above, you should also refrain from trying to convince an interviewer that your previous employer treated you unfairly. Even if you had the worst employer in the world, you should still remain professional when discussing the topic. In most cases, you should also be prepared to assume some responsibility for the situation not working out (or at the very least, pretend to do so). Demonstrating that you can remain objective and mature even in the worst scenarios will make a great impression on the interviewer.

Make sure you do your research beforehand

An interviewer can tell when a candidate hasn’t prepared for an interview, and this question is one of the easiest ways by which they can do that. This is because candidates often complain about aspects of their old job that they didn’t like without realizing that some of those things will also be part of the job they’re interviewing for. From this, the interviewer will quickly realize that the candidate actually has no clue what this new job entails. For instance, if the job you’re applying for is a videographer role where you’ll often work on projects with short turnaround times and you complain that at your last job they didn’t give you lots of advance notice for projects, then the interviewer will wonder why you’re applying for this role. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into so that you don’t end up embarrassing yourself.

Don’t avoid the question

Look, as awkward as this question can be, if the interviewer’s asked it, you can’t avoid answering. A lot of candidates make the mistake of trying to circle around the question and giving very vague responses for fear that they might answer it incorrectly. While that is a perfectly legitimate fear to have, interviewers also want to get to know you better, and appreciate you revealing a potentially unpleasant fact about your work history. Unless it was something genuinely horrible and/or illegal, if you are honest and take responsibility for your own actions, the interviewer won’t throw out your entire application just because you reveal that you screwed something up at your last role. After all, everyone makes mistakes.