11 Best Answers For “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job”

Conducting an interview can be a daunting task. The anticipation of potential questions and formulating on-the-spot responses can create stress and overthinking. However, it’s essential to gather your thoughts, remain composed, and prepare thoroughly for your upcoming interview.

Anticipating questions, particularly those related to the technical aspects of the job, can be beneficial. By familiarizing yourself with common interview queries, you can craft well-thought-out responses in advance.

Among the standard interview questions, one that consistently arises is, “Why did you leave your last job?” It’s crucial to anticipate and prepare for this inquiry to avoid leaving a negative impression.

Since you’re likely seeking a suitable response to this question, rest assured, we have you covered. In this article, we provide examples of answers to help you navigate this query during your interview and leave a positive impression. Feel free to peruse the following “why did you leave your last job” responses for guidance.

Why Did You Leave Your Last Job Answers

1. Looking for new experiences

This one would be a more appropriate answer to this question as it would make you look like an ambitious person who is looking for new opportunities and experiences. Willing to leave their last job because it isn’t taking them anywhere is also a sign of bravery so that would too help you look good as well.

If you are working for a small company, organization, or agencies then no interviewer would find any fault or any fowl reason for you to leave the job.

You can say as follows:-

I had been working for the company for a long time now and now I wanted to find a new environment or job to continue growing.

2. Left the job for career growth

If your past company and workplace have failed you in giving you the growth in the career that they have promised then it can’t your fault to quit. The interviewer won’t be hearing for the first time and they would probably understand it too.

You can say:-

I wasn’t happy with my career growth so I decided to get a new job.

Related: Questions To Ask During Job Interview / Questions To Ask When You Get A Job Offer

3. Change in career direction

It’s pretty common for people to change the career direction, at any point in their lifetime. So this would be a pretty safe answer too. Of course, in this case, the job you are applying for should be different than the last job.

4. Your last job can’t challenge you enough

One of the best answers that you can give to this question is that you didn’t find the last job challenging enough.

Again, it would make you look ambitious and challenging enough that you are willing to leave a job just because you weren’t satisfied with your last job. You can also say that you are capable of doing much more than what your last job was asking for.

You can also point out that you are capable of accepting the new challenges that this position has to offer you.

5. Restructuring of company

One of the things that can be understood by the interviewers about you leaving your job is that you weren’t comfortable with there structuring of your last company.

You don’t have to speak ill about it but you can say you didn’t feel comfortable about this so you decided to leave.

6. Your role at the company changed over the time

Another one of the reasons to leave a job is when a person is not getting what he was promised at the start of the job, whether it’s the work or the pay scale. So you can say that your role was not what it had been promised to you so you decided to leave for good.

7. I needed a change

It’s another acceptable answer to give for this question. Anyone can feel a little bored after doing the same kind of work overtime and there is nothing wrong with that. So do say that you have been doing the job for quite some time now and you weren’t as excited as you were before, so decided to leave the job.

8. My last job wasn’t helping me achieve my career goal.

Every ambitious person has the career goals that they need to achieve. They would want to do the job that would bring their career closer. So if your last job wasn’t right for the career goals then it wasn’t your fault at all. So you can say that you have left your last job because it didn’t fill the requirements which you needed to achieve your goal.

9. I was ready to take new responsibilities

It’s also a valid reason to leave your last job when you are not satisfied with the responsibilities that you have been given at your last job.

10. I had to resign due to family issues

If that was the case for you leaving your last job then you can say so without hesitating. Putting your family first is not a weakness. You can say that now you have taken care of everything and you are ready to give your full attention to your career.

Related: Reasons Why You Can’t Find A Job / Job Search Engines

11. My position was eliminated and I was laid off

This often happens in the companies when underwent a merger or some massive changes. If that was the case then you can say so too. Be ready to share a few details on this topic as well cause there might be some follow-up questions.

Conclusion

These responses provide the most suitable answers to the question “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job.” We’re confident that you won’t find more fitting responses elsewhere. These answers not only present you in a positive light but also convey a sense of professionalism. Feel free to practice these responses or tailor them to your specific circumstances.

We conclude our article with the hope that you found it helpful and informative. If you have any questions or require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.