How To Answer “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?” (With Examples)

It can be common for interviewers to ask “Why did you leave your last job?” While it may seem like a trick question to make you fail, it’s actually a fairly simple question that you should know how to answer.

if you’re a job seeker with an interview coming up, we’ll go over how to answer “Why did you leave your last job?”, provide some example answers to this question, and we will go over some tips so you can answer this question and impress your interviewer.

Key Takeaways:

• Interviewers ask about why you left your last job to find out if you quit voluntarily or were terminated by your previous employer.

• It’s important to be honest about why you left your last job, because the interviewer will find out if you lie.

• Be positive about why you left your last job and don’t talk negatively about your last boss or the position.

How to answer “Why did you leave your last job?”

The best way to answer this common interview question is with (tactful) honesty, believable positivity, and a forward-thinking attitude. Here’s a more detailed list for answering questions about why you left your last job:

1. Start with a main point that connects to the new job. Whether it has to do with personal or professional reasons, you want to have a clear and coherent answer.

   Just as important is giving an answer that can easily segue into why this job you’re applying for is perfect in contrast to the less-than-perfect fit with your former employer.

2. Limit the details. You don’t need to overshare, and you certainly don’t need to volunteer information that makes you look bad. Be accountable for your mistakes and talk about what you learned from the experience.

   If your reasoning was personal and you left voluntarily, consider how you’ll phrase your answer and do your best to limit it to facts that would interest the interviewer.

   If you were laid off, think about an intelligent way to describe what was going on with the company at a macro-level that led to layoffs.

   Whatever your answer, fix the important details in your mind and stick to them. Going off-script might result in you accidentally bad-mouthing someone, which we want to avoid at all costs.

3. Be honest. One of the worst things you can do is lie about why you are leaving your job. Lying can backfire on you because a potential employer can find out in a matter of time.

   They may contact your previous employer or have connections to your previous employer. It’s best to be honest without giving too many details.

4. Be positive. Hiring managers and recruiters will see negative talk about your former workplace as a red flag — whether that’s fair or not. Instead, frame the experience positively, regardless of the reasons for your departure.

   Companies aren’t hiring for hard skills and qualifications alone; soft skills matter, and your capacity for diplomacy, tact, and careful communication may be just as important for your job as your technical abilities.

5. Be forward-thinking. Always bring your answer back around to your enthusiasm for the job and company you’re currently interviewing with. Some answers are easier to segue into this sort of thing than others, but the opportunity is always there.

   If you were fired, you can talk about how you want to put the lessons you learned into practice. If you were laid off, you can discuss how you’re excited to move into an industry that’s growing so rapidly.

   If you quit because of collaborative issues, highlight how great it is that teamwork is one of the company’s core values. If you quit for a better work-life balance, mention how the flexible schedules are really attractive to you.

   Whatever the reason, an answer that emphasizes your excitement for the future rather than dwells on the past will impress interviewers.

“Why did you leave your last job?” sample answers

Below are some overly honest answers, what your hiring manager may be hearing when you give that answer, and some, shall we say, creative ways you can reword these answers into something that would sound better/less overtly alarming.

1. The last job wasn’t challenging example answer

   When answering this question, you should avoid saying something like “I quit because I was bored,” or “I just wasn’t being challenged enough.” The interviewer will take this answer as you saying that you can quit at any time because of boredom.

   What to say instead: Your answer should focus on that you are more than just capable of doing the work, but also interested enough in the work that you won’t be back on the job hunt as soon you get hired.

   Emphasize that what you’re looking for is a new experience, but that you’re still capable of making a commitment to a new organization. Talk about why you’ve chosen to apply to this company in particular. What interests you about them specifically? Here’s an example answer of what you should say:

   “I worked for [X] company for [X] number of years, and it was time for me to make a change.”

2. You want to work with better people example answer

   You’ll want to avoid saying something like “I quit because my boss was a (and/or coworkers were) moron(s).” The interviewer will take this as you being rude and you don’t have anything nice to say about your previous employer. This is a major red flag for potential employers.

   What to say instead: If you dodn’t like them, try not to mention your boss or coworkers at all. Instead, focus on the company at large; you can disagree with the general direction of the company without sounding mean.

   It can be a really great jumping-off point for talking about reasons you’re excited to join this new company specifically. If it’s specifically a newer boss that you disliked at a company you’d already been working for a while, a good option here is to talk about your old boss.

   Discuss how it didn’t make sense for you to continue working at the company after she or he left, or how their leaving helped you realize that it was time for you to move on as well. This is a reasonable answer to a common enough situation, and perfectly sidesteps the issue of talking about your newer (idiot) boss.

   Try saying something like this instead:

   “I had a great relationship with my former boss, and when she left to work for XYZ Inc., she motivated me to also seek a role that better suits my skill set and values.”

3. Your last company downsized example answer

   Saying something like “I was laid off suddenly,” or “I was laid off for no good reason.” may make your interviewer think that you were not prepared about being laid off.

   What to say instead: Not an example where lying is required, but specificity is. You want to talk about precisely what happened. Was your company relocating, or merging with another? Were you overstaffed, or was your company cutting costs?

   Be as specific as you can be about this. It’ll show any potential hirers that you understand the complex reasons why a company may conduct layoffs.

   Showing that you have no hard feelings about this will demonstrate your ability to remain civil when this kind of unavoidable evils of the business world ends up affecting your livelihood. Here’s an example answer:

   “My last company was facing stiff competition from newer and more agile companies in the area, and they were forced to downsize certain departments. Marketing was especially hard hit, and the company laid off around 50% of the staff working there, myself included.”

4. You were fired example answer

   You should avoid just simply saying “I was fired.” This will lead to questions from the hiring manager.

   What to say instead: You should avoid lying about your reason because any hiring manager can discover this about you with a minimal amount of digging. All that they have to do is call your previous employer, and suddenly your secret is out.

   So, you have one shot here to convince your interviewer that despite being fired, you still deserve a shot. Your instinct here may be to trash talk your previous employer, which may make sense — if the reason you were fired is because your last boss was terrible, this will clear up the issue right away.

   You should avoid doing this because you’ll end up running into the same problem of the hiring manager not knowing who to believe in this scenario. Your answer will depend on how you left your last place of employment.

   If you can cite your last boss as a reference, that’s the best of all possible worlds. She or he can go to bat for you at your new place and tell them all about how wonderful you are, and any fears a hiring manager might still have can be squashed right away.

   “I had trouble keeping up with deadlines at my last editing job, and I was let go as a result. Since then, I’ve been freelancing a bit, and it’s really helped me stay organized and on top of everything. I now keep a spreadsheet of all my tasks with urgency and importance levels assigned to each, and it’s made a big difference in my time management and planning.”

Tips for answering “Why did you leave your last job?”

When answering “Why did you leave your last job?” you should avoid badmouthing your old boss or coworkers and try to be creative when discussing any negative experiences. Here are some more tips to keep in mind when answering this question:

• Don’t hate on your old boss. You should avoid bad-mouthing your boss. Even if your boss was a grade-A jerk, it’s difficult for the interviewer to take you at your word. They don’t know you, and it’s just as likely that you were the difficult one to work with, not your boss.

  Additionally, they’ll be thinking about the kind of things you might say about the company you’re applying to, should you manage to get the position.

• Be creative when discussing negative experiences. You want to keep in mind that this person who’s interviewing you is meeting you for the first time as well. Even if they seem polite and understanding in person, once it comes time for them to make hiring decisions they may not feel able to take a risk on someone whose background sends up too many red flags for them.

  If they know that someone they’re looking to hire had a terrible relationship with their last employer, then the immediate concern for them is not a potential hire’s boss, but their potential new employee (aka you).

  Think about how you can frame your more honest answers about why you left your previous position into something that employers are looking for.

• Keep your answer concise. Only focus on the information that is relevant to the job. You don’t want to give every little detail as to why you are leaving your last job. This will also help keep your answer short and to the point.

• Focus on your career goals. Make sure you focus on your answer on your goals and where you want your future will go. This will show the interviewer that you want to succeed in the new position.

Why interviewers ask “Why did you leave your last job?”

Interviewers ask about why you left your last job to find out if you quit voluntarily or were terminated by your previous employer. When hiring managers and recruiters hear that you left voluntarily, they also want to know what prompted you to do so.

• They’re looking for the truth, but you always want to give a story that makes you look like a solid and reliable employee who is seeking greater challenges and a better outlet for your skill set.

• Interviewers also hope for a bit of insight into your loyalty and professionalism. Ideally, you gave plenty of notice and helped with the transition. This will put the hiring manager’s mind at ease about how considerate and dependable you are.

• If you were fired or laid off, interviewers want to hear the truth of the matter (to a certain degree). They want to see that you understand the circumstances that led to your termination and that you don’t hold a grudge.

• If you were fired for something that was your fault, they also want to hear what you learned and how you’ve grown from the experience.

• Ultimately, they want to hire an employee who can remain diplomatic and has stayed on good terms with their former employer, regardless of the circumstances.

Common reasons for leaving a job

Here are some of the most common reasons for leaving a job:

• The company you worked for went out of business

• You feel undervalued in your current position

• You are overworked and underpaid

• The scheduled hours don’t fit your current needs

• You don’t fit in with the company culture

• You have a better job offer

• You wanted to work in a different industry

• You went back to school to get a degree in a different field

• You’re looking for a higher salary

• You want more of a challenge

• You are seeking a better management relationship

• You want to grow in your career

• You need to relocate

“Why did you leave your last job?” FAQ

1. Should I tell my interviewer why I was fired?

   Yes, you should tell your interviewer why you were fired. It’s best to tell the truth, even if the reasons are negative. If you lie to the interviewer, they will find out in the background or reference check, so it’s best just to tell them the truth.

2. What are good reasons to be leaving your job?

   some good and common reasons to leave your job include:

   • You need to move or relocate and cannot commute to work anymore.

   • You are looking for a new challenge.

   • The hours or pay no longer fit your needs.

   • The company went out of business or downsized.

Final thoughts

Let’s start this section with a short recap. When asked why you left your last job, you should keep the following points in mind:

Be nice about your previous employer, even if they were a jerk and a half.

Keep the focus on what you learned as a result of your previous employment. Be honest about why you left, but try not to linger too long on the leaving.

When in doubt, keep to the age-old mantra; if you can’t say anything nice, yadda yadda yadda. You get it. Be nice. Get the job. Have fun.

References

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Employment Interviewing: Seizing the Opportunity and the Job

Author

Ryan Morris

Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. He obtained his BA and Masters from Appalachian State University.