When attending a job interview, there are several questions that are asked. Some questions are related to the everyday work of the individual, while others are professional questions. Every question in the interview is important and is the make or break question that would be the deciding factor as to whether you are selected for the job or not. One such important question is the reason why you left your previous jobs.
There are several answers to the eternal question, “Why did you leave your last job?” While the question can be asked in many ways, the answer should always be the same.
Read further to find out more about the question and its answers.
The question itself can be asked in several ways, depending on the timelines:
If you have recently quit your job and are looking for a job while not working, you will be asked “why you have left your previous job”.
If you are currently working and are attending an interview for another job, you will be asked what the reason that you wish to leave your current job is or why you wish to leave your current job.
Sometimes, the interviewer may also ask “why did you leave your previous job for your current job?”
Regardless of how these questions are asked, there are several types of answers that are acceptable as a reason for leaving a job.
Good and acceptable reasons for leaving jobsUndoubtedly, the acceptable reasons for leaving a job have changed over the years.
For example, even just a few decades ago, leaving a job would most probably mean that a person is either moving from his or her place of residence or that the company itself has closed for good. However, with the change in corporate and human mentality, there are more and more acceptable reasons for leaving a job today.
The average job span of a person has decreased from a good fifteen/twenty years to a mere two to three years. Therefore, if you have worked in a company for two or three years and are now looking for a job, you may have many good reasons as compared to several years ago.
Answering the interview question: why did you leave your last job?The following are acceptable answers as good reasons to leaving a job:
Career growth
You can easily say that you are looking for a change in role and wanted more growth, or even that your position was getting stagnant. This might be an acceptable reason for quitting your job, but this by no means gives you leeway to criticize your job.
Your career path
One reason is basic dissatisfaction with your career. Remember that it is not about the particular company or the department, but your career on the whole. This reason would hold true if you have a rich career profile and are currently applying for a job in a new profession.
Looking for challenges
One of the most common and simple reasons is that your job was at a standstill and you wished to seek newer avenues and greater challenges.
Restructuring
Another common reason nowadays is company restructuring. When a company restructures, it can lay off several people, and in a timeframe. Therefore, even if you have not been directly told to go, nobody would blame you if you are looking for avenues because your colleagues or some other department has been told to go.
Relocation
More often than not, relocation is another reason that is blindly accepted by a company as a reason for looking for another job.
While these are just some of the traditional reasons for a job change, there are some reasons that are more or less accepted today.
Enhanced Education
Another reason that can be provided is enhancement of abilities and education. If you have recently acquired a degree and have decided to utilize your education to enhance your professional profile, this would be a good reason to give for this question.
Workplace distance
Sometimes, even reasons related to daily commutation, like spending too much time commuting from your place of work to your place of residence, as well as less time spent with family can be considered to be the reason/one of the reasons for leaving a job.
Remember that you cannot lie about the reason why you quit your job.
In this era of references and cross references, finding out the real reason why you quit your job is as simple as dialling ten digits on a mobile device.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Interview Question: Do You Have Any Questions For Me?
In most cases, the interviewer invites the candidate to ask questions at the very end of the job interview.
If you want to establish good communication between you and the interviewer, you would want to ask questions, not just any questions – you should prepare yourself to ask the right questions.
When the interviewer asks the question: “do you have any questions that you would want to ask us? During an interview, he doesn’t want to be polite; he actually wants to give you an open invitation to present your thoughts about the job and your expectations.
He or she wants to learn more about you in case he or she missed something during the course of the interview.
In fact, not having well-considered questions to ask the interviewer, is a missed opportunity to learn about the job challenges and what is expected from you.
It is also a good opportunity to get useful information about the company and the workplace culture.
And most importantly, it is another great chance to demonstrate, indirectly, your skills and professional experience and to present the important factors for you on the said job.
You may be surprised to know that most candidates do not take this opportunity and answer – “no, I think we’ve covered everything..”
It is because some candidates mistakenly think that asking questions shows lack of confidence or lack of knowledge. Other candidates haven’t prepared questions, may be too anxious or simply do not have any questions to ask.
You wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared. A good response on your part would be “yes I do.”
How to face the “do you have any questions for me?” interview questionOne of the best ways to handle this is to present the question + to tell why you are asking this question – why is important for you to clarify the issue.
For example –
• You can ask about the job challenges while emphasizing that you like to be motivated by well focused daily work challenges, multi-tasking and even pressure.
• You can also ask about the company policy regarding professional development and tell the interviewer that you would consider this an important aspect for enhancing your skills and experience.
• You may ask about your perspective team and the workplace environment/culture, stating that as a team player effective team work is your first priority.
• Other questions can be asked to high level managers about the company goals, competition, the industry challenges etc., showing an interest in the company and its vision.
You shouldn’t ask too many questions – determine the number of questions you want to ask, when to ask them and pick your questions wisely.
Of course, asking about salary, benefits and vacation, during a regular interview is considered offensive/rude, might make the interviewer uneasy and consequently lead to losing the job interview.
If you want to establish good communication between you and the interviewer, you would want to ask questions, not just any questions – you should prepare yourself to ask the right questions.
When the interviewer asks the question: “do you have any questions that you would want to ask us? During an interview, he doesn’t want to be polite; he actually wants to give you an open invitation to present your thoughts about the job and your expectations.
He or she wants to learn more about you in case he or she missed something during the course of the interview.
In fact, not having well-considered questions to ask the interviewer, is a missed opportunity to learn about the job challenges and what is expected from you.
It is also a good opportunity to get useful information about the company and the workplace culture.
And most importantly, it is another great chance to demonstrate, indirectly, your skills and professional experience and to present the important factors for you on the said job.
You may be surprised to know that most candidates do not take this opportunity and answer – “no, I think we’ve covered everything..”
It is because some candidates mistakenly think that asking questions shows lack of confidence or lack of knowledge. Other candidates haven’t prepared questions, may be too anxious or simply do not have any questions to ask.
You wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared. A good response on your part would be “yes I do.”
How to face the “do you have any questions for me?” interview questionOne of the best ways to handle this is to present the question + to tell why you are asking this question – why is important for you to clarify the issue.
For example –
• You can ask about the job challenges while emphasizing that you like to be motivated by well focused daily work challenges, multi-tasking and even pressure.
• You can also ask about the company policy regarding professional development and tell the interviewer that you would consider this an important aspect for enhancing your skills and experience.
• You may ask about your perspective team and the workplace environment/culture, stating that as a team player effective team work is your first priority.
• Other questions can be asked to high level managers about the company goals, competition, the industry challenges etc., showing an interest in the company and its vision.
You shouldn’t ask too many questions – determine the number of questions you want to ask, when to ask them and pick your questions wisely.
Of course, asking about salary, benefits and vacation, during a regular interview is considered offensive/rude, might make the interviewer uneasy and consequently lead to losing the job interview.
Interview Question: Why Should We Hire You
When it comes to job interviews, there are several questions that are not exactly work related, but are one of the major reasons why your job interview does not provide the results that are in your best interests.
One such question is: “why should we hire you?” Basically, this question is one of the important questions during an interview.
For one, the interview question “give us reasons to hire you”, “why should we employ you” or “what can you bring to our company” is something that differentiates the best candidates from the other good candidates.
This question is more often a surprise question to most individuals who are not as experienced in the process of the job interview. Also, this question works as a divider between the people who are just casually looking for a job and the people who are really seeking a job.
If a person does his or her homework in the right manner, he or she would certainly come across this question as one of the most frequently asked questions and may also know how to handle it.
Answer To Why Should We Hire You While answering this question, remember that the answer should not come across to be egotistical or be completely unrealistic. You should focus on providing reasons to hire you over someone else in the best way you can.
The following are some points to consider:
1. One of the best ways to answer this question is to make a short list of all your advantages and create a paragraph that would point out the positive aspects that you would bring to the new job position.
2. One of the points that you can raise is the similarity of the job profile you are aiming for at the company to the job profile you enjoyed in your previous job.
3. You can also draw the interviewer’s attention to your key skills and strengths, namely – quick learning, excellent communication skills, etc.
4. In addition, your professional ambitions should be made clear – the motivation and dedication that you have for the profession and the opening position.
5. Make sure that your answers do not come out to be too much about yourself or that they come across as conceited.
6. Your body language when you answer the question is important too. For example, your body language should make it clear that you have thought it over and given a carefully worded answer, instead of coming up with a made up, contrived answer.
While answering, firstly, take one of the job requirements, then focus on one of your related strengths/skills AND give a concrete example (a success story) based on your past experiences to support your point. Break the job requirements into fragments and continue in this manner.
For the last sentence, a phrase that can be used is:
The job is tailored to my (or- I will bring my) experience, knowledge base and abilities and I believe I can maximize my skills for the benefit of the company.
Other good phrases can be found at –
1. Why do you want this job.
2. Why did you choose this career.
3. Resume objective examples.
What can you bring to this company?In summing up this question, I believe that it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that your answer is one of the crucial “make or break” moments in a job interview:
1. Before this question, you’ve already talked about your experience, your education, your strengths and weaknesses and your skills. What else can you say?
2. Keep in mind that other candidates probably answered this question and this is your best chance to distinguish yourself from the others.
3. “Why should I hire you?” – Here is your chance to perform – go and sell yourself!!
This question is not an open invitation to repeat and describe your profile. Your answer should not only focus on yourself – It should reflect back to the job requirements and to the company.
4. The interviewer wishes to observe what you can bring to the company – what your real value is.
Why are you the best person for the job? What can you contribute to this company? think smart..
They’re offering you a ladder to a professional career with a good salary and benefits. What are you offering them?
One such question is: “why should we hire you?” Basically, this question is one of the important questions during an interview.
For one, the interview question “give us reasons to hire you”, “why should we employ you” or “what can you bring to our company” is something that differentiates the best candidates from the other good candidates.
This question is more often a surprise question to most individuals who are not as experienced in the process of the job interview. Also, this question works as a divider between the people who are just casually looking for a job and the people who are really seeking a job.
If a person does his or her homework in the right manner, he or she would certainly come across this question as one of the most frequently asked questions and may also know how to handle it.
Answer To Why Should We Hire You While answering this question, remember that the answer should not come across to be egotistical or be completely unrealistic. You should focus on providing reasons to hire you over someone else in the best way you can.
The following are some points to consider:
1. One of the best ways to answer this question is to make a short list of all your advantages and create a paragraph that would point out the positive aspects that you would bring to the new job position.
2. One of the points that you can raise is the similarity of the job profile you are aiming for at the company to the job profile you enjoyed in your previous job.
3. You can also draw the interviewer’s attention to your key skills and strengths, namely – quick learning, excellent communication skills, etc.
4. In addition, your professional ambitions should be made clear – the motivation and dedication that you have for the profession and the opening position.
5. Make sure that your answers do not come out to be too much about yourself or that they come across as conceited.
6. Your body language when you answer the question is important too. For example, your body language should make it clear that you have thought it over and given a carefully worded answer, instead of coming up with a made up, contrived answer.
While answering, firstly, take one of the job requirements, then focus on one of your related strengths/skills AND give a concrete example (a success story) based on your past experiences to support your point. Break the job requirements into fragments and continue in this manner.
For the last sentence, a phrase that can be used is:
The job is tailored to my (or- I will bring my) experience, knowledge base and abilities and I believe I can maximize my skills for the benefit of the company.
Other good phrases can be found at –
1. Why do you want this job.
2. Why did you choose this career.
3. Resume objective examples.
What can you bring to this company?In summing up this question, I believe that it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that your answer is one of the crucial “make or break” moments in a job interview:
1. Before this question, you’ve already talked about your experience, your education, your strengths and weaknesses and your skills. What else can you say?
2. Keep in mind that other candidates probably answered this question and this is your best chance to distinguish yourself from the others.
3. “Why should I hire you?” – Here is your chance to perform – go and sell yourself!!
This question is not an open invitation to repeat and describe your profile. Your answer should not only focus on yourself – It should reflect back to the job requirements and to the company.
4. The interviewer wishes to observe what you can bring to the company – what your real value is.
Why are you the best person for the job? What can you contribute to this company? think smart..
They’re offering you a ladder to a professional career with a good salary and benefits. What are you offering them?
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