Why Did You Leave Your Last Job? How to Answer with Examples

Each one of us always aspires to progress in our professional life and improve the level of the job we hold because it reflects on our professional, social, and economic life. If you want to change your job and go for a new job interview, you will most likely face the question "Why did you leave your last job?" First, we will learn about the reasons that drive a person to change their job, and from analyzing these reasons, you will know how to answer the question "Why did you leave your last job?" with examples of similar situations.

Reasons that make an employee eager to move to a new job

1.Improving professional advancement: This is the employee's desire to acquire new skills or learn the latest techniques not available in their current workplace or the need to learn a new field that will have a positive impact on their cultural, financial, or social level.

-Or the person may want to improve their professional advancement to achieve promotion or reach a higher position that will give them new responsibilities, adding to their knowledge or learning new skills.

2.Achieving job satisfaction: The person feels dissatisfied in their job for several reasons:

- The position is below their experience, so they are not using their unique skills, which makes them feel unaccomplished and consequently leads to boredom, driving them to look for another job that appreciates their skills.

-The current job may not bring satisfaction to the employee because it does not meet their personal goals for which they go to work.

3.Achieving work-life balance:

-Some companies do not provide suitable work schedules, putting employees under pressure to balance work with other aspects of life, especially the social aspect.

- Imbalance puts psychological pressure on the employee's mental and physical health, making them uncomfortable and searching for another job that is less stressful.

4.Achieving professional security and stability: If the company is unstable, this creates a sense of fear in the employee of losing the job, so they are forced to look for another job that protects them from social and economic fluctuations.

5.The value of the salary and benefits offered by the company to its employees:

-Inadequacy of the salary for the efforts made by the employee at work makes them feel unappreciated, as if they are putting in effort without finding its equivalent. Thus, they search for another job that values their effort.

-Some companies offer additional benefits that make the employee more attached to their job, such as health insurance, paid leave, and a retirement plan that secures their life upon retirement.

6.The level of the work environment:

-If the work environment is unsuitable and causes the person mental discomfort or physical exhaustion beyond normal levels, the person will look for a new job to improve their mental and physical well-being.

-A work environment filled with conflicts between employees or between managers and employees makes the employee dissatisfied with their job, reflecting on their ability to perform well, especially if these conflicts are due to values that conflict with their personal values and principles.

7.Workplace location: If the workplace is far from the employee's location, it wastes their time and effort, leading them to work in a state that hinders their efficiency, prompting them to search for another job that saves their time and effort.

These points indicate that the step of changing jobs is not a frightening step that causes you anxiety and stress, but on the contrary, it may be a positive step to achieve balance in your life. How to phrase these reasons when faced with the question of why you left your previous job?

 Here are some tips in job interviews to help you answer the question of how to respond to "Why did you leave your last job?" with examples:

- The most important thing is clarity and transparency; talk about your nature and tell them about the problems you faced in your previous job and what you are looking for in the next job because this will determine the company's system with you in the new job in terms of position, salary, and assigned responsibilities.

-Avoid listing skills you do not possess in order to be accepted because that will lead them to assign you tasks based on these skills you mentioned, and then you will not be able to perform them, reducing the employers' confidence in you.

-Clearly discuss the work environment specifications that encourage you to perform your tasks excellently and also what you cannot adapt to in the work environment.

-Make a comparison between your previous and current job, explaining what you are currently looking for that was not present in the previous job.

Some answers you can use:
-I left my previous job because I have recently stagnated at the same professional level without acquiring new skills that can enable me to contribute to larger projects.
-My previous job did not help me in balancing my work and social life.
-My previous job was good, but I need to engage in new experiences to gain more experience.
-I aim to enter a new field to develop my skills and allow me to think more broadly, thus maturing my thinking.

Common questions about how to answer the question "Why did you leave your last job?" with examples include:

-If I am asked, "What contribution can you provide our company?" how do I answer?

Before applying for a job at any company, you should prepare for the job interview by looking at the company's services and the skills required for these services. Therefore, you can answer this question by mentioning each skill you possess and how this skill can benefit the company in providing a specific service efficiently. Remember to mention the training courses you have taken in this service.

--For example: I believe that my experience in the field of marketing and my knowledge of artificial intelligence technology in online advertising can benefit the company in achieving better results for ads and reducing the budget spent on advertising, saving the budget for another service that requires a higher budget. I can do this because I attended the training course titled Media Buying by the lecturer () at the place () and attended training on this field at the company ().

What is the answer to the question "Why did you choose our company among other companies to move to?"

You can answer through this example: I am a professional graphic designer in Photoshop, but my level in Illustrator is good, and I want to become an expert. I believe that the company will provide me with this opportunity, and I have confirmed this after reviewing the services provided by the company and the company's work environment that supports learning and skill development for the employees working here.

This answer must be appropriate to the job requirements that the company wants, meaning you cannot apply for such a job if the company explains in the job description that it needs a designer with a professional level in Illustrator.

Moving to a better life, whether in the social, material, or cultural aspects, is a positive step worth the effort and striving not only to achieve comfort but also to learn new things that keep your awareness in constant development. If you feel the desire to change your job to make this transition, do not hesitate to do so, and by following the job interview tips we have provided, you can answer the question of how to respond to "Why did you leave your last job?" with examples, then go through job interviews to find a job that brings you professional and social satisfaction.