Job Interviews

• Never speak poorly about your current (previous) employer. This question is an opportunity to sell yourself, not air your dirty laundry.

• Put your reason for leaving in the best light possible. For example, if your company has looked over you for a promotion, or you don't think you make enough money, you might say "I seek to work in a meritocracy" or "I want to work in a more entrepreneurial environment."

• Always consider what the job requires, and think about an answer that contrasts what your previous company didn't have but this current job does. If you are looking to move from a large company to a small company, you might say you've had a wonderful experience seeing how a large company does business, and you are looking to apply that knowledge you've gained in a setting where you'd have greater responsibility and more accountability for your decisions.

• If an interviewer asks you why you are wanting to leave your current position, you could tell them the real reason which is probably the pay or you really don't like your boss. or you could say something like "I don't feel like in my current position I am able to show my full potential. I am looking for a challenge in a company that will recognize my abilities as a ... (whatever position you are applying for)."

• Example: "As I succeeded in financial analysis, I became increasingly interested in broader issues of managing money. I wanted to understand how legal regulations and individuals' goals affect decisions about how to manage money. When I gained entrance to my top choice in law school, I seized the opportunity to infuse my financial training with legal knowledge."

• "No room to advance" or "I want to move up in my career"

• Never talk negative about the current organization. Don't say you are unhappy with the systems and processes there. If the reason you are leaving for pay, say that. Talk about the challenges that you have faced and how you have been able to solve them. Talk to the prospective employer saying that you are looking for a more challenging and more responsible position. Talk about your accomplishments and tell him how you can contribute to the new employer.

• Don't say you want to leave your current job because you're not earning enough. More $$$ is NOT THE ANSWER they want to hear. "Oh Look, someone who is leaving for more money! Welcome aboard!" There are really only 3 reasons: Location (commute way too long); Family Matter (new kid, etc.)' Opportunity. That's it.

• "In my current job there are no more challenges to face or potential to show my talent."

• Really the best practice is always be honest, such as, "This job really didn't have advancement opportunities that I was seeking."

• It's not that they really care about this answer. It's more of a "will this person trip over themselves, badmouth his former employer, or give out too much information" to screen themselves out. So don't do any of that. Many questions are meant to be handled and not answered in a job interview.
• "I feel that I have reached a plateau at my current job so I am looking for alternatives and new challenges."
• Don't mention the Glass Ceiling; that seems to have a negative conotation, it's been tried and receives mixed results.

• Someone I hired once told me he was tired of working for criminals. This is not the answer you usually get, so I asked him to expand his remarks. He reeled off an astounding string of OSHA, labor, environmental and copyright law violations. His former employer was known in my community for his wonderful habit of giving employees paychecks that bounced, so I could believe the rest of the stuff the applicant named. Once I brought him in, he was a good employee.

I think there's a world of difference between "I want to leave my current job because my boss is an idiot" and "I am going to get killed if I don't get out of that place."

I am really looking for a new challenge at an innovative company.

In my discussions with manager I get the impression that you are really looking to create a foundation for your {program} I also get the impression that you are willing to try out new technologies and methods like {name technologies or methods}.

While {My Current Company} does promote innovation, I think that {Your Company} really takes it seriously and that's the type of firm that I want to partner with.

Keep it positive and make the reason for a leaving a constructive one such as a new challenge, exciting opportunity, increased responsibility or learning possibility.

To identify your physical strengths:

• Test yourself using professional weights.
• Challenge yourself, such as entering a marathon.

To identify personal strengths (morality, ethics, interests):

• Find something that you like to do, or something your good at. Work at it!
• Look at your past achievements and list the skills you used to reach that goal.
• Pay attention to what excites you--what you feel passionate about; your strengths often are intertwined with your passions.
• What activities make you feel proficient or competent? Usually, we're using some personal strength during those times.

To identify work strengths, you'll need to look at your personal strengths plus your interests. Work strengths are usually a combination of those two areas, along with training. However, while training often follows our interests, our true interests don't always follow training. For example, many young people get their first jobs at fast food restaurants or a youth training program that hires summer help. The person may receive training specific to that job, but the person's passions are not really in being a fast food worker or summer helper-- it's not what the person truly wants to do as a career. So the training may follow only the interest of "I need a job; I want to earn money", but the training does not develop or support the person's true interests or what the person yearns to do, dreams of doing.

However, negatives often identify positives: What we don't like doing often helps us to know what we do like doing. What we don't excel in doing often helps us more clearly see what we do excel in doing. Think about your old jobs. Which jobs did you hate? Which employment settings left you feeling inept, useless, out of place? Which jobs did you do where your mistakes outweighed your successes? List those things like, "I hated working the cash register and dealing with people", or "I resented having to mop floors." Next to each negative, put what task you "would rather have been doing _____". Your list of "I would rather have been doing" often contains your work strengths, even if you have not yet been thoroughly trained to do that specific job fully. For example, many future nurses know that their personal interests and strengths include: working with people; hands-on caring for someone's needs; organizing a place/space; putting together details; supervising others; and interests in math, chemistry, biology, etc. But these future nurses have not yet had the training that qualifies them to sit for State Boards and call themselves Registered Nurses.