How to answer: Why are you leaving your current job?

What the interviewer is testing.

A positive, honest reason without blame. Whether you leave on good terms and look forward, not back.

An outline for this question.

1. Give a positive reason: you want to grow, take on bigger problems, or use a skill you cannot use now.
2. Mention something good about your current job, briefly.
3. Explain why this role is the next step.

The mistake to avoid.

Criticising your manager or company. Even when it is true, it makes interviewers wonder what you would say about them.

The general method: honest, specific, brief.

The same shape works for most hr questions, whatever the topic.

• Answer the question that was asked in your first sentence.
• Back it with one specific example or fact, not a general claim.
• Tie it to this role, and stop. A calm thirty to sixty seconds is enough.

Practice it, out loud.

Reading an outline is not the same as saying it. Answer this question in a mock interview, in your own words, then compare it with the outline above.

Practice this questionSee live interview help

More to practice.

• Tell me about yourself.

  Any role, HR

• What is your greatest strength?

  Any role, HR

• What is your greatest weakness?

  Any role, HR

• Why do you want to work here?

  Any role, HR

This is a Replysis practice question. It is not a leaked or official question from any company, and the outline is a guide to structure, not a script. Use your own experience and facts.