Searching for a new job while you still have one puts you at an advantage—but interviewers will want to know why you're looking for something new.
Ideally, you're leaving your current job only because you found out about this one that you're interviewing for, that will provide you with career advancement or other opportunities. You hate to leave where you are now because it's fantastic and you love working there, but you can't pass up this chance.
Related: Answering Behavioral Interview Questions Regarding High-Stress Situations
If you are interviewing for a position that is essentially a lateral move, this can be a touchier answer. In many cases, people don't leave their jobs for positive reasons—something has happened to drive them away. If this is what's happening for you, be very careful with how you phrase your answer.
You never want to say anything negative in a job interview, because what will come across to your interviewer is that YOU are negative, rather than your situation.
Any reason you give is best if it's more neutral than negative. It should be a factor in your old job that won't be a part of this new one—but also something that you aren't angry about. Your attitude should be more like, “It is what it is," and you aren't taking it personally. For instance:
If your current job requires a lot of travel but the new one doesn't, you can say, “My current job requires a lot of travel, and I'm ready to be home in my own bed a little more often." Of course, if the situation is reversed, you could say, “I love that this job requires a lot of travel. I've been ready to get out and about more."
If your current job is with a small company and you are interviewing with a large one, point out something that's inherent in each of these types of companies, as in “I've loved being at Small Company and learned a lot, but there's not a lot of room for growth or promotions and I'm ready to be somewhere I have the chance to move up." If you're moving from a large to a small company, you could say, “I loved working for Large Company and learned a lot, but I'd love the chance to really dig into helping a smaller company grow."
If the new job is in another city, you could say, “I've loved working at Other City, but I am moving to this area and so I need a job here."
Whatever your answer is, be brief—no more than a sentence. Make sure that in your answer, you give them a reason that you are running TO this new company (because of the fit, the culture, the location, the opportunity, and son on.). That's where your focus should be—not on the past, but on the future.
**Find 100 more great answers to tough interview questions in How to Answer Interview Questions (#1 Best Seller in Job Interviewing on Amazon), and How to Answer Interview Questions II (with 101 additional interview answers), also available on Amazon.
Career Coach - Peggy McKee is an expert resource and a dedicated advocate for job seekers. Known as the Sales Recruiter from Career Confidential, her years of experience as a nationally-known recruiter for sales and marketing jobs give her a unique perspective and advantage in developing the tools and strategies that help job seekers stand head and shoulders above the competition. Peggy has been named #1 on the list of the Top 25 Most Influential Online Recruiters by HR Examiner, and has been quoted in articles from CNN, CAP TODAY, Yahoo! HotJobs, and the Denver Examiner.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert.
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
