Focus on the Pull!

Why did you leave your last position? Why do you want to leave your current position? What’s your Reason For Leaving??

Your reasons for leaving, and how you explain them, could be the difference between getting an offer and missing out, so providing a good answer to these questions is vital to all jobseekers.?

As a recruiter, it’s my job to know your CV as well as you do, so that I can help you to move forward in the interview process. This means I will ask you for as much information as possible regarding your reasons for leaving. I want to help you work out the best way to communicate your job changes to give the right impression in interviews.?

Generally speaking, we think of our reasons for leaving a current or last job as a “push” - the thing that is “pushing” you out of the company you want to leave. This can be “my salary is too low”, or “I don’t get on with my boss”, or “I don’t want to wait 5 more years before I have the chance to become a CFO”. Most of the time, these reasons for leaving are negative. If you put yourself in the position of the person interviewing you, what’s the likely impact of hearing a negative reason for leaving? Unfortunately, if not surprisingly, these negative reasons impact negatively, not positively, and therefore would negatively impact their impression of you.?

So, instead of these “pushes”, let’s switch our mindset and think about something positive! And what could be more positive than the thought of a new job at a new company with a new boss (and a new salary). All of these factors are the “pulls” that attract you to a new opportunity. If you’re struggling to work this out, ask yourself, “What attracts me to my next role?” “What do I want to get out of the position I’m interviewing for?” “What would pull me into my next company?”

Here are some examples:

Example 1

Push: “I don’t get on with my boss”

We can’t get on with everyone, and when the relationship is really bad, it’s understandable that we would want to leave a work culture where we don’t feel supported. However, let’s reframe this reason as a positive. If you don’t get on with your current boss, talk about the kind of boss you would like to work under:

Pull: “I want to work in an environment where the leadership team are supportive and approachable.”?

Example 2

Push: “A lot of team members leave our team and I have to do overtime to cover for them.”

Overtime is a fact of life for many, especially finance professionals, but most of us want to do less of it. Jobs with too much overtime are tiring and challenging, and it’s normal to want out of a position where you’re clocking up tens of extra hours each week. Unfortunately, if you tell an interviewer that you don’t like overtime, or you don’t want to do it, they will potentially think you don’t want to be committed and they might even think you’re lazy. Again, let’s switch to the positive:

Pull: “I’m looking to join a stable team where staff turnover is low, and operations are smooth. I think with my skills I can help the department to run efficiently and smoothly.”

Example 3

Push: “I want a higher salary.”

Money is another natural reason for wanting to find a new job, but be careful to sound ambitious, not greedy. For this example it helps to emphasize the value you can bring to a company and frame that value as a kind of unique selling point.

Demonstrate your desire to grow professionally and take on more responsibility:?

Pull: “I’m hoping to take my skills and experience forward into a position where I can grow, and build my career to make a long term contribution to the company.”

Example 4

Push: “I need a change.”

It’s important to explain why you’re looking to make what might be seen as a less obvious career change. If you’re moving from sales into marketing, or from general accounting into FP&A, there will be parallels between the two areas, but there will also be gaps in your knowledge and experience. Saying that you need a change lacks depth, so it’s advisable to demonstrate how you as a candidate are qualified to make that change.?

Pull: “I have 5 years’ experience as an accounting supervisor, we have a small finance team here so this has given me exposure to a range of FP&A tasks in this time. I’ve learned more about FP&A while doing regular accounting work and now want to move into a strictly FP&A position.”

I hope these examples help to illustrate how important it is to emphasize the positives when you explain why you want to leave a position. If you’re thinking about why you want to leave your job, always remember to recast any negative reasons into positive ones that demonstrate your forward-thinking mindset. If you can show your interviewers that you are optimistic about your future prospects at their company, they in turn will feel positive about you as a future colleague. Good luck, and be positive!