How to answer “why are you looking for new job”
Sep 26, 2020
12 Comments
I’m on job market right now and the main reason is financial. What is the easiest answer when recruiters ask me why I’m leaving Lyft?
TC 310 (but the stock is sinking)
YEO 5
T5
comments
Don't sweat too much for the answer. You are not going to get a job or a higher level or a higher compensation because of your answer to why you want to leave. If this question is from the CEO or the CTO, it makes sense to give a thoughtful answer. If recruiter or others ask, think of it as just ice breaker. No one even bothers to actually listen to your answer.
The definite bad answer: shitting about your manager, your performance review or promotion. Compensation is a taboo, it's okay to say compensation as the last reason of you have a list, if you know the company you are going to is a pay master.
The right way to approach.
1. The reason you say, should be applicable to your current job but not your new company that you are applying for.
2. If you have a honest answer, and doesn't complain about your manager or others in the list of bad ones, then say that.
3. Pick in what ways the, companies you are applying to is different from the current one.
For example, if you are applying from Lyft to Uber, tell them you believe in ride sharing, but point out how Lyft is not diversified, where as, Uber is well diversified. Don't tell them, you don't like ride sharing even if you are applying to Uber eats or how ab5 would impact their business.
if you are applying to Facebook/Google, you can simply tell you wanted to work in a big established companies.
If you see applying to start ups, speaking of bureaucracy would be easier
When I applied for Lyft a few years ago after G and F, the reason I told was, I wanted to work in smaller companies but not very early stage startups. At that time, Uber was having pr issues, so I got to divert about how Lyft never had any such issues, and so on.
Now when I switched job in the early days of covid before lockdown, I was only applying for early stage startups around 500 million valuation, preferably B2B, solving tech problem (than business problems like Lyft/Uber), and preferably gross profit (not operating profit, no start up has operating profit).
I pointed these and explained why it mattered to me.