The over-smart recruiter or inexperienced hiring manager may ask you this question next time you attend a job interview.
The question: Why do you want to leave your current job?
Hat’s off to you and my respect, if you have the guts to answer: “To be honest, I am not sure I want to leave”.
Look, if a headhunter or recruiter got you to talk to their client about a job, and you agreed to meet, you’ve got every right to say you’re not sure about leaving your current gig.
It doesn’t matter if they sweet-talked you or pushed you into it.
You’re not obligated to jump ship just because you had a chat.
If you’re having second thoughts, speak up. It’s that simple.
If you are in HR, the hiring manager, or an interviewer, read on to learn what you really should ask instead.
If the interviewer asks: How did the recruitment company find you?
You must never reveal posting your resume on a job board website or sending your resume to a recruitment company.
If you tell the HR Manager or hiring manager this, most will often label you as an aggressive job seeker.
It is to your advantage to come out of an interview leaving the impression that you are a passive or semi-passive candidate. Not an actively aggressive applicant and job hunter.
You want to create the perception that you are someone who will interview if, and only if, the job and package presented are just right (which is most likely the truth anyway).
If you are asked about where the recruiter found you, it is important to only say:
“They called me. We discussed the job and once I was convinced it was worth my time, we got the ball rolling. And here I am.”
Never reveal anything more than that.
I am not telling you to say anything untrue.
Every resume posting or job ad leads to a telephone call or an email. You are simply referring to that call or mail and not going beyond that.
I hate this question: Where do you see yourself in five years?
It’s nearly as idiotic as the overused questions about your strengths and weaknesses, whether you’ll stay sober at the New Year’s bash, or what leadership qualities are required to roast a chicken.
I’d rather not even start on this topic. Don’t get me going.
I have to admit, more than 15 years ago it was one of my standard questions. The “Where do you see yourself in five years”.
But it didn’t last very long, because 99% of the Thai candidates told me that they would be business owners or run their own café, mini-mart, restaurant or whatever.
I still can’t get my head around why someone would not tell the recruiter:
“I will be working for your client. I will probably already have been promoted at least once because of my good performance”.
I mean, is it only me that believes a hiring company would hesitate to invest in someone who at any time soon will resign and start their own business? Oh well!
So instead of asking why a candidate wants to leave his or her current job, the question should be why the candidate turned up today, and what was it that triggered the interest in the new job opportunity and company.
If you as the hiring manager got the candidate through an executive search firm, a recruitment company, or your own HR department, you can ask:
When our recruitment partner called you, what did they tell you that got you thinking about this new job opportunity? What attracted you in particular in what you heard about our company and this job?”
