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1135

answers:

10

At present I am into a very good organization. I am planning to shift because I am not happy with the work that I am getting now. I want to work under a different Manager, but my Manager and team is more dependent on me. I tried so many times, but couldn't change my team.

So, I started planning to switch my company. Everyone is asking the same question, "Why do you want to change?". Should I say the truth? I told this in 2 places, but did not see a good response from them. Or is there a better answer that I can give?

+5  A: 

umm, the honest one?

If its more money, or whatever, just say so.

Neil N
Or to spin that the other way, "Never lie in an interview. Ever."
Rowland Shaw
I too don't want to lie. But from past interviews, they were not happy with that answer.
Techmaddy
It depends on how much more money and what your responsibilities are. If you are married or supporting dependents and someone offers you a raise that is obviously beyond what's possible at the current job, that should get some reasonable understanding.
Andy Dent
+4  A: 

Truth is usually the best answer

Maurice Perry
+1  A: 

Tell them I enjoy the work here but its not much challenging. I am looking for a more challenging work where I can use my talents more.

Or tell them the new company is offering me [a figure] (salary) which the current company cannot think of :) .

Shoban
+2  A: 

"I'm looking for new challenges" (I hate this one).

Paulo Guedes
+7  A: 

Companies want employees that are competent and reliable yet unambitious, because that minimizes the disruption and overhead they have to deal with. Most will deal with ambition, if the person comes across as exceptionally competent and reliable. If you come across as wanting to bail from your current company just because you're bored, it's no wonder you are not getting good reactions from interviewers.

You can tell the truth, and still present that truth in a way that sells you and your skills.

Present your decisions in a positive light. You're not unhappy with the work you are getting now, you're interested in continuing to challenge yourself. You are interested in advancing your career and skills and despite trying, were unable to work with the management of your current company to accomplish that, so you were forced to look elsewhere.

mwigdahl
+9  A: 

Never, ever, ever say anything bad about your old employers. If you're leaving because the manager is a psychopath, because they boned you on a promised raise, or because they have you doing stuff that's way below your ability level, or because you suspect they're winding down the project and you're next for the chop (all of which have happened to me), don't say it in an interview, just say "I'm looking for new challenges".

Believe me, I learned this lesson the hard way.

Paul Tomblin
+4  A: 

What the right answer is can very very situational.

First they want to know you aren't going to bad-mouth them when you move on from that position. So the first rule is no matter how annoyed you are at your current employer (and if you aren't annoyed at something you probably aren't looking for another job), do not say anything bad about them. So your phrasing is important when answering this question. "I want to move on to something more challenging" is far better in this case than "Company XYZ won't move me to a more interesting project." in the second case you come across as a disgruntled employee who will always be wanting some special treatment from them. The second answer is better than "Company XYZ is a loser company and I hate them." but not by much.

Now the other thing they are looking for is whether the work they intend to give you will be interesting enough to keep you there. So if the job you are interviewing for does essentially the same thing as you are currently doing, then "I want to move on to something more challenging" is the wrong answer. However, if it true that you really want something more challenging and the job doesn't offer that, then it is best for both sides that you find out before you take the job. If the job offers something new that you don't know (say a SQL Server dba who would now get to manage both SQL Server and Oracle database), then a better answer refers to the thing you want to learn. "I'm interested in learning Oracle." then becomes a better answer (assuming you aren' trying to pretend to knowldge you don't have.)

Generally if you can make the answer about something interesting that the description of this job will bring you or why you have always wanted to work for this company or something general about new challenges, you are fine. If you are working under a contract that is about to expire or have been laid off, that too is fine. Saying you need more money can be fine (as long as you don't sound super greedy - your application says you make 30K now and you want to get 150 K for instance). Given the current economic climate, saying that you want to change to a more stable industry can be good as long as you are currently in a bad place like a bank and are looking at something that will be considered more stable(probably not a good answer if you are in the real estate industry and are interviewing at a bank).

Sometimes being very honest with this question can turn off a potential employer. On the other hand, that often means that would have a been a bad fit for you. I once quit a job because of the excessive overtime (And I do mean seriously excessive I was working more than one 18 hour day a week and the shortest day I working the last four months before I quit was 11 hours). I honestly told people that was why I had quit without having another job. There were a couple of places that turned me down, but the place that hired me didn't expect that kind of hours. Now note I didn't say the company was wrong to have that expectation of hours, just that I personally couldn't physically handle that level of hours. And the real benefit was that they only asked me to work extra hours very occasionally knowing that I didn't want to do nothing but work in my life.

HLGEM
A: 

I am applying for jobs with with skill set same as current job. How does the following sounds?

I am looking for better growth opportunities, advancing in career and more stable company.

Is there any better way of saying it?

KR
you can only comment about more stable company if there has been something public making it obvious your current company is not stable, otherwise you fall into the category of "bad-mouthing previous employer" and they think you'll do it to them
Andy Dent
A: 

looking for new challenges and prospective.

murali
A: 

People only listen to the first sentence or two of most answers. You need to get your qualifiers in there EARLY.

How long have you been there? That's going to say a lot about your ability to stick and discipline. If you want to shift to a new company after a few months of unpleasant work, that would be viewed very poorly. If it's years, I think most people would understand your need to move on.

So, a good answer is something like After three years of doing X, I need to move to something different. Unfortunately I am going to have to leave this great company to find such an opportunity.

Andy Dent