How to answer "Why are you leaving your current job?"

Companies are always interested in why you are looking for a new job.  Depending on the answer they can get a good feel for you as a person and whether they want you working for their company. 

• Do you like to change jobs?  bad attitude
• Are you looking for advancement?  good attitude
• Are you trying to increase your knowledge? good attitude
• Did you have an issue with your boss/co-workers?  bad attitude

Positive, positive, positive - yes always try and keep your answers positive.  Below are some guidelines that you can expand on by bringing the job opening and your skill set/goals into the answer.   

• I had reached the top of my level in my previous position and am looking to expand my knowledge.  This position and your company will offer me the opportunity to do that. 
• The last company I worked for was very small and I felt it was time to move into a large corporate office to increase my challenges. 
• My last position was a wonderful place to work for right out of school, and now I would like to move my career into a new path.
• My family life has changed and I am looking to work closer to home.  Your company is closer to my home and still offers me the challenges and opportunities I need in my position.  I am very excited about being able to utilize some new skills and polish up some old ones. 
• A friend sent me your job posting and the position sounded right up my alley.  After researching your company I feel like I would be an ideal match for this position. 
• It is very important for me to be challenged in my position and it was time for a change.  Your company is using a system I am looking to increase my knowledge of. 
• My last company went through a down turn and I realized that my position was being downsized.  This has given me the opportunity to look for new challenges and after researching a lot of companies, I feel that my entrepreneurial nature will fit in very nicely with your company.....

Never be negative.  The last thing you want to do is sound whinny

• I couldn't work for my boss anymore
• My co-workers were impossible to get along with
• They were always advancing their children

So remember:

• Be positive
• Answer the question
• Follow it up with promoting your skill set
• And finally why the new company is so much better suited to you

Good luck

The Interview Thank You Email

You've just walked out of your first, second or third interview. This is a good time to grab a coffee and take 15 minutes to make some notes from the interview.

• What the people were like? Write a couple of points on the back of their business cards (which you remembered to ask for).
• How you did?
• Any questions you forgot to ask?
• Why you still want the job?
• Why you are the right person for the job?

Later that same day sit down and compose your email.  Remember if you were interviewed by a panel then you want to send a personalized email to each person.  Your "thank you" should be sent out within 48 hours.  Why??

• You want them to read the email and remember you. 
• And no point sending out a email after they have made the decision.

Your email should be formal, starting with

• "Dear Person's Name" and ending with
• "Sincerely Your Name, Contact Info".

The body of your email should be 3 or 4 paragraphs (4 maximum). 

• First paragraph will be a general thank you for meeting you and what a pleasure it was to learn more about your company, etc
• Second paragraph will reiterate your skills and why you now feel like this is the job for you.
• Third paragraph a looking forward to hearing from you at my number/email below.

A few final things:

• Keep it short and sweet/positive
• Proofread, proofread, proofread

For some sample thank you letters, check out about.com at the link below.

Sample Thank You Email


Last thing to do - cross your fingers and wait for your job offer.  Good Luck

The Call Back Interview

The excitement level is now rising. You have made it through the HR interview and answered all those behavioral questions. Now you are going to meet the team you will probably be working with when you ace this interview.

There is a strong possibility this will be a panel interview with your immediate supervisors. Now come the more technical and hands on questions. Again use your recruiter's expertise to find out about the people who will be interviewing you. And also the detailed specs for the position.

Understanding the job description is very important here as the technical questions will relate to the skills they are looking for. Again it is important to prepare. Go over the job description point by point with your recruiter. Whether you are being interviewed for a programmer or an accounts payable clerk be ready to show your skills. You may be asked to code or explain how a posting would affect the financial statements. The Internet has hundreds of sites with technical questions relating to specific skills. Practice, practice and practice them.

Here is a sample site of technical questions

Sample Technical Questions from about.com

You may also be asked brain teaser and simple math questions. A favorite question seems to be

"Why is a manhole cover round?" - It's actually quite logical, check it out at Wikipedia - Manhole Cover

Brain teaser, math and puzzle questions are used to see how quickly and logically you think on your feet. Monster has a good article on brain teaser questions and why they are used.

Brain Teaser Questions

The key thing to remember in this interview is that these are the people you will be working with. So relax you have the skills or you wouldn't have been called back for another interview.

The First Company Interview

Let's talk about the easy things:

• Dress appropriately, depending on the job you may only need to wear a nice pair of pants/skirt and a crisp clean shirt/blouse.  Or depending on who you are meeting, ie the CEO - you may have to dry clean your old suit.
• Be on time - actually be EARLY
• Try and keep any nervous habits to a minimum.  An interviewer doesn't want to see you scratching your head, pulling your ear, twisting your hair.  Having a pen and your resume in your hands will help stop some of those little habits. 
• Be prepared, how many times do you hear that.  OK, so let's expand on that a little.

Be Prepared:

• Take a copy of your resume with you and make sure you know what it says, without having to keep referring to it.  Remember sometimes recruiters, with your help, rewrite your resume so make sure you have a copy of the one that was sent over to the hiring company. 
• Know who you are going to meet, make sure you can pronounce their name and go over the notes you made with your recruiter and information you found out on the web about the interviewer and the company. 
• Practice your "elevator pitch", a number of interviews will start with that famous "Tell me about yourself" question.  In 1 minute or less you want to make sure that you cover your education, your previous job highlights, your goals (especially as they relate to your job interview).  Write it down (350 words is around a minute of speaking), try not to use to many "I's".  It needs to be a story, not just points. 
• An interview is a two way street, so ask questions about the company.  "What growth do you see for the company over the next five years", "Is there the possibility of career growth", "How often are job performances performed", "What will my duties be in this job".  Show your knowledge of the company by asking questions relating to the information you have discovered , ie possible growth, expansions, new products, etc.
• Practice, practice, practice.  Your recruiter should have done a practice interview with you and gone over sample questions and how to answer them.  Here are some good sample questions for the first interview http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm . 
• Give a list of questions to a family member and have them interview you.  Be concise and clear but also try and be relaxed O:)
• Remember never be NEGATIVE about your previous company, bosses or co-workers. 

Relax:
LOL, ok might be the hardest thing to do especially if this is a position that you really want, but remember he WANTS to see you, he NEEDS to hire someone.  You have your foot in the door, now you just need to move into the desk.

Your First Interview

You've found your dream job; your resume is fine tuned and you have just received your first interview. Ok, but it's with a recruiter?  This is actually very good news if you are not a seasoned employee\contractor who is a seasoned interview veteran.

Your recruiter can be your best friend.  Take advantage of their expertise.  Recruiters have great rapport with the hiring managers they deal with.  They know the company, they have probably already placed someone in a similar position and if you impress them then they basically become your agent. No different than a real estate agent, they have a house to sell. A recruiter wants to find you a good job.  It keeps their clients\companies satisfied and when you want to make a change you may get back in touch with them.

So your first job is to make your mark on the recruiter and then to take advantage of his expertise.

So be prepared.

Research the company so you can ask the recruiter for more details and insights then you can just find out on the web. Remember he\she has a relationship with the hiring manager, they KNOW him\her, sometimes personally.  The recruiter has had feedback about what went wrong on an interview (he talked too much) and also what went right (she was very articulate and confident).

After going through your resume, he'll be able to work on your strong points so that you can express them with confidence.

Again a good recruiter will know right down to the detail level what the hiring manager is looking for and thereby what you should focus on.

Once he decides you are a fit for this position he wants you too succeed, the last thing he wants to do is send in someone who isn't qualified or isn't ready for the interview so use his expertise to get you interview ready.  Call him with questions, practice with him.  Chances are this may just be the first of many interviews as you start your career.