Uncomfortable Interview Question ! Please Advise

“Why do you want to leave your current Job / Employer ?” or “Why are you looking for change ?”
Dear Seniors and Readers
This is one of the dreaded questions asked in the Interview, and this topic is famously discussed at this forum before. However I have not found my answers, what answer justifies this question ?
Answers : Perception by Interviewer
· Better Prospects : Greedy, may jump at another offer
· Management Issues : Not able to handle pressure, lacks people skills
· Relocation : Acceptable, if convinced.
· Personal Reasons : Yeah !! Like what ??
· Better Profile : Lack of self Initiative
· For Growth : Why dint you grow at current setup ??
· Stress : Go home and sleep, its neck deep stress here.
· Laid off : Unimportant resource ! shall we hire him ?
· Terminated : God bless you ! sorry !
· Company Closed Down : OK, acceptable !
· Career Shift : Couldn’t perform, now want to try something else !
· Branded Employer : Mr / Ms Jumpy ! wants only fame !

As a HR professional, what would be your perception?
However, except of the few, all have very pessimist perspective.

Dear Mr. Hussain Zulfikar
Why cant we reply as the offered profile gives us good and challanging opportunity to prove ourselves and the profile offered fits to my qualification.
We can tell that, the Change, the only thing never gets changed in this world.

Very True Bhaskar..."change is teh only thing that is constant" and each & every one goes through this constant thing..
Being honest & straight saves so much of hypocrisy...remember the '3 Idiots' interview..Raju was very straight forward and spoke his mind; which really impressed the recruiters..
Do such recruiters exist? or was it just 'filmy'

Hi tas05
To be frank even as HR when I have taken interviews and asked this standard question, I got parroted answers and have took those answers as per the perceptions listed.
However, I do probe and get the real reason out, which may be more or less can be categorized under the list I mentioned, but justified by the candidate, provided that candidates are given an oppotunity to explain or interviewer has open mind to understand the reasons neutrally, but does that happen in reality, which you have rightly asked !
Lets see what are seniors and readers have to say !!

Hi Bhaskar
Your response fits in "Better profile" category, to which perception of the interviewer is that, usually the offered profile is more or less similar, that is why candidates are sourced for a particular opening, depending on the experience and qualification from the current job.
Also the answer is pretty standard and monotonous ! "looking for fresh, growth oriented, challenging, exciting profile as offered".
Many a times truth of changing the job may not be very pleasant, how does employers take this truthful answers in determining selection of the candidates ?

Dear Mr. Hussain

Will you accept if a person tells the reason for change as "I am unable to handle/tackle the Politics in my Present Office".

To hide the nudity we have to dress up. If we dressed up properly means it is not that we do not have nudity inside our dress. Eventhough I am having 5 degree/diploma certificates, getting handsome salary, good facilities, good respect and all in the society, the practical thing and reality is that I am only controling 3 office boys, 4 First Aiders, 5 Office Assistants, some sweepers and scavangers and extracting the job from them. That's all. It can be done by even a less qualified persons too. If I opt for change, you can easily deny that I do not have any experience without seeing the calibre in the candidate.

For example in a chat with my cinema friends, the cinema in entire world can be easily brought in 11 categories. Like that the job hopping also can be brought in the 12 categories you have mentioned. But, for those vacancies, why you all are not selecting the candidates whoever working in your organisation by giving promotion to the employee to that post, further for future requirement by engaging brand new candidates directly from the College campus. Because, You want to have the experienced, means you want to do the skilled manpower-pulling from other organisation. So you are ready to throw more perks to the new employee and the existing loyal employee will have to wait and suffer for his genuinely due promotion. And in severity to that he may join in the new company, as like you pulled, some other company also will engage in manpower pulling, for which many consultancies are readily available to help you for some commission basis.

There is a tradition in Indian Marriage system, Before Marriage, the Bridegroom family used to visit Bride's house and see the girl and ask about the details about the girl, that time surely no one will tell anything negative about the bride. But after marriage only the Bridegroom family will come to know the truth. Like that in Interview also you cannot trace out the real calibre of the candidate correctly.

The real fact is that, if the candidate is lucky enough then he is passing through the interview process successfully in a good company and fails in a worst company, and If the good company is lucky enough the they are selecting the right candidate. The selection process is nothing but a trial and error method approach of candidate selection.

Let us wait and see how our learned members are responding to this question you have raised Mr. Hussain Zulfikar.

Hi Seniors!
I have qualified in the written test conducted by NPCIL, for the post of Dy.Manager (HR) and going to attend the interview on July 22nd. can you please give the guidance for the same! such as how to prepare, what type of questions can we expect etc., as early as possible.
Thanks in advance!
Have a great day!
Regards,
G.R.Rani.

Have you seen the answers at How to Answer the Question, Why Do You Want to Leave Your Job and Legit to Quit: When to Accept a Candidate's Reasons for Quitting ?
Both found at Google
Have a nice day.
Simhan
Learning and Teaching Fellow (Retd.)
The University of Bolton, UK.
Brief profile in "About us" at <link no longer exists - removed>
"It is never too late to learn or improve oneself"

All HR persons know the answers. But they need people. Aren't HR person jumping from one org to another? It is all money related, it is naked truth. A layman knows the reason for your shifting from A to B (few exceptional cases are there)
Pon