How To Answer: Why Did You Leave That Job?

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best-Seller
35 Years in Career Management

Questions like “Why did you leave that job?” or “Walk me through your job changes please,” help an interviewer understand the reasoning behind your career moves and are revealing about your motivators and professional commitment.

It is easy to get into trouble with too much information, so to avoid follow-up questions your answer should be both concise and comprehensive. You achieve this by making two statements about each job:

         1.     The skills you developed in that job that apply to this job.
   2.     Why you left.

Business Insider Careers - This Is How You Get On A Recruiter's Radar - Even If You're Unemployed

FORMER HEADHUNTER: This Is How You Get On A Recruiter's Radar — Even If You're Unemployed

Vivian Giang | Jul. 17, 2012, 5:02 PM | 10,212 | 3 A

Martin Yate


It definitely ups your ante as a potential job candidate to be represented by a headhunter, and if you know you have a good job and are good at it, you might already be on their radar.

But how do you end up in a top headhunter's database when recruiters are typically only interested in representing people who are currently employed?

How Do I Achieve Success?

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best Seller
35 Years in Career Managementtion

 It’s time to stop thinking of yourself simply as a pawn in the employer’s game, because this POV defines your career as a series of jobs and has you psychologically shackled to employers who cannot and will not offer you long-term security. In a less secure professional world than anyone has ever known, you need a tougher, more pragmatic approach to managing your professional life.

Start to think of the bundle of professional skills that define the professional you as MeInc, a corporation that must operate in the best interests of its shareholders for their (i.e. your) long-term economic success.  When you change your mindset to replicate the operational behavior of a corporation; you dramatically improve your odds of achieving success on your own terms.

Flash Card Friday Q&A - What should you do if the interviewer talks but doesn't ask questions?

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best-Seller
35 Years in Career Management

Knock em Dead Job Interview Flash Cards
300 Answers to the toughest interview questions
By: Martin Yate CPC

Question # 166

Posted July 20, 2012

Knock Em Dead

Q) What should you do if the interviewer talks but doesn't ask questions?

A) Show interest. Sit straight, look attentive, and make appreciative 
murmurs. Then, as you learn about the job and the company, 
ask questions that give you information about the next real challenges of the 
job. Feel free to jump in with relevant information about the topic being discussed
with questions starting, " Would it be of value if I described my experience with ...? 

Knock em Dead Job Interview Flash Cards
Copyright Knock Em Dead 2011

FREE Job Search & Career Management Webcasts with Martin Yate - Mondays at Noon CST - REGISTER HERE

Resume Getting Lost In The Resume Databases?

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best Seller
35 Years in Career Management

The Internet has affected both the way you look for jobs and the way recruiters search for employees.  Because of these two factors, your resume is quite possibly getting lost in resume databases, where it rests forgotten with millions of other poorly constructed resumes.

How database searches work: A company needs a new Operations Manager, and the recruiter logs into a resume database and types "Operations Manager" into a dialog box. S/he then moves to the next dialog box and is presented with a basic list of keywords often used to define the responsibilities of that job, this list is then added to with the recruiter’s additional requirements.

Target Job Deconstruction To Supercharge Your Resume

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best-Seller
35 Years in Career Management

Show me a stalled job search and I’ll show you a flawed resume. First of all, to be successful your resume must focus on a specific target job. That general resume, like one size fits all clothing, usually fits no one. Secondly, a job-targeted resume needs to begin with an analysis of what your customers are buying, to result in a resume that truly targets those customers.

When you take the time to do this target job deconstruction, and then build a resume focused on your customers’ needs, it will be pulled from the resume databases with greater regularity, getting you into conversation with more recruiters more often. This is how you do it:

Seven Resolutions For The Dog-Days of Summer

Martin Yate CPC
NY Times Best Seller
35 Years in Career Management

With the wonderful dog-days of summer coming, as you unwind a little and breathe in the beauty of summer, take a moment to recall and re-think some of those New Year’s career resolutions you made and then promptly forgot about. Here are some ideas you can ponder as you make time to soak up the sun, seven ideas that can change the trajectory of your life.

#1. I will survive and prosper

Make 2012 the year you replace blind loyalty to the corporation with enlightened self-interest. Yes, you will work hard and long for your employer, but never again will it be at the expense of what is best for your life.  Make a commitment to invest learning the job search and career management strategies that will give you greater control of your professional and financial destiny.