Changing Jobs Because of a Bad Boss

You need to find something you can say in one or two sentences which does not invite further questioning and then practice saying it until you can deliver it with a smile and confidence and no negative emotions.

I'd start anything you say by acknowledging their thoughts so.. I know it's a great company but .... and then move the positives which you think the new company can offer you so something like..

I know it's a great company but it just doesn't offer me the opportunity to work on x that this role does
I know it's a great company but it doesn't offer the start up experience you do
I know it's a great company but I'd like to work in a smaller / larger / more international / less international / company.

And then something like: I'm not actively looking, but when I saw this opportunity which offers me x, y and z, I had to come talk to you.

As an interviewer.. that would work for me.

Wendii

I find that phrase to be extremely useful for a wide variety of situations :)

It does, however, invite a question, so you'll want to say why it isn't a good fit.

Hi Fuller,

Wendii's excellent recommendation will be even more effective when you make sure to clearly identify to the interviewer the reason why you are interested in their post.

This will require that you do a lot of research on that company, its industry, its people. Then develop a theme as to why it is a great opportunity for you and how you are a good fit for the company.

You'll want the interviewer to forget you've only been at your current place for a year.

 Extending from Bug-Girl's comment, as well as identifying why it's not a good fit you may need to have an answer as to why you applied for the job if it wasn't a good fit.  This is something I was asked when leaving a job after 11 months and identifying my reason as it wasn't a good fit. 

In my case there was a clear and significant difference between the job I was offered and the job that was there when I arrived a month later.  Management admitted the difference and said that the role hadn't been precisely defined when they wrote the job description they sent out and interviewed against.  Also a key manager had been off on extended sick leave during the recruitment period and had had specific views on the role that he hadn't communicated till he came back (the role was on a team that was really two teams with a lot of over lap of duties so that some team members reported to one manager, others to the other manager and some, including this role, reported to one for some duties and the other for other duties).  Fortunately I was able to talk about the differences in the job descriptions and how I had discussed this with management and how they had explained the reasions.  The hard part in answering the "Why are are you leaving your current role?  Why is it a bad fit?  Why did you apply for the role?" trilogy of questions was a giving an honest, clear and positive answer that didn't sound like I was complaining about my management (an absolute no-no).  Whilst roles do change over time and I have yet to have a role that was precisely what I interviewed for, in this case I do honestly believe that the management were in the wrong and should have held off recruiting till they had a clear understanding of what they wanted the role to do and had consulted with the other manager.

Obviously, your answer would depend on your specific circumstance.

Stephen

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Skype: stephenbooth_uk

DiSC: 6137

Experience is how you avoid failure, failure is what gives you experience.

Having both hired and not hired some people who had short stints at companies ... and sounded phony in their responses ... I'll throw out something with a different slant.  I've seen that it's very clear when people's answer to that question doesn't ring true.  They look down or even sound way too rehearsed.  So, you need to make sure your answer does ring true for you.  As an interviewer, I never forgot that they'd only been in that job a year.  It always came up in the debriefs and was a serious concern

My answer would be focused around discovering something about myself during that time.  I also wouldn't start put the "but" in there.  You don't need it to connect the sentences.  Maybe that's just my style too.  I'm not much of a writer but this is the general idea.

"When I went to <great company> I was looking for <something about the job you are in that made you go there>.  During this year, I found I that <some feature of the new company that draws you there> was more of what I'm looking for.  This job gives me that challenge/opportunity..."

I would not say that I'm not looking around if I am looking around and interviewing unless they point blank ask me.  The only exception would be if this job was something where you have a friend in the company you are going to.  In that case, I could see how you could find out about the job when you aren't looking.  Otherwise, it would just make me wonder why you are feeling like you have to lie about it.  For me at least, saying less doesn't sound like justifying something.  (Maybe it's just that it seems like people talk a lot more when they are lying than telling the truth!)  You also don't know that the person you are talking to doesn't know people in other places you've interviewed. 

My two cents anyway....