10 Good Reasons for Leaving a Job

There are many, many good reasons for leaving a job and an even greater number of bad ones. If you're on the market for a new position, its highly likely that you're going to be asked why you left your last job during the interviewing process.

There are a multitude of reasons in which someone may look for a new start somewhere else that are perfectly valid, like the company values did not align well with your own, the prospects of future growth opportunities have diminished and there's no real upward mobility, or your current position just isn't very fulfilling.

10 Good Reasons for Leaving a Job:

1. You Were Offered a Better Deal Elsewhere

The labor market is competitive not only for job seekers but also for employers searching for the best talent to fill their positions so they can ultimately grow as an organization. Not only that, but why does anyone go to work, really? Its to make the money necessary to provide security for themselves and others involved in their life.

Employers know this, so beating around the bush about it isn't really necessary. In fact, if you, for some reason, don't think its appropriate to bring the subject up and resort to some other, dishonest reason, its likely that the interviewer will pick up on it and it may hurt your chances of being hired.

2. Your Position Wasn't Fulfilling Enough

Another great reason to leave your current position is that you are just patently unsatisfied with what you're dealing with. The position may be mundane or it may not align well with where you see yourself in the future. This is a good reason to leave a job because, no matter how hard you try and tell yourself that you're just overreacting, you'll be left with this feeling that you ought to be doing more.

However, before making a break from a current employer for this reason, be sure that the position you'd be taking next would actually be an upgrade in the satisfaction department. The last thing you want to do is make a lateral move to end up in the same position you've just left.

3. Your Previous Employer's Values Did Not Align Well With Your Own

These days every company seems to have their own culture that they try to do business by, and most of us have been through training seminars where they feed them to you hand-over-fist. Some just do it to say that they have a corporate culture, and others take it very seriously. If you've found yourself at one of the latter companies and their code of ethics, or corporate culture, doesn't fit well with what you believe internally, its a good enough reason to search for something new.

You'll find that, over time, if you're pressured to conform to the values of a company and they dramatically contradict those of your own, you will end up resenting your employer and things will go downhill from there.

4. Upward Mobility Has All But Diminished

When you started your current position, did the hiring manager boast about all of the upward mobility and constant promotions being handed out to current employees? If so, how true has that been since you stepped foot in the door? Have you yourself been promoted? Do you see people being moved up the chain relatively quickly and being recognized for their exemplary performance?

If it seems like your stagnating after a good period of time having worked there, then you probably are. Employers sometimes mention how successful they're doing and how much they value the individuals they currently have on their payroll to new hires in order to build an image and get you excited to be coming on. This images doesn't always hold true though. If you aren't getting recognized how you feel you ought to be, its a good reason for leaving the job.

5. You Feel Overqualified for Your Current Position

This goes hand-in-hand with being unsatisfied with, or feeling unfulfilled by, your current position. There are a few ways you could end up in this situation though. Either you took a job that you knew you were overqualified for, meaning it wasn't going to be a challenge in the least, or you've been in a position long enough to have learned everything it has to offer you in terms of new skills.

Either way, its a major problem when your apathy sets in and you are just going through the motions. If you've found yourself not really caring anymore about how well you do the job, its a reason good enough to leave for something more challenging.

6. You Had Personal Issues That Needed Managing

Did something major happen recently that caused you to leave your position? This could be any number of different personal things, such as a death in the family, a newborn child, or moving far from where you were are all good reasons to leave a job, if that is what you need to do. Other reasons could be things such as a major health issue that cannot wait or the need to take care of family in a time of crisis.

There may be circumstances where your employer will work with you though, such as transferring you to another branch in the event of a move or cutting your hours to accommodate for other responsibilities in your life.

7. Downsizing; You Were Laid Off

Did your previous employer downsize and decide that your job wasn't making the cut? It can happen to the best of us and is a completely understandable reason for leaving a job. When the question comes up in a future interview, and it will, let them know the circumstances around which the company downsized and why your job was cut, if you know.

8. Extreme Stress or Health Issues

Some jobs can drive you crazy with stress and can cause a litany of health issues. Stress can "directly increase heart rate and blood flow, and causes the release of cholesterol and triglycerides into the blood stream," which can ultimately lead to heart disease.

Other illnesses that stress can be a contributor to include asthma, obesity, diabetes, headaches, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal problems, Alzheimer's disease, accelerated aging, and premature death.

9. You Want to Explore a New Career Path

This reason will resonate to many who have grown tired of what they're currently doing and want to explore new options. Maybe you've gained as much as you can from the job you took a few years ago and you feel stuck in a position with no mobility, and its becoming a boring daily grind. Before you get to the point where you simply don't care for what you're doing at all, and it affects your performance, decide what you'd like to do next.

Whether you're just searching for a new employer in the same field or a brand new occupation altogether, its important to plan ahead and get ready for the transition. Once you've decided on what you want you can begin your job search and line up a more challenging, fulfilling position.

10. Your Job Security is Constantly Uncertain

If your current position is in an industry that is continually shrinking or with a company that has not been doing very well recently and keeps cutting jobs to remain financial solvent, its a good reason to leave and find something new. Living under the weight of this kind of uncertainty can stress out the most stalwart among us and lead to the health issues mentioned above, not to mention the effect it will have on your private life.

If this sounds familiar then you ought to start your search for something new soon! Companies generally want a 2-week notice when you quit, but many will lay off employees by complete surprise. Don't be one of the ones that's in shock the day it happens by getting out before that day ever comes!

Summary

If you've found your way to this article, then you're probably searching for valid reason to leave your current position as it is. If this is you, then take a little time to analyze the aspects of your position that aren't fulfilling, that you don't particularly enjoy, or that are simply unchallenging before deciding how you'd like to move forward. Be sure that the next job you take doesn't share the qualities that made you unhappy and be picky about the offer you accept in the end.

Using any of these above reasons, or a combination, will be understandable to the hiring manager interviewing you. In all likelihood, they've been in the same or a similar position themselves in the past and can probably relate to your situation. As long as your leaving the position wasn't due to performance or any other serious issue with your employment, they will quickly move on to the next question.