Never walk into a job interview without a few prepared answers in your back pocket, says career expert Erin McGoff. Plucking those out at the right moments can save you from scrambling to come up with a coherent response to a tough question.
According to McGoff, the author of “The Secret Language of Work: Hyper-Helpful Scripts for Every Situation,” practicing what you want to say ahead of time can help you feel calm and grounded in high-pressure situations.
In her experience, one interview question that often flummoxes job seekers is: “Why did you leave your last role?”
“It’s a really common question that people struggle with,” she says, because “people don’t know how to phrase it in a way where it feels truthful, but maybe not the full story.”
Here’s how she thinks job seekers should answer this tricky question — and which responses they should avoid.
