Why do you want to leave your current company?
Asked at:
Microsoft
Palo Alto Networks
Salesforce
Uber
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What is this question about
Interviewers are usually not trying to catch you job-hunting; they are testing judgment, professionalism, and self-awareness. They want to understand whether you're leaving for thoughtful, forward-looking reasons, whether you can talk about your current employer without blame or bitterness, and whether the next role you're pursuing actually matches what you say you want. For more senior candidates, this also reveals whether your expectations around scope, influence, and organizational fit are calibrated to your level.
“What’s motivating you to look for a new role right now?”
“Why are you considering leaving your current position?”
“What are you hoping to find in your next company that you’re not getting today?”
“What would make you decide that it’s time to move on from your current team?”
“Why now?”
Key Insights
- You do not need to pretend everything at your current company is perfect, but you do need to show respect. A strong answer names real limitations without sounding resentful or like you externalize every problem.
- Anchor your reason for leaving in pull factors, not just push factors. Interviewers want to hear what you are intentionally moving toward and why this role is the right next step.
- Show that you tried to make your current situation better before deciding to leave, especially at senior levels. That signals maturity and reduces the risk that you'll leave this company at the first frustration.
What interviewers probe atlevel
Top Priority
Your answer should not stop at why you're unhappy; it should show what you're actively seeking and why that next step makes sense for your stage.
Good examples
🟢I'm looking for a role where I can work on user-facing product development and take on slightly more ownership than I have today.
🟢What interests me here is the chance to learn from a stronger engineering environment while still contributing hands-on to meaningful features.
Bad examples
🔴I just want something different, honestly, because I've been there a while and I'm ready for a change.
🔴I'm open to anything as long as it's a better company with stronger engineering.
Weak answers are generic and interchangeable; strong answers point to a deliberate next step that fits the target role.
Valuable
At staff level, you should usually demonstrate that you tried to bend the system before deciding the system was not the right place for you.
Good examples
🟢I invested in cross-team proposals, built alignment where I could, and clarified where technical leadership could help, but over time it became clear the organization did not want that function to operate at the level I was targeting.
🟢I tried to create leverage through other teams and through my management chain, and those efforts helped me distinguish between fixable friction and a persistent mismatch in expectations for the role.
Bad examples
🔴I could see early that the organization wasn't set up for the kind of staff work I wanted, so I mostly focused on my area and prepared for a move.
🔴There wasn't enough appetite for broader technical change, and after noticing that, I concluded my best option was to leave.
Weak answers make departure sound pre-decided; strong answers show genuine attempts to improve the environment and a disciplined read on when to stop.
Junior candidates do not need grand strategic reasons to leave; they just need a sensible growth rationale that matches early-career scope.
Good examples
🟢I'm looking for a role where I can build on the fundamentals I've learned and take on somewhat larger pieces of work.
🟢At this stage, I want stronger mentorship and more chances to own features from start to finish.
Bad examples
🔴I'm looking for a place where I can set architecture direction and have company-wide impact.
🔴I want to move because I feel ready to lead larger organizational decisions.
Weak answers overreach and sound uncalibrated; strong answers match ambition to early-career reality.
Example answers atlevel
Great answers
I've learned a lot in my current role, especially around working on production code and collaborating with more experienced engineers. The main reason I'm exploring is that my work has become fairly narrow, and I want a role where I can keep building breadth and take on a bit more ownership over time. I'm not leaving because of a bad experience there; it's more that I feel ready for a stronger growth environment. From what I've learned about this role, it seems like a place where I could keep learning while also contributing to meaningful product work.
I like the team I’m on and I’ve learned a lot shipping small features and fixing bugs, but I’m ready for a role with more structured mentorship and feedback. Right now we don’t have regular code reviews or a clear learning path, so I’ve had to figure out a lot on my own. I’m looking for a place where senior engineers make time to teach, where I can pair with others and get concrete guidance on fundamentals like testing and design. This role’s emphasis on mentorship and a learning stipend is exactly what I’m after as I work toward becoming a reliable mid-level developer who can mentor others in the future.
Poor answers
My current company has been kind of chaotic, and it's hard to get things done well there. A lot of decisions don't make sense, and I don't think the engineering culture is very strong. So I'm looking for a better company where the bar is higher. At this point I mostly just want to get out of my current situation.
Question Timeline
See when this question was last asked and where, including any notes left by other candidates.
Late June, 2026
Anduril
Senior
Early May, 2026
Microsoft
Senior
Late April, 2026
Salesforce
Senior
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