People change jobs for lots of reasons and this question is always top of mind when an insurance hiring manager looks at your resume. Keep in mind that insurance is a small world in the Pacific Northwest, and it is highly likely that your future employer knows people you are working with now or have worked with in the past. You can’t afford to gloss over this question or worse, not be truthful, but there are ways to explain things that don’t throw you or your present or past employers under the bus.
Let go for cause: Be honest with this one. Don’t say “it was mutual”, employers can see right through that. With social media, many hiring managers will have already done their homework on you and may have already talked with someone at your old firm. If you were fired for cause, provide a brief explanation of what happened and most importantly, own the mistake, don’t blame others! Tell the employer what behaviors you have changed to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Taking personal responsibility for what happened shows the employer that you care about your work quality, don’t have a victim mentality, and that you will be extra diligent in the future.
Management changes: With the number of recent acquisitions in the insurance industry, there have been many ownership and management changes most of the time, and unfortunately, the employees are the last ones to find out. The new leadership or your new supervisor can often make changes that you don’t like or agree with, or there can be personality conflicts or differences with communication styles. This is normal, but how you explain it matters. Don’t drone on about how your new manager is toxic or that the new company’s policies are unreasonable. Take the high road. Your best strategy is to simply say that you have learned a lot and enjoyed working there, but that there have been some recent management changes that have affected your job responsibilities or career growth. Stick to the things that are tangible and that you can’t change such as your schedule, amount of time required in the office, or job duties. Then pivot to explain why the job you are interviewing for is a great career move and emphasize the positives about the new position.
Time off for personal care or to care for others: Many people have significant gaps in their resume due to the economic effects of Covid and have had to leave jobs due to personal reasons such as caring for a family member or for self-care. Simply state that you needed to take time off for yourself or your family and that you didn’t want that to impact your work quality. Explain how you kept your skills sharp by keeping abreast of industry news and trends or taking insurance CE’s while you were not working. Emphasize that you have nothing preventing you from working full time again.
Multiple short-term jobs: Ahh, the dreaded job hopper. You have an uphill battle with this one, but you can lessen the climb by talking about why you moved from job to job and emphasizing why you were hired especially if you were referred by a former colleague. If you were recruited away, say so. This makes you more valuable in the eyes of your future employer. The key is to show how the short term roles added to your skill set and how that will benefit a new employer then give an example of something that you accomplished that directly ties into the job you are interviewing for.
If you moved due to a spouse’s job or military transfers, focus the employer on how fast you were able to learn the new company’s computer systems and procedures. Provide specific work examples and preferably letters of recommendation from past managers.
The important thing to do when answering the “why did you leave” question is to make sure that your answers demonstrate thoughtfulness and emphasize what you learned that will help you be successful with your new employer.
If you are thinking it might be time to change jobs, Contact me and let’s talk about new career options.
