this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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How do you explain your reasons for jumping ship? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by bcngooner@lemmy.world to c/experienced_devs@programming.dev
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I got a reply from a recruiter to setup a call later this week. I know one of the inevitable questions will be why am I looking to leave my current role.

Personally I want to leave because:

  • I have a junior role in the company and I don't see a way of reaching a mid level here.
  • The targets for promotion are constantly moving. The managers have changed a few times over the past 4 years and so have the appraisal systems.
  • I haven't been given any real projects since the last manager has started. Mainly whack-a-mole type security tasks. This is especially frustrating as I have worked on larger projects before then.
  • lots of senior engineers have joined, introduced a new product/application, and then left.
  • which leads to lots of firefighting and understanding how things were implemented due to the seniors poor documentation.
  • so I'm learning nothing on the job and I'm not working on anything special to talk about.

So would something like 'looking for new opportunities' be sufficient?

Ps. If you got this far, thanks for reading my rant. It has been locked away in my head for some time now.

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[–] thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't think it's necessary to give a reason for ambitions, such as financial goals. If it's not true, a good interviewer will sniff it out and catch you off foot. Self improvement should be part of basic intuition for any professional. It's also not necessary to elaborate on why you're leaving, this is risky territory for a young professional. I'd answer this by focusing about what initially excited me about the role, how much I've grown my skills and expertise, and what I'm looking for in my next role. That speaks for itself without trashing your company. I agree with everything else you said.