You probably have three true reasons for leaving. Rate each one on how true it is and how safe it is to say, and see which one belongs in the room.
Most people pick their reason for leaving by strength of feeling. That is usually the worst guide, because the strongest feeling attaches to the part that was unfair, and unfair is the part an interviewer cannot check. Rating each reason twice puts the useful one where you can see it.
How true each one is for you, and how safe it is to say out loud. One to five on both.
True and safe, true and delicate, true and expensive, and not really yours.
The sentence for the one you lead with, plus the survivable version of the costly ones.
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Almost nobody leaves for a single reason. There is usually a stack: something about the money, something about the manager, something about where the work was going. All of it true, and only some of it useful to say out loud in an interview.
The mistake is picking by strength of feeling. The reason you feel most strongly about is often the one that costs you the most to say, because strong feeling usually attaches to the part that was unfair, and unfair is the part they cannot verify.
So rate each one twice. How true it is, and how safe it is to say. The answer you want is rarely the highest on either scale on its own.
The grid
Rate each reason twice
Be honest on the left column even for reasons you would never say. Nothing here leaves your browser, and a reason you rate 5 for true and 1 for safe is the most useful row on the page.
| The reason | How true is this for you? | How safe is it to say? |
|---|