Candidates are told not to criticize employers, even when bad managers are why they leave. Here’s how to answer why you’re leaving without self-sabotage.
An anonymous commenter on Fishbowl made an astute observation that I’ve never seen addressed. It has long been argued that people don’t quit companies, they quit managers. However, we are also taught to not criticize our current employers when interviewing. So when asked, “Why are you leaving?” it puts the candidate in a bit of a catch-22. It’s not wrong to leave a bad manager (or bad situation), but HR won’t be able to distinguish someone leaving a bad manager from a malcontent. The problem is not whether the candidate is telling the truth. The problem is that the interviewer usually cannot verify it. We’ll break down the question and risks to understand how to create a strong and safe reply.
Managers are one reason people quit, but not the only one. We’ll briefly look at the data for leading causes. The advice in this article applies to most of these reasons; you need to tread carefully in how you position them.
In 2025, Bamboo HR found that “Nearly half (47%) of employees who quit in the last year say they loved their job, but just couldn’t stand their manager.” (source) Culture Amp found that the issue was more subtle: bad managers are a factor in good companies, but not in bad companies. (source) They went on to find that the manager was the primary reason 12% of the time.
The same research by Culture Amp found that leadership was the reason 28% of the time. The Bamboo HR research noted above found managers impacted the decision 90% of the time, and 58% say management style was the motivation. So while numbers vary, managers are clearly a nontrivial reason.
Interestingly the Culture Amp study found 52% cited development opportunities. SHRM’s 2024 survey found 32.4% of employees quit their job due to a toxic or negative work environment. Other reasons include poor company leadership at 30.3% and dissatisfaction with a manager at 27.7%. Pay ranks sixth at 20.5%, and poor work/life balance ranks fifth at 20.8%. (source)
Managers are clearly a significant reason people leave. It may not be the primary reason, though, and the percentage likely varies over time with changes in the labor market. Whether it’s due to a bad manager, bad leadership, toxic culture, or similar reasons, answering the question can be problematic for interviewees. Most of the reasons above are “I don’t like my current job because . . .”; the challenge is that if it weren’t true, you probably wouldn’t be looking, but you also don’t want to come off as disgruntled.
Sometimes people leave for innocuous reasons; I once had someone tell me his wife got into law school so he was moving across the country. (This was prior to remote work being a realistic option; his leaving was out of my control and nothing personal.) Many times, however, it’s because something is wrong, or missing, at the current company.
Honestly, “Why are you looking to leave?” should be none of their business. The dynamics of your relationship to prior companies are unique to that relationship. It shouldn’t matter any more than the reason you broke up with your last significant other. Unfortunately, even if it shouldn’t matter, in work or romantic relationships, many people do care about it. Not answering the question can be viewed as a red flag. By understanding what they are really asking, you can provide a deft answer. They are generally looking for two things.
First, they’re looking for a red flag pattern. Imagine on a date someone said, “My ex was a jerk, so was the one before, and the one before that!” You’d start to wonder if the exes are really the problem or if it is your date. It may really be the exes, but you can’t be certain without a lot more information. When a company has a stack of resumes and a candidate keeps saying, “Every manager before was a jerk” or an equivalent (“they were bad”) the company will just move on. Be aware of this since they may later ask why you left prior companies.
I have known good people who wind up with two or three bad managers in a row. This is because candidates often don’t know how to ask the right questions about their manager's style or culture during an interview. (To get better at that, see “Not Sure How to Ask about Corporate Culture during an Interview? Blame Me.”) Even if they know, during a poor labor market, they may feel compelled to take a bad job over no job. Again, even if the prior managers were honestly the issue, no company will take the chance on that candidate; they can’t be sure since they never met the prior companies and they have plenty of other candidates to choose from where this red flag isn’t visible. In short, even if you had a series of bad companies or managers, you may be right, but you’ll also be unemployed.
Second, they want to make sure that whatever the issue is, it’s not one that also exists at this new job. If you are leaving because of long hours and this new company has long hours, they’ll want to flag that and discuss it with you. If you don’t like the amount of travel, continual change of direction on projects, etc. they want to understand that. For example, if you complain your corporate job is too volatile, but you’re interviewing at a startup, or even an established company but in an industry undergoing a rapid transition, they may recognize you’ll have the same issue with this job.
It’s ok to say things like the length of commute, amount of travel, or even issues like the amount of project uncertainty. You’re not “blaming” them, you’re stating a condition that you want to avoid. It’s in the interest of both you and the company to be honest about this so you don’t walk into the same issue at a new company. (As an aside, I recommend every company be honest up front if the expectation is not 9-5. There’s no benefit to either side to hide it.)
Beyond the two underlying questions noted above (looking for red flags and making sure they don’t have a characteristic you’re trying to avoid), most companies are really trying to get at the question, “What are you looking for?” While it’s nice to avoid things, really the more important question is about the affirmative. Are you looking for more pay, certain aspects of a role, better work/life balance, more travel, or something else?
I’d estimate 80-90% of the time you can answer the question, “Why are you leaving your current job?” (negatives about current roles) with, “I’m looking for a new job where. . .” (affirmatives about the next job) and you’ll be fine. Again, this is what most people in the hiring team really want to know anyway. You’re not avoiding the question or lying; you’re reframing it and answering a version that will be less critical of your current company.
If you want to be extra safe, in your affirmative answer, include a comparison. For example, “I’m looking for a new job where I can better utilize my knowledge of hydrodynamics in more of a team environment, ideally with fewer site visits.” In this case, you gave an affirmative answer (“better utilize my knowledge of hydrodynamics”) but also provided a reason you’re leaving (“fewer site visits”). The middle answer (“more of a team environment”) is an example of phrasing that could go either way. Maybe more of a team environment would be nice in your new role, or maybe that’s part of why you’re looking to leave. The example intentionally leaves it unclear. Slightly different phrasing could make it more explicit. “More of a team environment would be a plus” makes it seem like something you’re looking for while, “with a stronger sense of a team approach to projects” positions it as a contrast to your current role and implies a reason for leaving.
As your mother likely told you, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” The same is true for talking about prior companies and bosses.
If you really feel compelled to, or are boxed in by very specific questioning, apply one or more of the following: acknowledge what was good, contrast it with a better version, and/or focus on your next role.
For example, “I liked the vision of the company when I first joined, but the past eighteen months the company has been launching initiatives only to cancel them later and there’s no sense of direction. In my next job I want to find a place as focused as when I started this one.” So yes, you are saying something negative about the company, but you noted it wasn’t always this way (something positive) and shifted at the end to what you’re looking for so it’s not simply “My company sucks [period].”
Another example: “I report to the VP of sales, but he comes from a marketing background and really doesn’t seem to understand sales as well as some of my prior managers who provided great mentoring and guidance.” Here again, you’re making a direct negative statement (again, avoid that if possible). However, it’s mitigated in two ways. Comparing to a prior boss softens it by showing this is not the norm (so no red flag of “it’s not them it’s you”). It also shows that you’re not just disliking your boss arbitrarily, but have comparative examples so you know what you’re looking for.
Consider in your answer what is objective and what is an opinion, especially about someone else. “My boss is a micromanager” is a personal opinion; maybe he is, or maybe you needed more guidance than you thought. Two people can disagree about whether someone is a micromanager. “Too much travel” is objective. People may be OK with different amounts of travel, but “too much” isn’t subjective, it’s just where the objective level of travel is compared to your personal threshold. Even statements like “I prefer clearer priorities,” while not quantitatively measurable, are not criticisms so much as statements that you want a role at a different point on that dimension of the job. Framing it as the latter comes off as less critical of your current employer.
Again, try to avoid being negative if possible. If you absolutely must, then be sure to include positive examples and/or redirect the focus to what you are looking for.
The original poster on Fishbowl lamented that the same HR people who say that people leave because of “bad” situations (he referred to bad managers, but it applies equally to bad leadership, bad culture, etc.) also warn candidates to never say “my company is bad” in an interview. He is absolutely right to call out hypocrisy. Unfortunately, HR lacks the ability to verify claims about prior employers being “bad.” Combine this with the streetlamp effect, where recruiters only see what’s easy to find (see “The Streetlamp Effect in Hiring”) and they will flag complainers while assuming those who don’t complain simply have nothing to complain about. The result is simple: there is only downside to criticizing.. It’s not fair; it is reality.
When you get this question, avoid answering it directly if possible by focusing on what you are looking for in your next role. If you must answer it directly, keep in mind the red flags they’re screening for. If you do have to level a direct criticism, try to soften it by including positive examples from other jobs, or at least redirecting afterward to what you’re looking for in your next role. You want your statements to sound less like complaints and more like focused career decisions. Good luck.
It’s critical to learn about corporate culture before you accept a job offer but it can be awkward to raise such questions. Learn what to ask and how to ask it to avoid landing yourself in a bad situation.
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