[MUSIC] When a hiring manager asks, why are you looking to leave your current position, he or she wants to find out why you aren't happy or satisfied with your current job. And whether these reasons could result in future issues of the new company. No one wants to leave a job with which they're completely content. But, the last thing a hiring manager wants is a candidate who had right for the negative aspects of a current job or worse speaks badly, but his or her current employer. Rightly or wrongly, the hiring manager will assume you will soon be doing the same if you and the new company don't hit if off. Good responses should be truthful, but unless you have been fired or laid off, you should make it clear that you're seeking a new job because you want more responsibility, a bigger challenge and better opportunities for growth. Your overall emphasis should be on moving up the professional development ladder, rather than just moving out. Of course you may be at a stage in your career where you're looking to downsize or maybe your spouse has been transferred. Maybe personal reasons have brought you to a new city or even to a new country. All of these are acceptable reasons but be sure to include the needs of the company and position you are applying for. Your overall strategy should be to frame the new job in terms of welcome opportunities, not as an escape from the job from hell. Even if you're seeking that escape, take the high road. Focus on the positive aspects of the new position. Remember, you are selling yourself, not venting your frustrations. Now listen to John's response. >> John, why are you looking to leave your current position? >> Well, let's see. Over the last five years my career has taken me from intern to manager. And along each step of the way, I've learned, developed, and improved my skills. I'm grateful that my current position has enabled me to hone my skills as a project manager and supervisor. However at this point, I'm ready to take my career to the next level, and take on a more senior role with an increased amount of responsibility. As a senior project manager at United Health, I would be able to take on more responsibility in that senior role. I'd also be working for an organization whose mission is to help others lead healthier lives. I love the saying health is wealth, because it's so true. If you have your health, you basically have everything. Working for an organization that drives innovation to help others with healthier lives would really be an honor. >> Why not just seek a more senior role in your current company? >> Yeah, well, that was my first idea. My current company does understand my desire to grow and take on more responsibilities, but at this point, they just simply can't offer me the opportunity. The projects I'm managing are winding down and the company has opted not to invest further in financial services. So, at this point in my career, I'm looking to grow with a company that is results oriented and committed to innovation and that brings me to United Health. And a position where I believe I can contribute through my commitment to customer service, my communication skills, and my experience in data driven decision making. Plus, the more I think about the healthcare sector, the stronger my desire to work in your field. I've worked in financial services, business administration, and IT projects and those are challenging fields, and they do help make the world a better place. But, working in the health care industry for a company that is driving innovation to help others lead healthier lives, that's a higher level mission that speaks to my passion. >> Let's look at some of the language John uses. John refers to the last five years of his career as along each step of the way. This is spoken language meaning over a period of time. Notice after this phrase, John adds, I've learned. That is short for I have learned, which is the present perfect form of the regular verb, learned. John uses the present perfect, because he's talking about an action that extends over a period of time, from five years ago to the present. The present perfect is one of the verb forms that English speakers use all the time. It is important that you use this form correctly because it is one of the most commonly used verb forms in English. It's used whenever an English speaker is thinking about an action as extending over an interval of time. Whenever you use a time phrase that expresses an interval of time reaching into the present, you need to use the perfect aspect. The two most common time phrases that require the perfect, are signalled by the keywords for and since. For is used with an interval of time, as in, for the last three years, for the last two days, for the last six months. Since is use with a point of time as in, since 2013, since I moved to California, since last night. Again the key point you need to remember is that time phrases that it's present in a role of time, reaching into the present require the perfect aspect. Returning to John's answer, he also says he's grateful that his current position has enabled him to hone my skills. If you're grateful to someone, you feel that you want to thank them. That's positive language. The most common collocation we use in English are to feel gratitude and to be grateful. Gratitude is a noun. You know that because of the tude ending. Think of the words aptitude, attitude and multitude, or the words latitude and longitude. The suffix tude is used to form nouns. Grateful is an adjective, you know that because of the ful ending. The suffix means full of, think of the words careful, full of care. Respectful, full of respect, and helpful, full of the willingness to help. Many adjectives in English are formed with this ending. John also uses the collocation to hone his skills. To hone, is what we do to make the blade of a knife sharp by rubbing it on a special stone. But, when we hone our skills we can also say, sharpen our skills. That means we improve skills we already have. John is emphasizing his commitment to growth [MUSIC] Notice, John says he would be able to take on more responsibility. He would be working for a strong organization. It would be an honor to him. Why do you think he says, would instead of will? We'll look at that use of language in the later lesson. Go back and listen to John's response again. How does he communicate that he's looking to move up rather than move out? How does he position his current company in a positive light and avoid a bad response? Think about that as you move forward. [MUSIC]