When you are looking for a new job, you need to be prepared to explain to a hiring manager why you are a free agent. Some relevant reasons for leaving a job include taking additional responsibility, seeking an increase in pay and relocation. Your resulting resume gaps can also be explained away by citing taking time off to raise a family or going back to school. Coming out of a tough economy and even getting laid off doesn't have the stigma attached to it that it once did.

However, many people quit for more personal reasons because they could not deal with a screaming boss, they felt stuck in a dead-end position or they were tired of enduring poor treatment. In those cases, you will have to find a way to put a positive spin on why you decided to say, "I quit!" when you go to your next job interview.

The last thing you want to risk is having your interviewer think that you are a quitter who could not hack it, you were not a team player or you were hard to manage. This is how you can explain in an honest way why you quit your last job without scaring off recruiters.

Reasons for Leaving a Job

1. You are burned out.
2. You were caring for your health or the health of a loved one.
3. You need a change.
4. You clash with the company's ethics.
5. You are seeking career advancement.

1. You Left A Demanding Job Because You Were Burned Out

During the interview, the hiring manager asks, "Why did you leave your last job?" Do not launch into a tirade about how you were expected to work 80 hours a week or how your supervisor expected you to answer 11 p.m. emails.

Instead say something along the lines of: "I'm looking for an opportunity where I can leverage my relevant skills and experience while also balancing time with family and friends. I believe we perform our best when we have a healthy balance between work and life."

Many companies embrace a work-life balance, so focus your answer on the type of work environment that you thrive in.

If you have no other gaps on your resume and have a track record of working with companies for big chunks of time, an interviewer should be satisfied with that response.

2. You Left To Take Care Of A Family Member Or Health Issue

Of all the good reasons for leaving a job, your duty to your health and your love dones is at the top. While you certainly do not have to get into the specifics if you went out on the Family and Medical Leave Act and then just didn't return to the job after your 12 weeks were up, you might want to at least give the interviewer some key information.

You can address that this was a very specific and one-time issue that is now resolved and assure them the situation is not part of a pattern. That way, a hiring manager will not be worried that they will bring you on board only to lose you in a few months.

3. You Needed a Change

If you are making a career change, is it because you simply reached the point where you could not stand what you were doing anymore? Instead, say something along the lines of: "I am seeking out opportunities that will allow me to make full use of my newly acquired web design skills".

Prospective employers are looking for stability so you want to do your best to demonstrate that you are not just seeking this position on a whim but that you have taken steps to prepare yourself and have done industry research to make sure this is what you want.

4. You Were Not In Agreement With Your Former Company's Ethics

There are times when resigning from a job might have been the smartest thing you could have done, namely if you notice activities going on that run afoul of basic ethics, if not the law. You do not want your reputation diminished by a shady organization.

If your company does not value honesty or playing by the rules, there is a good chance that future employers will assume you lack those values as well.

That said, bashing your former employer will not go over well even if it is well deserved.

Try to turn the conversation onto the values that you share with this new potential employer. You can certainly bring up legitimate disagreements you had with management, but be sure to present your train of thought and why you fundamentally disagreed.

Make the shift to describe what you admire about the company you are interviewing with, such as how they focus on diversity and inclusion or strive to be environmentally conscious. This will also give you the opportunity to show that you did your homework.

5. You Are Looking For More Money Or A Promotion

Career advancement is high on the list of reasons for leaving a job. If there is no sign of your career moving forward, no new responsibilities, no new skills to learn and no raise coming your way, why bother staying? There is a way to express that in an interview without coming off as angry or bitter.

Explaining to the interviewer that you have reached the growth ceiling in your position and that you are ready for a new challenge. This explanation puts a positive spin on your departure and positions your professional development at the center. The word challenge implies that you will be hard working while remaining committed.

No matter your reason for resigning from a job, here are a few general tips to keep in mind:

• Less is more. Provide just enough information to explain your reason for leaving without going into too much detail.
• Stay on point. Stick with sharing relevant information that relates to the company and position that you are applying to.
• Be honest. While you can certainly frame how you quit in a positive way, you should never flat out lie about how things went down.

Roughly three weeks after you completed an interview for your dream job, an email suddenly appears in your inbox: “We regret to inform you that you haven’t been selected for this position.” You try to handle the news the best you can, but you immediately wonder: Why didn’t I get the job? You will need to know how to ask for feedback after this job rejection. You should ask for interview feedback as you have nothing to lose, but you must ask in a professional manner. Hearing what went wrong can pinpoint the areas you need to work on, whether it’s your body language or your ability to think on the spot. 

How To Ask For Interview Feedback 

Your best bet is to reach out to someone that you spoke to early in the interview process such as a recruiter. Hiring managers are busy and they are not required to provide feedback. A recruiter on the other hand may be more forthcoming when it comes to providing feedback since they are charged with providing a positive recruiting experience for candidates. Start off by sending that person an email soon after the decision has been made. Say that you are appreciative, that you had the chance to interview and that you are sorry that you did not get the job. Go ahead and ask if they could spare a few minutes of their time for a phone call in order to discuss areas where you could improve. The move from email to phone is important since the recruiter will be more candid on the phone. You have to tailor your approach depending on where you are at in your career.  

Entry Level 

When you’re just starting out for an entry-level job, you are more likely to be pitted against a big pool of candidates. Whether or not the recruiter will be willing to offer you advice really comes down to your likability. If you gave off a good impression, they will be more likely to help as you try to get your career off the ground. You don’t want to ask flat out as to why you did not get the job. Instead, you want to come across as someone looking for guidance and advice. This works because it makes the recruiter feel valued. It is best to ask open-ended questions such as: What could I do to be the top candidate for this type of job? If I would apply for a similar role elsewhere, what would you recommend I focus on developing? In response, you should show nothing but gratitude. 

Mid Level 

At this stage of your career, with several interviews under your belt, you probably have a good idea of whether or not the interview went well by the time you walk out of the office. If the rejection takes you by surprise, you are going to want to inquire further regarding specific feedback. Ask for positive feedback and it may make the criticisms easier to deliver. Try asking the same question in slightly different ways like: What feedback do you have for me? Are there any interview strategies you’d be able to recommend? Any tips or techniques I should try? Approaching it through a few different lenses can keep the conversation going and that can increase the likelihood that you end up with useful information to work with.  

Executive Level 

It becomes easier to solicit feedback the further along you are in your career since you can approach it as a one on one conversation rather than like you are asking a huge favor from someone you do not know.  If they are hesitant to talk, take a back-channel approach. Ask any references the hiring manager spoke to what they were asked. The questions that they were asked can give you a sense of where they had concerns. For instance, hearing they asked why you held several jobs in a five-year period should clue you in that they were apprehensive about your work history.  

What To Do If You’re Met With Silence 

Try following up a week or two later if your initial request goes unanswered. Following up three times with no reply? Some companies have a policy against giving feedback for liability reasons in case it turns into a PR issue or an EEOC discrimination claim.  No matter if your request for feedback is met with a yes or a no, be gracious. Show you’re professional and authentic.

A lot of ink has been spilled over automation in the workforce lately. It’s a shared sentiment that’s resonating and disturbing working people in the United States.

Americans expect that robots and computers will most likely perform jobs that are currently done by humans. Workers whose jobs primarily involve manual labor are particularly worried and have expressed concern about automation posing a threat to their future employment.

On the other hand, workers in government, education and nonprofit sectors are less concerned as they thought robots and computers would definitely replace them in the next 50 years or so.

Pew Research is hardly the first organization to cover automation or to hit on the unease it provokes in some workplaces. Researchers predicted that 47% of jobs in the United States could eventually be “computerized” and laid out the careers most at risk of automation (i.e. telemarketers, title examiners and hand sewers).

While it’s easy for machines to perform pattern-based tasks, humans are far better when it comes to jobs that require interaction with other people. With that in mind, fields where automation is expected to make inroads demonstrate that they are more likely that machines would only perform aspects of jobs currently done by humans rather than take them over completely.

Are you still worried? Time to take a look at the ten jobs that Oxford University identified as being the least susceptible to automation;

1. Recreational therapists,
2. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers,
3. Emergency management directors,
4. Mental health and substance abuse workers,
5. Audiologists,
6. Occupational therapists,
7. Orthotists and prosthetists,
8. Healthcare social workers,
9. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons,
10. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers.