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I agree that there isn't anything wrong with that answer, but I would still find a better way to phrase it as someone else said.
Was this a previous job or your current job? It's all about how you phrase it.
Previous job: I left Company A for Company B because it was a better opportunity and the commute was nearly an hour shorter!
Current job: I think there is a great opportunity here for me to learn (or polish my existing or something like that) a new skillset and I am excited about the idea of a 30 minute commute versus my 75 minute one I have now!
"While I would personally consider it far more important than even the salary or the work performed, most people put commute distance below house price, perceived school quality, and neighborhood preference."
I've always thought saying you're leaving the job because of a long commute was a valid reason to give on interviews. Recently, someone told me that sounds lazy. What do you think?
Lacking any further information than what you just said, if someone said to me as a job interviewer, "I'm leaving the job because of a long commute," the first question that would spring to my mind is "Well, why did you take that job in the first place?"
Lacking further information, this answer could be a sign that the prospective employee does not have the judgment and self-awareness necessary to assess their fit for all aspects of taking on a new position, including the commute. I would wonder if there was anything else about the position at my organization (even if the commute was shorter) that they weren't understanding or thinking about that would cause them to up and leave in short order. In other words it could make you sound fickle.
I would say if there was a particularly good reason for you to end up with the commute (e.g. started as a short commute but then you moved for spouse's position, child's school, to care for family members, etc.), or if you've put in many years at the position, then it's probably an OK answer. If you were at the position for a short amount of time and there was no particular reason to take on the commute, it's not a good answer.
Lacking any further information than what you just said, if someone said to me as a job interviewer, "I'm leaving the job because of a long commute," the first question that would spring to my mind is "Well, why did you take that job in the first place?"
Lacking further information, this answer could be a sign that the prospective employee does not have the judgment and self-awareness necessary to assess their fit for all aspects of taking on a new position, including the commute. I would wonder if there was anything else about the position at my organization (even if the commute was shorter) that they weren't understanding or thinking about that would cause them to up and leave in short order. In other words it could make you sound fickle.
I would say if there was a particularly good reason for you to end up with the commute (e.g. started as a short commute but then you moved for spouse's position, child's school, to care for family members, etc.), or if you've put in many years at the position, then it's probably an OK answer. If you were at the position for a short amount of time and there was no particular reason to take on the commute, it's not a good answer.
In the end, an interviewee will always try to spin it off in a way the sounds pleasing anyways. Otherwise, to err is to be human. People have left jobs in the past for any number of being "not a good fit". Some of it is standard issues that are dealt with in the industry.
This similar question has been turned onto employers too. Examples include people who take over for others, finding out they did such a poor job. "Why did you guys hire him? This guy didn't know anything!". They got suckered into a resume that looked good on paper, and slick interview performance.
From an employer's perspective, you need to explain it better. If you accepted a position knowing the commute, leaving because you are tired of the commute comes off as a bit lazy in how you address difficulties. Now, if new factors beyond being tired of it were involved, those can change a lazy decision into a well thought out decision. It's only sounds "lazy" if you give it as a "lazy" reason.
I agree with this. If you took a job that you knew would have a long commute, then left because of the long commute, that doesn't look good. However, if the commute changed due to factors outside your control, it looks fine.
Example- some companies move their office locations when they are up for a lease renewal. I'm aware of a local company that moved about 15 minutes from the old location. If your commute grew by 30 minutes per day, you might want to leave.
I don't understand why you would have to tell a potential employer negative reasons you are leaving your current job. Isn't the answer always for professional growth and a better career opportunity?
I commute 85 miles each way into DC and it's no biggie because the money and benefits are awesome, it's a great leap forward career wise and I negotiated flexible days/hours. I listen to NPR and podcasts.
It is funny though that commuting is the number one topic of conversation around the office!
Bumping a December/January thread rather than starting a new one...
I've been telecommuting for the last 7 years. All good things come to an end and I'm having a challenge lining up another telecommuting job. I'm in a long distance relationship. My girlfriend is considering a job in a different city. From that city, I'm pretty sure I can land a job in a city 100 miles away where I could telecommute some. It would be a 10 minute bus ride, 1h 10 minute Amtrak ride, and a short local train ride to get there. About 2h 15 minutes door-to-door with more than half of that sitting in a reserved seat on Amtrak. The bus where I'd be living and the short local train on the other side run every 5 minutes or so. I would work on the train so I wouldn't need to log more than 8 hours in the office building unless something dire was happening.
I'm trying to decide how bad that would be. I've had hour drive commutes before and some of them had pretty intense traffic. With 100% public transportation, it looks like a 2h 15m commute would be tolerable if I could telecommute some.
8 hours in the office plus 4.5 hours commuting? And that's on a day where you don't have any fires to put out involving longer than 8 hours in the office.
Sounds pretty bad to me.
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