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I got asked that once by a recruiter who had reached out to me. My answer was “people like you keep calling me and asking me to take meetings, then offer me money and opportunity”. He had no response.
Great response.
** also fun fact, I checked THEIR own resume out of curiousity…they’ve stayed at companies for less than a year (???) I just feel like in this current tumultuous advertising landscape, the question is so unnecessary. Might just be me tho.
They probably get asked it by leadership
You sound more worked up than I think it warrants
Rising Star
Two years - now that’s commitment
They're paid to ask that question.
Yes very fair! Just caught me off guard bc I’ve never gotten asked that question in the past.
Chief
If you’re an org lead and there are people in your org still asking this question to interviewees in 2025, you have some work to do.
If I was asked that, I'd take that as a red flag. It’s usually a reflection of the company’s own internal turnover, and they may be trying to avoid hiring people who come and go. I’d deflect that question by asking how long the person you’re replacing stayed in the role, or simply look it up on LinkedIn.
In my experience, good places to work at don't ask that question, only the iffy ones. They get that people leave jobs for a million and one reasons (more money, bad managers, toxic environments, maybe you wanted to commute less, left to take care of a sick parent, etc. Usually they're digging around to cover their own dirt.
I always ask that question as I want to know if I’m going to lose my new employee a year later or if they plan to stick around.
I’ve been lucky in that my team have all stayed on long term and yes I take all the steps I can to retain strong talent. Every opportunity I put in for merits/promotions etc and have regular feedback cycles. My team seems happy. But some people tend to jump ship often and have a track record of doing so in their resume throughout their career so I ask why. In my resume I have both long stints at companies and 1 year stints and if I’m asked I can tell an interviewer why I left a company early - layoff or otherwise. I don’t see it as this terrible question that shouldn’t be asked.
Believe me, we know and don’t want to ask, but it’s the first question the hiring manager will ask us. If we can’t address each hop and defend you, they’re not moving forward. And yes, I work in an agency. But if the hiring manager has never been laid off, they sometimes struggle to grasp this concept.