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Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job

How to Explain Why You’re Looking for Another Job, with Susan Peppercorn

Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job

Mac Prichard

Careers, Business

4.8630 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Check out the podcast on Macslist here: (https://www.macslist.org/?post_type=podcasts&p=16773&preview=true) 


What do you say when a hiring manager asks you why you’re looking for a new job? If this question makes you feel defensive, Find Your Dream Job guest Susan Peppercorn says you need to find a way to put a positive spin on your answer, even if the truth is that you were fired or laid off. Hiring managers understand difficult situations, so don’t be afraid to be honest, while not spewing negativity toward a former employer. Susan advises focusing on what you bring to the table and why you’re interested in working with that company.

About Our Guest:

Susan Peppercorn is a coach, writer, and speaker. She's passionate about helping people move from surviving to thriving in their careers. Susan is the author of the bestselling "Ditch Your Inner Critic At Work: Evidence-Based Strategies To Thrive In Your Career."

Resources in This Episode:

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Agism in hiring is against the law. It's also a fact of life in today's job market.

0:06.1

If you're an older worker like me, you face an uphill climb when you look for your next job.

0:11.0

I want to help you overcome those odds, so I put my best job interview advice for older workers

0:16.3

into one new guide. It's called How to Fight Ageism in a Job Interview. And it gives you the

0:23.5

skills you need to beat the barriers older workers often face. Visit maxlist.org slash fight ageism.

0:30.8

You'll learn why you should embrace your age rather than run from it, how to talk about the taboo

0:36.7

topic of age, and what you can do to

0:39.4

diffuse age as a factor in hiring. Get your free copy of How to Fight Ageism in a job interview

0:45.2

today. Visit maxlist.org slash fight ageism. Be prepared before you walk into the interview room.

0:53.3

Go to maxlis.org slash fight ageism.

0:56.4

This is Mac Pritchard, founder of Max List.

0:59.8

I've interviewed more than 600 career experts since Find Your Dream Job started in 2015.

1:07.0

The advice he's guest shared remains as valuable as ever.

1:10.8

So every other week, we're publishing one of our most popular conversations.

1:16.1

Here's a classic episode I think you'll enjoy. This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

1:36.3

I'm your host, Mack Pritchard. I'm also the founder of Mack's List. It's a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

1:45.0

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to find the work you want.

1:50.7

Almost every hiring manager you meet will ask why you're looking for work and what you say can make or sync your application.

1:59.8

Here to talk about how to explain why you're looking for another job

2:02.6

is Susan Peppercorn. She's the author of the book, Ditch Your Inner Critic at Work,

2:08.4

evidence-based strategies to thrive in your career. Susan is also a contributor to the Harvard

2:13.2

Business Review. She joins us today from Boston, Massachusetts. Well, Susan, here's where I'd like to

...

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