About 70% of Job Changers Rephrase Reasons for Leaving in Interviews; Survey of 150 People on Post-Hire Impact

In job hunting, the "reason for changing jobs" during an interview is a crucial factor directly influencing hiring decisions. It is often said that a gap tends to arise between one's "true feelings" and the "reason stated in the interview." But to what extent do job changers actually rephrase their reasons, and what impact does this have after joining the company? This survey investigated how job changers communicate their reasons for leaving their previous jobs during interviews and what effects rephrasing had on their post-hire experience, based on a survey of 150 individuals with job change experience.

Survey Summary - Top genuine reasons for job change: "Salary/Benefits" (28.67%) and "Human Relations" (27.33%). - Interview responses: "Job Content" ranked first (22%). "Career Advancement" increased more than fourfold, from 3.33% (genuine reason) to 14.67% (interview response). - Only 28.67% "spoke almost entirely truthfully." Approximately 70% experienced some form of rephrasing. - Among those who rephrased, about 20% responded with "felt a disconnect after joining the company" or "experienced a mismatch or regret."

Key Data from the Genuine Reason for Job Change Survey Key Data ①: Top reasons for job change are "Salary/Human Relations"; tendency to rephrase to "Job Content/Career Advancement" in interviews. The top genuine reasons for job change were "Salary/Benefits" (28.67%) and "Human Relations" (27.33%), together accounting for about 60%. On the other hand, the top response in interviews shifted to "Job Content" (22%), and "Career Advancement" more than quadrupled from a genuine reason of 3.33% to 14.67% in interviews. This data suggests a tendency to conceal negative motivations and replace them with positive reasons during interviews.

Key Data ②: A total of approximately 70% of people have experience rephrasing their reasons for job change in interviews. Only 28.67% (43 people) answered that they "spoke almost entirely truthfully" about their reasons for job change. The largest group, 45.33% (68 people), stated they "rephrased to some extent." Following this were "made it quite different" at 16.67% (25 people) and "gave a completely different reason" at 9.33% (14 people), totaling about 70% who had changed their reasons for job change in some form. This reveals that rephrasing reasons in interviews is not a minority behavior but a reality experienced by many job changers.

Key Data ③: About 20% of those who rephrased experienced negative consequences after joining the company. Among those who rephrased their reasons for job change, 42.99% (46 people) responded "had no issues and no regrets." On the other hand, combining "felt a disconnect after joining the company" (11.21%, 12 people) and "experienced a mismatch or regret" (8.41%, 9 people), it was found that about 20% experienced concrete impacts after joining the company. While rephrasing job change reasons is common, the data indicates that the risk of mismatch with the company is not zero.

Overview of the Genuine Reason for Job Change Survey The survey details are as follows:

Survey Name Survey on the Reality of Job Change Reasons

Survey Method Internet Survey (Freeasy)

Valid Responses 150 cases

Target Audience Individuals with job change experience

Survey Region Japan

Questions Asked ① What was the real reason you decided to change jobs? ② What reason did you actually give in the interview? ③ How truthfully did you state your reasons for job change in the interview? ④ Did rephrasing your reasons for job change have any impact later? ⑤ Should reasons for job change be stated truthfully in interviews?

Compilation and Analysis CocoMoola Editorial Department

*This survey can be confirmed in the following article: Job Change Reasons: Are You Telling the Truth in Interviews? Survey of 150 People on Rephrasing and Post-Hire Impact

*If you wish to quote the content of this survey, please include the following two points: ① A link to CocoMoola (https://cc-moola.com/) as the source of the survey. ② A link to the "Genuine Reason for Job Change Survey 2026" article (https://cc-moola.com/job-change/survey/reason-questionnaire).

▼Quotation Example Source: Job Change Reasons: Are You Telling the Truth in Interviews? Survey of 150 People on Rephrasing and Post-Hire Impact | CocoMoola

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