Why do you want to leave your current role?

This is a diplomacy test. Interviewers know everyone has frustrations at their current job; they're checking whether you can talk about them like a professional.

The principle: lead with pull factors, not push factors.

Push framing (avoid): "My manager is bad, the codebase is a mess, the company is going under." Pull framing (do this): "I'm looking for [specific thing the new role offers] that I can't get in my current role."

Common honest reasons, professionally framed:

• Career growth: "I've been in my role for three years and have done what I can within my current scope. The next stage of growth — leading a wider initiative / specialising deeper / mentoring more — needs a bigger canvas."
• Domain change: "I'd like to work on [domain X] more deeply. My current role gives me limited exposure to it."
• Tech stack: "My current stack is [Y]; I'm investing in [Z] and your team's work in that space attracted me."
• Company stage: "I've been at a [large company] and am ready for the speed of a smaller team" (or vice versa).
• Team values: "I'm looking for a team that takes [quality / craftsmanship / ownership] seriously, and the way you've described your engineering culture matches that."

A sample answer: "I've been at my current company for nearly four years and have grown into a senior individual contributor role. The thing pulling me towards a new role is scope: I'm looking for somewhere I can drive quality strategy across multiple teams rather than within a single team. Your role description mentioned that explicitly, which is why I applied."

If the truth is harsh (toxic team, layoffs, demoralising politics), still find a non-defamatory way to say it: "I learned a lot at my current role, but the team has been through significant change recently and I'm ready for a fresh environment with more stable trajectory." Vague enough to protect your former colleagues, honest enough not to feel like a lie.