Should we be honest when asked reason for leaving a job?
There are different degrees of truth. Always try to err on the side of tact and diplomacy. You don’t have to say you were “tired” of the long hours, after all. You can say the job demands were greater than you could meet in your present circumstances. The implication is then that something is going on in your life that precludes you being able to work those hours and NOT that the hours themselves were the problem. Since the person asking the question can’t possibly know what is going on in your life (and you are under no obligation to tell them), you have diverted their attention without either lying to save face, OR telling the whole truth. It should result in a win/win situation unless the person is so tactless as to keep pressing for more information. If that happens, politely decline to release more information on the grounds it is “personal.
