I want to stress again the importance of answering this based on your current situation. The key is to answering this is to make sure the employer is not alarmed or concerned in any way as to what is causing you to be it he market.

• Answer assuming you are still working:
  I am happy at my current firm and have learned a great deal. I just feel that at this point in my career I have reached a plateau where I am at, and based on discussions with mentors in our industry, I was encouraged to passively see what else is out in the market. I very much want to continue in the path I am on, but am looking to add to my duties and responsibilities, and feel that this role and company would provide me with this opportunity.
  
  
• Answer assuming you were laid off:
  Unfortunately, due to market conditions beyond anyone’s control, revenues were down a considerable amount for our company, and the firm was forced to let our entire department go. Although I had a feeling this would happen, I am a very loyal and dedicated individual. I did not interview until I was officially laid off. I wanted to make sure that all loose ends were resolved and that any pending projects or cases I was in handling were transferred over smoothly to the new team taking over.
  
  
• Answer assuming you were fired:
  Unfortunately, there was an error made, and this error was made by me. I took full responsibility for it, although between you and me, I think that the amount of workload and responsibility given to me at the time was just way beyond my skill set and expertise, which led to an error that caused my termination. But I am a team player, and never say no to additional work. Unfortunately, this one project I handled backfired, I made an error, and due to this mistake, I was terminated. I completely understand if this changes your perspective on me, but I can assure you that I learned a great deal from this unfortunate situation, and will know, from now on, if I have too much on my plate, I will immediately go to my supervisor and state so. We are all humans after all, and no one is perfect. I have learned a big lesson from this.
  
  
• Answer assuming you resigned:
  This is good and bad. As mentioned above in the "termination" section, if you are able to resign before getting fired, you can then state as you interview some valid story that would make sense with what is going on in the market (pretty easy in 2009, with economy concerns, potential layoffs, rumors of layoffs, etc), that a firm would understand if you chose to resign to dedicate yourself to finding a new job. Although the flip side on this could be how you could leave your job without securing a new one, especially since the market is so bad? (Can’t win either way it seems...). Nevertheless, a good answer would flow like this:
  
  There were rumors that the firm was not doing well, and with the market pull back, I just suspected that soon I would be let go. I felt the best thing to do was to resign and dedicate myself full time to finding a new position.
  
  
• Answer assuming you moved:
  I have always wanted to move to Los Angeles. I have a lot of friends who live here and some family as well (this will show that you will most likely ‘stay’ in the new city…companies always worry when someone moves to a new place, how likely are you to stay? In your answer, show the employer that it’s not just about the job, it’s also about the location – it has to be a little of both).
  
  
• Answer assuming you are a recent college grad:
  Clearly that is an obvious answer, which you should just state. "I have just graduated from college and am now in the job market to secure a full time position in the financial industry."

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