About Careers

Losing your Job? How to Handle Layoffs.

August 5th, 2008

Are you going to lose your job or have you lost your job? The last thing that you want to talk about is “why” you lost your job. In fact, the question

“Why did you leave your last job?”

can be one of the most difficult questions to deal with - especially if you’ve been let go in one form or another.

You can simply state: “I was laid off,” if you are among the thousands of people who have been laid off in the last year and a half.

The more specific your answer, the more effective it will be. This answers the question, but still leaves a lingering doubt in the mind of the interviewer, - “Why were you laid off?”

“I survived five rounds of the six rounds of layoffs at my last company, but when it came to round six they had to cut deep. My position was eliminated along with half of my group because the project we were working on was cancelled.”

Whatever your situation is it will be helped by including facts and figures to explain the circumstances surrounding your layoff. Not everyone will have a definite statement to make like the one above.

“My whole team was let go, the project was cut,” or “One out of every 15 jobs was affected, company-wide.”

Quantifying a statement gives it more depth. When you tell the interviewer whether it was 10 or 1000 people were laid off helps put the situation in perspective.

Were you fired?

How you deal with questions about being fired will depend on how you have resolved the issue with yourself. If you were fired, you probably dread being asked this question. Not only have you been fired, you have to talk about it - over and over.

Here are examples of how two candidates answer the question:

Candidate #1 “From the very beginning it was clear that my new boss and I were going to be at odds. We just had different types of personalities. She kept changing the rules. One day she would want it this way, and the next day another way,” rambled Karen. “I don’t usually have problems with bosses but this woman was really overbearing in her management approach. I had a great boss, but he left.”

Badmouthing former employers during the interview is a bad idea. This is not the best way to present the situation. This candidate could be classified as a “whiner.” No one wants to hear about someone else’s shortcomings, particularly someone they don’t even know.

Below is a better example of how to handle the situation:

Candidate #2 “I take responsibility for my part in the way things turned out. I was let go after a major reorganization. The merging of different cultures had caused a major change in the way things were done. There were some differences of opinion between my boss and myself and, in the end, I was fired. I learned a lot from the experience, and in retrospect, I would have handled it differently. But, that is behind me now, and I am ready to move on with a new perspective.”

This answer is much better because it demonstrates strength and self-confidence. Candidate #2 takes responsibility and deals with the question honestly.

Practice your answer with someone in a mock interview and obtain feedback on your comfort-level while discussing your situation. You don’t want to bad-mouth your former employer or sound like a victim (even if you were). Whether you were let go under unfair circumstances or for something you did and regret, scripting your answer ahead of the interview will help you.

What about lying?

You always take a chance whenever you put a lie on an application. One lie usually leads to another, and before you know it you are in over your head. The application usually has a signature line on the back where you sign, stating that the above is true, and that any false statements could be grounds for termination. Probably the worst way to handle this question is by lying.

Perspective

Deal with your feelings about the lay off or firing, and prepare your answer to the question before it is asked. It is a fact that “people lose their jobs every day.” They move on and get new jobs. And, you will too. No matter what the circumstances, put it behind you and move on. Being prepared will make you feel more confident and less emotional about the situation.

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