Straight Truth: How do you best explain that you were laid off in an interview?
A reader asked:
“How should I say, “I was laid off, but I’m a rock star”?”
The Straight Truth is that when companies are letting go of part of a team rather than all of it, they try to clean house and let go of the people they view as low performers.
So, the hiring managers at other companies are simply doing the natural thing when they wonder if you might be one of those low performers.
Given this, you can anticipate that some good managers, hiring for good jobs, will have this reasonable fear in mind. Rather than getting angry or defensive, simply accept that you may need to overcome this bias.
Being comfortable with the situation will be your first step towards the confidence to put the manager at ease.
You do not need to rush to bring up your layoff, but if someone asks you, have your story ready — be prepared!
Be able to explain without looking or sounding embarrassed or as if you have a secret to hide. This is crucial. The other person is asking you their “tough question” about their “secret fear” and your ability to respond calmly and confidently will matter as much as the actual content of your answer.
Here is some good news — since there have been a lot of layoffs recently, your story will not stick out. It is much harder to position a layoff or a termination when times are good.
If your entire team or division was cut, this is the strongest story.
Be clear about it. Say, my entire team was cut, and point them to a news story that verifies your claim if you can.
If you were cut as a small percentage of the team, you have a harder job.
Your key steps are:
In a single sentence, state the truth — I was laid off as a part of a larger layoff within project X.
Give a plausible, non-performance reason why you were laid off. This can be anything that makes sense in your job. An example for a software engineer might be “My specialty on the team was X and now that feature will be in maintenance mode.” The key here is that you are giving the hiring manager an alternative narrative, that the cut was based on company needs, rather than on your performance.
Then transition the topic to a positive forward-looking statement about what you will contribute. “While I liked company X, this gives me a chance to learn new thing Y at your company. I love to learn (grow, contribute, whatever) and so I’m excited about this new opportunity with you.” Change the topic back to what you bring to the company.
Never badmouth your old boss or company. An interview is not the place for grievances as no one wants to hire an angry person.
You have to appear to be a great future colleague rather than one with baggage.
As always, I invite you to share your own layoff experiences, your perspectives as hiring managers, or your own methods of explaining your situation if you have done this yourself!
Audience Insights
I have consolidated additional ideas worth considering from my LinkedIn audience, including:
If you fall in the scenario where you were cut as a small percentage of the team but your last performance review was outstanding (e.g. Top Tier, Exceeds Expectations), recognize that not all reviews are honest. Sometimes managers care more about having an easy day than being truthful and having a candid improvement conversation. Do not be surprised.
In a previous post, I talked about why layoffs are a relief for some managers.
If you are a low performer or have recieved low performance ratings (e.g. Least Effective, Not Enough Impact), make a change to a skill or situation where you can be a high performer and clearly explain why the situations are not the same.
Ask yourself:
“Why was my performance low in this role?”
“What am I better at?”
“What kind of role do I need to go find where I can be a high performer?”
In the interview, explain:
“I was laid off at XYZ and it was actually for the best. I was not a great fit at XYZ doing X. But I am great at doing Y, which is what I believe you are looking for, and here is the evidence that I am great at Y.”
In a previous post, I talked about replacing unverifiable “Happy Words” on your resume with metric driven evidence on what you actually did. The same applies in an interview.
There are many factors (spoken and unspoken) that go into a layoff decision. The key is to focus on what you can control (e.g. what did you learn, how are you looking-forward, what new skills will you develop, how can you add value and cultivate your network). In a previous post, I shared the Amazon “secret” of controllable inputs for your career.
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Straight Truth is a series where I take people’s hard questions and answer them in as direct a manner as possible, cutting through the polite fiction of larger workplaces. Jobs and careers are not as “fair” as we hope. I cannot give you justice at work, I can give you the truth as I see it.
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