How to Explain Job Loss in an Interview
You were happily employed in your job and now you are not. How on are you supposed to explain why you are no longer working? Is this the fear that is holding you back from applying to jobs?
What happens if they ask about why you no longer work at a company when you know that leaving was not your choice?
Let's be honest, you are not the only one in this situation right now (Yes, we all need a little reminder every once in a while that we are not alone!) ❤️
Downsizing. Layoffs. Terminations. Job Loss. ‘Right sizing’. Companies are all over the place right now with economic uncertainty and recession scare. It’s non-stop re-orgs in companies.
To me it doesn't matter what a company decides to call it, the outcome remains the same… someone who was once a dedicated employee, Is now out of work and unsure of where to start the process of finding a new job. (If that's you, remember I offer one-on-one coaching to help get out of the job loss rut).
Don't let the fear of not knowing how to answer the question about job loss deter you from getting the career you deserve.
Job loss questions. These questions can come up in many different ways. Be prepared to answer, are you still with that company? Why did you leave? Did you leave by choice? Were you let go?
6 Simple Tips To Answer Questions about Job Loss:
Instead of being afraid of the questions “why are you no longer with your company” use these simple tips to provide a strong (and accurate) response that will help you tackle this question with confidence.
Be Upfront about it
Own it. If you lost your job as a result of a layoff, just say it. It’s best to own it because sometimes the interviewer may already know that you were impacted by a job loss and they are just testing you to see if you will admit it. (Really?!? Yes. Recruiters talk… a lot).
This is your opportunity to craft your answer in an honest and upfront manner while also negating any concerns that the interviewer may have. The interviewer’s job is to make sure you would be a good fit for their company, so it’s your job to paint the picture why this “lay off” was an unfortunate thing outside of your control and not a trend.
How do we do that? Easy.
2. Where possible speak with facts.
The more information that you can provide that will reduce the concerns that you were let go due to poor performance, the better.
It could sound something along the lines of:
Speak in numbers:
“After the company lost their largest client, they had to be cost careful and do layoffs. Unfortunately I was one of 100 people who were let go.”
“Due to financial insecurity, the company had to downsize 15% of the organization, and unfortunately I was part of that layoff.”
“The company completed four rounds of layoffs. I thankfully was able to maintain my role throughout the first three rounds of layouts - and was only impacted on the fourth round of cut backs.”
This also tells the interviewer that your preference was probably quite good, since you were maintained through the first rounds of employee reductions which typically, but not always, eliminates the poor performers in an organization. Now this leads me to the next part, were you the person who was let go in the first round of layoffs when there were four further rounds? If yes, go back up and speak to your numbers instead… I was one of X number that were let go.
3. Come prepared to explain what you learned from the experience.
Not everything in your career is going to feel like a career achievement you want to brag about. At the same time, some of your most challenging moments are the opportunities where you get to know yourself the most and grow.
Even if you're feeling quite hostile about being let go do not let these negative emotions show through in your interview. Instead put your focus on what this unexpected change has allowed you to realize about yourself and what you're looking for in your next career. (This is also a great way to speak in terms of what you can do to benefit the employer that you are interviewing).
Need an example?
Maybe you were in a small start-up tech company. You were with that company for 15 years, you continued to grow your skills and experience as the company continued to expand. Now you are interviewing for another small startup tech company, and you want to position yourself as the top candidate for them. You can use this recent layoff to give you the opportunity to reflect on what you really enjoyed and what you wanted more of.
Once being laid off, it gave you time to think about your career with them. In this moment, you realized the part you enjoyed the most was when the company was still a smaller startup company. You liked when everything was a little chaotic, there were no real systems in place and you had an opportunity to wear many hats to contribute to the company. If it was not for having a pause in your career, you may not have had the opportunity to really realign with what it is that you're looking for in your next organization. So where other people may hold resentment, you're actually quite thankful to have had a small pause, to really focus and intentionally apply to the roles that are aligned with the startup mentality that you are looking for now.
Boom! As an interviewer, no longer am I seeing you as someone who was let-go. I am seeing why you are a good fit for what we are hiring. You leveraged an unfortunate situation to show gratification. I want to hire someone who will come with a positive perspective despite the challenges that come up on a daily basis.
You are already winning at this point of the interview.
4. Explain how you used your time to learn new skills or reflect
When working 40+ hours a week (and I say Plus hours, not that I necessarily think everybody needs to do that in order to get ahead, but it's the reality of what corporate life looks like these days), it's hard to find the extra time to expand your skills and seek additional training that may be outside of the scope of your current role.
If during your new found downtime, you had the opportunity to invest in yourself and learn something new, use this as an opportunity to show you gained additional skills that you did not have before. You have levelled up yourself. Who doesn’t want someone who continuously develops themselves? Am I right?
Maybe with your time off it wasn't necessarily a “work specific skill” that you learnt… it could be a passion project you were waiting to have time to explore. Share that information - it still shows your personality and demonstrates that you aren’t afraid to try something new.
It also lets the interviewer know you took this time as a gift - whether requested time off or not - you saw the advantages and did the best you could despite the unfortunate reality of the situation.
Way to go! You took this opportunity and really took advantage of the time off that every 9-5’er dreams they had!
5. Gather positive references beforehand
Often an interviewer will ask, “Would you be able to get a reference from your company if asked?” This is our way to try to determine how your performance was in that position. So knowing this, I would recommend that you answer their question before they even ask.
Let the interviewer know about the positive feedback you had while employed in that position. If you do have references available, let them know who you would provide as a reference and what you would anticipate they would say.
You could also use this as an opportunity to provide a scenario-based example which highlights the performance and the positive impact you had on the company.
Here’s an example: Highlight a large-scale project that helped the company achieve. Discussed the contributions that you made and the partnerships that you developed. If this project wrapped up and there was not another project available, this can start to tell the story that your role was eliminated was not due to performance. The interviewer will see that your role was impacted strictly because of business… and at the end of the day business is business - It’s not personal.
6. Keep it brief but informational.
Less is more. I would loopback and remind you to be honest and upfront. Keep your interview focused on what makes you a great candidate for this role. I believe every interview answer should be less than 2 minutes long, so in this situation, keep your answer short to allow extra time in the interview to cover the topics of what you bring as a strong applicant for the role.
Let's not dwell on your job loss, when you have so many other great things to offer this company that you should highlight instead.
