Glassdoor<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\nMost of us seek out to build longevity when accepting a new position, with the hopes of sustaining long-term employment within the same organisation.<\/p>\n
However, these aspirations can often conflict with the realities of the current job market. When it\u2019s our choice to leave an organisation, discussing the terms of our departure can be tricky, but less of an emotional burden.<\/p>\n
However, when a company makes the decision to part ways with you, talking about being fired or laid off can raise feelings of insecurity and stigmatisation with new employers.<\/p>\n
Rather than getting down in the dumps, let\u2019s talk about some ways to successfully handle conversations regarding being let go or laid off in your next interview.<\/p>\n
\nSituation 1: You\u2019ve been laid off or restructured out of your position<\/strong><\/p>\nBeing “laid off” is often circumstantial, as business cycles and trends will dictate the workforce. Whether you\u2019ve been laid off after 3 months, or 30 years, the same principles still apply.<\/p>\n
Be factual:<\/strong> If the facts are credible, you should be able to easily articulate. “Don\u2019t get too emotional, show frustration, or villainise anyone,” says Alan Zel, of Zel Human Capital. Rather, focus on what you\u2019ve learned from your past, and how you can apply that successfully to your future. Say something along these lines as a jumping points for your conversation:<\/p>\n“There was a restructure within the organisation and unfortunately my role was impacted.”<\/p>\n
“The business was going through changes and there was no longer enough work to sustain my position.”<\/p>\n
Layoffs are an unfortunate reality beyond our control, and most hiring managers will be understanding of that.<\/p>\n
\nSituation 2: You\u2019ve been let go for performance issues<\/strong><\/p>\nRemember your own value:<\/strong> Don\u2019t ruminate too hard about the past and the negatives. Go into your next interview with the mindset that you still have something great to offer the company. Treat this as a new opportunity and a fresh start, rather than an event that\u2019s dragging you down.<\/p>\nStay succinct:<\/strong> When the hiring manager asks why you left your job or why you were let go, keep this answer short, sweet and to the point. If you don\u2019t say anything too glaring, they likely won\u2019t press too much on the topic. When you start going into too many details, “that\u2019s when a lot of the negativity and justification comes out, and negativity taints an interview,” says Marina Byezhanova of Pronexia.<\/p>\nPractice self-awareness:<\/strong> If you were in sales and not hitting your numbers, you\u2019ll have to communicate some self-awareness of why and how things would be different in your new role, says Byezhanova. Consider saying something like the following in an interview:<\/p>\n“Unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t live and breathe the product line, and it made it difficult for me to translate the value to new customers. I now understand that kind of fit doesn\u2019t work for me, and what I\u2019m really interested in is ‘ABC’.”<\/p>\n
“I did not have the right skill set to succeed in that kind of role, so now I\u2019m considering opportunities that would play better to my strengths such as ABC.”<\/p>\n
Whatever the issue, you must be able to explain the problem, highlight what you\u2019ve learned, and assure the hiring manager that it won\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
In either situation, It doesn\u2019t benefit you at all to speak ill of your past employer. You still need come off as grateful for your opportunities and show that you left with strong relationships and a good attitude. Be careful with your language, as words can be a delicate yet powerful tool.<\/p>\n
\nShould I lie?<\/strong><\/p>\nOne should definitely be as truthful as possible in an interview.<\/p>\n
If an employer catches you lying about this, they may assume the worst and wonder what else you\u2019re lying about. That being said, if the question of why you\u2019re leaving your organisation does not come up, you certainly don\u2019t need to draw attention it. Some recruiters may simply ask why you\u2019re interested in the role, rather than ask you why you\u2019ve left your organisation.<\/p>\n
If the question does not come up, don\u2019t make a big deal of it. As a candidate, you\u2019re likely thinking way more about how you got laid off or let go than the employer, so only share what\u2019s asked of you.<\/p>\n
Some of the wealthiest, and most influential people in history ( think: Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, J.K Rowling) have used their experiences of being fired to help shape their success and accomplishments.<\/p>\n
To move past any negative associated feelings and kick off your next job search, it\u2019s most important to remember that your professional value is never determined by this one single experience. Don\u2019t let this set back hold the power over you.<\/p>\n
\nRead:\u00a0\u2018That\u2019s a really nice watch you have on\u2019 \u2013 and 10 other things to never say in a job interview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When going for an interview for a new job, the recruiters may want to know about what happened in your last job – and if you were fired, they may want to know why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":116476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7186,26],"class_list":["post-264207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-glassdoor","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264207"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264219,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264207\/revisions\/264219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}