Intro

Layoffs occur for a multitude of reasons. I could argue that all, except for performance reasons, are fully out of your control. But even if layoffs impacted you for a reason that wasn’t performance-based, it’s a tough and sometimes life-changing experience to go through. The question I’ve thought about a lot is, does it affect your job search or chances at landing another role sooner rather than later?

The short answer is maybe.

Why do companies go through layoffs?

I’ve talked about the reasons why companies go through layoffs in an earlier post that you can find here, but let’s give a lil’ refresher. Some of the common reasons why companies go though layoffs are:

• Economic factors such as industry shifts (if you work in tech, you know this is happening right now), market downturns (also happening on/off right now), recessions (hopefully does not happen).

• Restructuring of the business due to Artificial Intelligence, mergers/acquisitions, AI, pivoting strategies, AI, and AI.

• Increasing operational efficiency by outsourcing, AutomatIng (can’t spell that without AI), or cost-cutting. This is where team or individual performance can play a factor. If you have gotten a “Does Not Meet Expectations,” it’s time to turn things around.

This isn’t to say that you are safe just because you are meeting expectations in performance reviews. In my case, I received a “Meets Expectations” that year and was told in the meeting where I was being laid off that I was getting my target bonus in line with company percentages. I asked for a reason why, but wasn’t given one, so all I can do is speculate.

Talking about it in an interview

Whether you were laid off for performance reasons or reasons out of your control, it can be a challenging topic to have a conversation about. I’m an open person who’s comfortable sharing my experiences, positive or negative. I even noticed that conversations with my family felt awkward at times because they weren’t sure how I would react to talking about it. This was easily resolved by me saying, “Why are ya’ll being weird? I don’t mind talking about this.”

This brings me to the topic of this section—how should you talk about it in an interview setting? Well, there is no “should.” You don’t need to bring it up.

My approach is that I will talk about my experiences at Mailchimp but will only bring it up if asked why I left. This isn’t because I’m ashamed of being laid off, but more so because the conversation can go in different directions depending on the opinion of the person or people you’re conversing with.

I’ve talked with hiring managers who see layoffs as a part of the working world (which is how I view them) and others who have said, and I paraphrase here, I don’t want to hire someone who has been laid off.

For being something that’s become so common (especially in tech, now) it’s sometimes an uncomfortably awkward conversation. The lack understanding as to why it happened paired with the subjective opinions of those responsible for screening and hiring candidates, can make your job search more difficult than you may expect.

Interview settings can be a strange dynamic even when they go smoothly, add on topics like layoffs, and it can be easy to forget that it happens.

Be honest

Don’t lie about what happened. You don’t need to go into details about why you specifically were let go, but information is easily accessible, so lying could result in someone finding out.

Stay positive

Don’t talk badly about the company, this can come off as bitter and will not be the best look for potential employers.

Focus on opportunity

Chat about what you learned and how you reflect on that experience, and what excites you about a potential opportunity.

Practice

Practicing will only help you narrow down your response and prepare yourself for people who might not share the same opinion about layoffs as you.

Conclusion

Being laid off is a business decision that feels intensely personal, especially depending on the professional and monetary resources available to you immediately after. It’s easier said than done to reframe this as a chance to reset, but that shift in mindset has helped me immensely.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Lean on your network, and take time to yourself if you’re able. Also have a great holiday weekend.

Nick Cuda is a Senior Product Designer with over 10 years of experience working at early-stage startups and large companies with millions of customers. This is his story, duh duh. www.nickcuda.design

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