"Why did you leave your last position?"
"I was laid off."
"Oh, okay. Can you tell me more about what you did during your time with this company?"

This is usually the extent of the discussion around being laid off, at least in my experience. The hard truth is that "downsizing," "reorganization" or "restructuring" (or whatever politically correct name the market uses to describe it) these days has become all too common. In an age where mergers and acquisitions are being conducted as often as they upgrade computers, it's inevitable that you will have at least 3 out of 5 people that have been laid off at some point. This is usually not a surprise to future potential employers when you share this in an interview because there are so many displaced workers looking for jobs because of this very reason.

I know this topic very well, having been laid off myself from a large telecommunications corporation, once regarded as one of the best places to work. Before the days of Sarbanes-Oxley, the act that holds executives personally accountable for the financial statements reported for their company, there were many corrupt high-ranking people in corporations that deliberately mismanaged funds because they knew they couldn't get caught. As a result, profits and earnings suffer. Cuts have to be made and usually they are made in the workforce. It wasn't due to any negligence of mine, in fact, I was eligible to be rehired. Now that this is not an issue, the industry itself is not as strong as it used to be. Bigger companies are gobbling up smaller ones, replacing the competition to form oligopolies and monopolies. When they buy companies, they spend money. Cuts have to be made and even in this situation, they are usually made within the workforce.

After leaving, I was desperate to find a job, having a small child to take care of and being a single mom. We had a resource center set up for those of us that were "forced out" to assist with finding other positions. We trying to make up fancy ways of saying why were unemployed. Just be honest and tell them we were laid off.

In all of the interviews I had, not one person was surprised. The moment the interviewer saw the company's name on my resume, the question was "let me guess, you got laid off, huh?" I responded, "yes." The interviews moved on, without missing a beat. Why? Because the information was announced on Wall Street, on CNN and all over business news about what the company was planning to do. This was obviously out of my control so is it necessary to beat a dead horse? They just wanted me to explain my previous duties and experience and to be able to verify that I worked there. That was the extent of it. For someone laid off from smaller companies, you almost have more of an excuse. Sales were not good this year. The company had to make cuts so I got laid off. It's still a very valid reason for getting laid off.

I would advise those that have been laid off to not worry so much about it. It's tough in the beginning because of all of the financial obligations many of us have, the very reason why we have jobs in the first place. But I'm here to tell you that it's certainly not the end of the world. There are plenty of jobs out there. I chalk the experience up to re-evaluating what I really need and want in my life at that juncture. Discussing this in an interview is next to nothing, because they are hiring you for your skills, not for the reason you left your job, especially if that reason was because you were laid off. So, just as with any job interview, do your best, stay focused on the goal and do the best you can to get that job!

Learn more about this author, Mill Davis.
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