What If I'm Not Currently Employed?

Being unemployed does not make you unemployable. I have hired several people who had left their jobs, either voluntarily or otherwise. Some hiring managers will specifically ask the candidates why they left their last job, but I usually don’t bother.

In many of these cases the candidates were victims of unfortunate economic forces striking down their company or department. It’s certainly possible they were underperformers who were cut loose at the first opportunity, but if I’m doing my job right their weaknesses should come out during the interview.

Some candidates will just come right out and tell me they were laid off from their last job. Apparently they believe that honesty is the best policy. And in this case it certainly is, or at least it’s better than trying to hide the fact they’re not currently working. To me, misrepresenting your status is worse than the stigma of having been laid off.

But what if you are in the unenviable position of having been terminated from your last position? It’s not the end of the world; just present your side of the story without sounding like a victim or a bitter malcontent. Explain that your work might not have been the best, but that it was a difficult environment not best suited to your skills or the most conducive to top performance. And say that you have learned from that experience, and are now eager for a fresh start where you can prove yourself. Of course, you actually do have to believe all this when you say it, as insincerity is quite easy to spot.

I even had one candidate who straight out told me he quit his last position because it didn’t offer him any opportunity for growth. That smelled fishy to me – why didn’t he just keep working there while he looked for a new position? It’s more likely it was a mutual separation. Still, I didn’t dig into it – and I offered him a job anyway.