Page 113 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH OUTSTANDING BENEFITS

“Why Were You Fired
(or Laid Off or Downsized)?”
There may be perfectly legitimate reasons for losing a job that
have little or nothing to do with your job performance: The
company is downsizing, the company merged with another
company and laid off people whose positions were dupli-
cated, or a new boss brings in his or her own team. No mat-
ter what the reason, if you were asked to leave a job, there will
always be questions—Why you and not the other person?
You need to know how to answer these questions directly,
honestly, and without becoming defensive. If you were fired
for cause, acknowledge the reason, and speak about what you
have learned and what you have done to correct the situation.
This newly acquired knowledge will make you a valuable
employee. The following are three examples for responding
to the question “Why were you let go?”

1. Required relocation: “It’s true that I was let go. My com-
pany merged with XYZ Corporation, which is headquar-
tered in Orlando, and the company wanted me to
relocate. I was concerned that the merger had unsettled
the company to the point where it could not guarantee
my job even if I did relocate, and I decided not to move
my family under the circumstances. Basically, I did not
see any growth opportunity. I am flattered, however, that
the company thought enough of my contributions to offer
to spend thousands of dollars to relocate me. It shows
that the company did appreciate my hard work, dedica-
tion, and relations with customers and my coworkers
[features]. I will bring this same dedication to work for
you [benefit].”

2. Boss brought in his own team: “I was fired because my new
boss brought in one of his past employees. Our job

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