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I totally agree. It's also important that you make it clear during the "letting go" process that there are no hard feelings. It's nice to be hired back when they find out how good you really are.
Carolyn
On Dec 20, 2012, at 10:10 AM, Ryan Pollack wrote:
> Agreed. Speaking as a technical writing recruiter, I'm looking for a
> mature, adult explanation of why you were let go (or why you left). I don't
> necessarily care why someone let you go; the same situation may not develop
> at my company. How you handle that situation, including how you represent
> it to me in an interview, tells a larger story.
>
> -Ryan
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Fred Ridder <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
>>
>> When you are interviewing for a new job, it is *very* easy to volunteer
>> too much information,
>> and your statement about your postings to the STC Lone Writer's SIG hints
>> that you may
>> already have a tendency in this direction. (And remember that potential
>> employers *do* have
>> access in the archives to what you post here, and may also have access to
>> the STC discussion
>> list that you have just pointed them to.)
>>
>> In another posting, you explained that your old company needed to save
>> money via a RIF and
>> you were laid off in favor of a more junior (less expensive) coworker.
>> Those are the facts
>> of the situation and I would advise against saying a whole lot more than
>> that even if your
>> interviewer asks a follow-up question. If the interviewer *does* press for
>> more information,
>> they are often trying to expose any behavior or character flaws on your
>> part that may have
>> contributed to your own departure. A secondary goal may be to find out how
>> inclined you
>> are to talk about your employer's business practices, management style,
>> and decision making,
>> and it is never a good thing if you are perceived as someone who tells
>> tales out of school
>> (to use a British idiom).
>>
>> Unless you were dismissed for some particular malfeasance, there were
>> undoubtedly a number of
>> factors involved in the decision. Most companies (or at least most
>> companies that have reasonably
>> mature and rational management practices) understand this and will accept
>> it if you simply say
>> "it was a business decision".
>>
>> Keep it simple. Keep it factual. Don't make up stories. Don't speculate
>> about motivations. Don't air
>> dirty laundry.
>>
>> -Fred Ridder
>>
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