Lay Offs & Terminations: How to Handle Your Next Job Interview
- Admin
- Dec 16, 2025
- 4 min read
First, you must use the correct word. Most job seekers use “lay off” & “termination” interchangeably. That’s a mistake.
When a hiring manager hears the word “termination,” alarm bells go off. Termination means you were let go or fired. Only use these words if they are true.
Terminations happen. Dust yourself off; you CAN be a rockstar in your next role.
Let’s talk about terminations—or as I like to call them, the “Big T”.
Terminations can happen for a lot of reasons, and they happen to good people.
It’s not the end of your career.
It likely feels crappy, and you’d love to stuff it under the rug, but don’t do that.
Why? Because you’ll be asked about it in the interview or even during the initial phone screen.
Here are four steps to face the “Were you fired?” question:
Own it.
Step right into it. What happened? Before you even think about going to an interview, take some time to work through the Big T.
Could you have done anything to change the outcome? If so, own that answer. The most important thing is to be accountable.
Write out your answer to the inevitable question.
Why did you leave X company? You want to avoid blaming the company and simply explain the scenario objectively.
3. Rehearse the answer out loud.
Do you sound positive? Are you explaining the reason rationally? Is it believable? Does your voice have any trace of bitterness?
4. You’re ready for interviewing when you don’t dread answering the Big T question.
You’ve released the fear.
There are really only five broad reasons for The Big T:
1. Performance
This one is simple. You were hired to deliver specific results, and you didn’t. Own it.
Was something happening in your personal life that took away attention from work?
Did the role change, and you were no longer a fit?
Was it a technical issue? New software, tools, or technology that you couldn’t or didn’t learn?
Did you over-inflate your skills in the interview and found yourself unable to do the job?
Personality
Perhaps you didn’t mesh with your colleagues, management or your clients.
This one happens. I met a talented job seeker who had grown from an entry-level role to a VP role over a seven-year career with his organization. A new CEO came in, and their personalities just didn’t mesh. Before he knew it, he was out. He was beyond deflated when he came to see me. We applied my two-step formula to his resume, highlighting all of his amazing achievements and results. In short order, he was picked up by a new company, as he was a top performer. The termination was a moot point, as it was clear that it was just a personality misalignment. It was his former company’s loss as this guy was golden.
3. Values Misalignment
I interviewed a designated accountant who was asked by the owners of a company to “fix” the books. He, of course, flat-out refused as he wasn’t going to put his professional reputation or designation on the line. He was asked to leave that day.
Plain and simple. He left the organization because his moral compass was spinning.
4. Culture Misalignment
You just didn’t fit. A job seeker shared this funny story: She worked as a weight loss consultant. She was also human and every now and then she craved a fast-food burger, which was of course a no-no for the lunchroom at her place of work. So, she would disguise herself with big sunglasses, zip through the drive-through and then park blocks away with her seat fully reclined so she wouldn’t be spotted as she wolfed down her greasy fries and cheeseburger! Had that taken place daily, there likely would have been a culture misalignment.
5. Showing Up
Perhaps you just forgot to keep going to work?
True story. It will give you a laugh!
I called a fellow who failed to show up for training in his first week on the job. The conversation went something like this:
Sheila: David, I just heard from Mary in HR. She said you haven’t arrived yet for work this morning. Are you okay?
David: Yeah, my car broke down on the way. I’m just in a cab now.
Sheila: Oh, good, so you’ll be in the office in 15 minutes?
David: Ummm, no. I’m going home.
Sheila: You had two options. Going home or going to work. Unfortunately, you picked the wrong one. The very best thing you can do when you have job is to go.
Yes, that was David’s last day of work.
Let’s Talk About Lay-Offs
Remember a lay-off isn’t a “let go.”
“Let go” means a termination. It’s worth repeating as most job seekers in this situation use the wrong words. Use the word “lay off” when something happened to the company which resulted in your role being eliminated.
Some examples are:
Loss of a major client
Loss of corporate revenue due to a recession (or pandemic)
Loss of funding
When you go through a layoff, it’s due to external factors and has nothing to do with your performance.
Just explain what happened to the organization. Don’t assume the hiring manager knows. Tell the story.
Give the Larger Picture
How many people were laid off? Were you in the first, second or third round of layoffs?
The scope gives me an idea of magnitude. If you were the only person in the entire company of 400 that was laid off, I’ll dig deeper.
If you were in the last round of lay-offs, helping to close the company with the president, I’d think you were a keeper.
Whether you’ve been through a Big T termination or a lay off...please know another company will find your skills and background to be a perfect fit.
If you’d like to read more, my 2nd edition of “Hired! How To Get The Zippy Gig. Insider Secrets From A Top Recruiter”, is available on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3k84yzxz
I publish a weekly job seeker blog. If you’d like to receive it: https://sheilamusgrove.com/news-blog/
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