Telling Interviewer You've Been Made Redundant

tempnam

I've been made redundant and am due to finish in my current job in the next couple of weeks.

While I'm out of practise with interviews I feel I can get through them OK and am usually able to put myself across well.

However, I'm wondering whether or not I should mention the fact that I've been made redundant?

If the subject comes up of why I want to work for x company and I say "I need a job as I was made redundant" it may seem like I'm just looking for any job rather than specifically targeting a particular company. Also - would redundancy weaken my negotiating position when discussing salary? ie the interviewer can make a lower offer in the knowledge that I will probably need to take a job at some stage.

Finally, say the question never comes up as to why I'm looking for a new job / leaving my current position.... Should I bring it up?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Being made redundant is not your fault, it is through no fault of your own. Your job / role became redundant... I would like to think employers would see it this way...

Ray Palmer

No problem saying you are being made redundant.

I don't think it really weakens your position on salary but it may possibly for some bad employers. Most companies try to pay the going rate so as not to lose people . The salary should be based on experience and knowledge

JustAThought

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No problem saying you are being made redundant.

I don't think it really weakens your position on salary but it may possibly for some bad employers. Most companies try to pay the going rate so as not to lose people . The salary should be based on experience and knowledge

Should be, but isn't really - it is a downward spiral . But I wouldn't be afraid to say I was made redundant - I'd say perhaps that the
Company was restructured & you were given a generous/good redundancy package & are available for new challenges : )

No shame in having to go / they might ask if you were the only one, or I'd it was voluntary redundancy, how many were affected etc. I'd just have my calm replies ready.

Cuddlesworth

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No problem saying you are being made redundant.

I don't think it really weakens your position on salary but it may possibly for some bad employers.

I don't think that's fair to say. I've been in company's where a workforce "cut" was made and it sticks in my mind that the majority of those who lost their jobs deserved it due to poor performance, bad work attitudes etc. There were exceptions, their are always exceptions but it will always enter my mind in future that I could identify about 80% of them before we found out.

I have no idea of the OP's circumstances, but I would be careful when mentioning redundancy to not present myself as dead wood in my old job. Saying that the entire job role was cut and outsourced for example, rather then saying that 4 on a team of 10 were cut.

tempnam

Thanks for the replies.

What if the interviewer doesn't bring it up - should I mention it?

Ray Palmer

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I don't think that's fair to say. I've been in company's where a workforce "cut" was made and it sticks in my mind that the majority of those who lost their jobs deserved it due to poor performance, bad work attitudes etc. There were exceptions, their are always exceptions but it will always enter my mind in future that I could identify about 80% of them before we found out.

I have no idea of the OP's circumstances, but I would be careful when mentioning redundancy to not present myself as dead wood in my old job. Saying that the entire job role was cut and outsourced for example, rather then saying that 4 on a team of 10 were cut.

So you are saying you would judge somebody based on being made redundant based on your experience?

If you have ever been involved in the redundancy selection you would discover all the rules and regulations. You shouldn't select people all their performance this way and open yourself to lots of trouble if you do. It used to be used as a way to fire people slyly but much harder to do now.

If a company judges you on this you don't want to work for them


OP it will be asked you won't need to bring it up.

SpaceTime

In this economic climate, being made redundant is pretty common.

It says a lot more about the performance of your previous company than it does about you.

tempnam

Ray Palmer wrote: »

OP it will be asked you won't need to bring it up.

No, I had one yesterday and it wasn't asked. I didn't bring it up but when I came out I felt as if I had been dishonest...

If I get a callback would I be wise to mention it?

Diziet

I have been made redundant twice. I have mentioned it when it came up, it has not been a problem. Lots and lots of companies have made cutbacks, it happens all the time.

It probably does weaken your position a little, but the decision is really yours. A few years ago I was offered a ob on far less money than the role was worth. I was unemployed at the time, but I pushed back, saying I could not possibly take up such a senior role for such a low salary, and that if I took it up I wanted todevote all my efforts to it and not feel bad about being on much lower salary than was fair. The offer went up substantially and I accepted. (I did have to take a deep breath and prepare for it to be withdrawn, though).

No point in mentioning it if it did not come up, it would sound strange to do so, like apologising for something that was not your fault.

keeponhurling

It can only have a negative impact, can't see it having a positive impact really.

Though when they ask how soon could you start, it could be tricky to answer

Mrs OBumble

Diziet wrote: »

No point in mentioning it if it did not come up, it would sound strange to do so, like apologising for something that was not your fault.

This +100

tatli_lokma

As someone who had their job made redundant I actually found it an advantage, as it is much easier to spin it positively in your favour than another reason for leaving a job. In my case I was able to show that whilst I enjoyed my previous position, through no fault of my own I am now looking for a new job. It gave me a chance to show that I am interested in becoming a loyal member of a team without sounding like a liar and there was no wondering by the prospective employers why I was leaving my last job.

Put it this way, if you are in a job and looking elsewhere, an employer might wonder why - are you not able to get on with others? are you someone who becomes easily bored? is there a performance issue? They only have your word for it that it is not any of these reasons until they check references and even then this is no guarantee. BUT... if you were made redundant this does not (or should not) indicate that you were let go through your own fault. They are less worried about why you are looking for a new job, because obviously you had no choice in the matter. You can then use it as an opportunity to show that you are a committed worker and looking for a new opportunity where you can give your best to another employer.

It also means you are able to start immediately so this can actually strengthen your negotiating position, rather than weaken it.

As for not metioning it if it doesn't come up - well an employer doesn't need to straight out ask 'why are you leaving your old job' for it to 'come up'. there are loads of opportunities for you to mention it yourself in the interview and explain it in your terms without having to be asked. For example when explaining your last job or a particular skill you can use that as a chance to say 'well one of the skills I am most proud of is x. It is a still I developed to a high standard in my last place of work. Unfortunately due to redundancies I have had to move on, but I am very eager to bring this skill to a new position and utilise it and develop it even further blah blah blah....'. It is actually better if you mention these things without being asked as you can then give the information in the way you want with the spin you want rather than it being as an answer to a direct question.

Wile E. Coyote

keeponhurling wrote: »

It can only have a negative impact, can't see it having a positive impact really.

Though when they ask how soon could you start, it could be tricky to answer

Why would it have a negative impact? People up and down the country have been made redundant through no fault of their own. No potential employer is going to ever think badly of someone who's been made redundant.

OP you will most likely be asked why you're looking to change job. It would be a standard question that I would ask in an interview. Just be honest with your answer and elaborate a little with how many others have also been let go.

Fridge

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I don't think that's fair to say. I've been in company's where a workforce "cut" was made and it sticks in my mind that the majority of those who lost their jobs deserved it due to poor performance, bad work attitudes etc. There were exceptions, their are always exceptions but it will always enter my mind in future that I could identify about 80% of them before we found out.

I'd have to agree there. Redundancy can be seen by employers as an opportunity (in the midst of a crisis) to get rid of people they would have difficulty firing. Under normal circumstances, it can be quite difficult to get rid of someone even if they are blatantly not working, or making others miserable. If 100 people need to be cut, obviously they won't all be unwanted, but there could be 50 people they wanted to get rid of in there somewhere.

That's surely something recruiters consider to be a possibility. Not that you deserved it, but that there's a chance you might have been seen as deadwood.

Also, I think some roles are likely to be cut than others. If your role was integral to a team, they might be suspicious. If your role was more periphery than it makes more sense for it to be cut.

confuseddotcom

Personally wouldn't mention it unless it was brought up or felt it necessary to tell them. I see exactly where you're coming from. However if you refuse a bricks n' mortar standardised job offer of any shape or form paying €80 a week or €500 a week, be prepared that your Jobseeking activities may be questionned / reviewed, and that your "Jobseeker's" Payment may be suspended and / or cut as a result. So keep a record of absolutely everything to back yourself up and for genuine explanations in case your forget any detail that might be important.

seamus

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I have no idea of the OP's circumstances, but I would be careful when mentioning redundancy to not present myself as dead wood in my old job. Saying that the entire job role was cut and outsourced for example, rather then saying that 4 on a team of 10 were cut.

Yeah, this is probably the way to go about it. While I agree that in some cases redundancies often do a lot of culling the herd and leaving the best performers, it varies from company to company. Some companies don't let middle management get involved in the decision at all, all the decisions are made by the guys on the board who remove people based on their salary and whether their job can be outsourced, and little else.

So as an interviewer, it's a mistake to assume that someone made redundant was probably a poor performer, but like you say, you shouldn't invite the question either and if pushed say that your entire team was cut, or something.

I interviewed a girl who said she'd been let go because there was nothing for her to do, which screams, "Inflexible and not highly rated by her boss", but I also noted that she'd been in the place 18 months straight out of college, so they probably let her go on a last-in-first-out basis or the fact that she was young enough to easily find more work.

It is a bit of minefield, but you'll definitely get a lot more sympathy at the moment than in a typical jobs market.

ROY RACE

I wouldn't give you a job if you worry about telling people you were made redundant

Tolis

Hello all.

I have been made redundant on October 2013 and my redundancy period ended on January 2014.

I have a job offer to start in April 2014 but I have not been told my future employer that I was made redundant.
They can check this on my P45 where the leaving date is January 2014.

What should i do? Can this be a reason to take back the offer if they will find out?
Any suggestions?

Thank you.

SpaceTime

You can ask Revenue to send you a statement of credits.

That can avoid you having to give a P45 or any details of previous income to your new employer.

Tolis

Thank you for your answer.

But I believe the HR will ask for my P45 document.

I guess I cannot avoid that. I believe my only option is to tell them the real facts now.

SpaceTime

Tolis wrote: »

Thank you for your answer.

But I believe the HR will ask for my P45 document.

I guess I cannot avoid that. I believe my only option is to tell them the real facts now.

Preempt that and get the documentation from revenue now and just present that. HR only needs your tax credit information.

If you ring you local revenue office they'll sort it out for you over the phone. They're actually very good to deal with on stuff like this.

If you've online access to your Revenue account you can also order it through ROS/PAYE Anytime (I think)

Hand that into them and be done with it.
If they ask, for the P45 I suppose give it to them, but I wouldn't necessarily feel any obligation to volunteer more information than is necessary.

This wouldn't be unusual if someone had complicated tax e.g. mix of self-assessment and PAYE (not that unusual at all where someone might have some freelance work or some other income that impacts their tax credits and wouldn't be reflected in P45).

All HR will care about is getting an accurate official record of tax credits so they can process your PAYE efficiently and not end up with a messy emergency tax situation.

In a lot of larger companies, HR may not even be aware of the details on file in a payroll department. In fact, many SMEs and even large companies out source that stuff to specialists who handle their full payroll.