Situation 3 – Changing careers
When you are thinking about changing careers or industry, you should be selling your past experience to hiring managers.
Find out what to include in your presentation
Do search out people on LinkedIn who are already in the career or profession you want to go into. Ask them what they would expect to see in a job seeker.
Highlight transferable skills
You must demonstrate that you have the necessary skills to do the job well even if the job isn’t a natural next step after your previous job.
This is where transferable or universal skills come in. There are some transferable skills that are universal regardless of the industry or sector. These skills include leadership, communication, and analytical skills.
To find industry-specific skills, review job advertisements to get a good idea of what skills hiring managers are looking for. Repackage your skills around what people are looking for.
Situation 4 – You’ve been laid off or restructured out of your position
Focus on what you’ve learned from your past jobs and how you can apply your skills successfully to your future.
Organisational restructures and layoffs are common and are beyond our control. Therefore, say something along these lines:
- “There was a restructure within the organisation and unfortunately my role was impacted.”
- “The business was going through changes and there was no longer enough work to sustain my position.”
Don’t be bitter about changes that are beyond your control. If you do, it may affect you personally and it will show up on your future job interviews.
Situation 5 – You’ve been let go for performance issues
Don’t deliberate about the past and negatives.
Do learn from your mistakes.
Go into your next interview with the mindset that you still have something great to offer the new company.
Treat this as a new opportunity and a fresh start, rather than an event that’s dragging you down.
When the hiring manager asks why you left your job or why you were let go, keep your answer short, sweet, and to the point.
Be honest and try not to hide information
You may say things like, “I did not have the right skill set to succeed in that kind of role, so now I’m considering opportunities that would play better to my strengths such as ‘ABC’.”
Don’t say anything too glaring.
When you start going into too many details, that’s when a lot of the negativity and justification comes out.
If the question of why you’re leaving your organisation does not come up, you certainly don’t need to draw attention to it.
Stress on the learning opportunities you have gained
Whatever the issue, you must be able to explain the problem.
Highlight what you’ve learned. Assure the hiring manager that it won’t happen again.
Do not talk bad about your past employer. You still need to come off as grateful for your opportunities and show that you left with strong relationships and a good attitude.
Be careful with your language.