What do you say when you've been laid off or fired?

By BOB ROSNER - Thursday, March 8, 2001

I was laid off for the first time in my career. I'm starting to go out on interviews now but I fear that people won't want to touch me because I'm damaged goods. How can I minimize the damage?

STATISTIC

Dear STATISTIC:

Sometimes things just don't last as long as we expect them to.

Then again, sometimes they last a lot longer. At Britain's Martin & Newby Electric Shop recently, workers had a few moments of mourning. An ordinary 25-watt light bulb burned out. The bulb had burned for 70 years.

There are people out there like that light bulb: they stay lit in the same job for a lifetime.

But with the current job tenure at 3.5 years and dropping, these lifers are growing rarer. These days most employers can appreciate that the road is bumpy.

So turn off your shame and plan to show your experience and skills in the best possible light. The tips below will help. Also check out Richard Beattys "Five Minute Interview" (Wiley, 2000).

First: lose the embarrassment. I've been fired. So have most people. And anyone who hasn't been fired has probably been laid off. (Remember the early 90s?) So start with an attitude adjustment. Give up the idea that you're damaged goods and start thinking of yourself as normal.

Plan what to say about the layoff BEFORE the interview. I'm as spontaneous as anyone, but NOT in job interviews. I always go over the questions I think they might ask and rehearse possible responses with friends and colleagues. Test a variety of responses to see which ones work best. And as you practice, keep these other rules in mind:

Keep your answers short. Long may be good for high school essays, but shorter is better in job interviews. My rule of thumb: no answer takes more than three minutes. (Remember, they can always ask a follow-up question if they want more info). And when it comes to potentially negative information like a layoff, keep it even shorter.

Be upbeat about it. The last thing a company wants is someone who drips negativity about his last job. So even though you've got good reason to feel negative-forget it. Show the new company that you're over the old one and ready to hit the ground running. Complain-if you must-to friends, relatives, former coworkers-anyone EXCEPT potential employers.

Show them what you've learned from the experience. The one way you can actually score points from a layoff is the one thing most people fail to do. Tell them what you learned from the experience: not to take customer concerns for granted, for example; or to be a better observer of industry trends; or never to lose sight of the company's bottom line.

Follow these tips and a light bulb will go off over prospective employer's heads. They'll realize that it's a bright idea to hire you.

Wed like to hear your strategy for telling a potential employer that you've been laid off. Ill give an autographed copy of "Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury" (Warner, 2000), plus Ill write you a memo-to your boss, to a coworker who's bugging you-that's sure to get attention. Send your entry, name & address via: http://workingwounded. com, email: bob@workingwounded.com, or fax: 206.780.4353. Entries must be received by Wednesday (March 7th).

List of the Week From "When the Little Things Count...And They Always Count" by Barbara Pachter (Marlowe, 2001) Feed yourself, starve your career worst blunders at business meals