When asked "Reason for Leaving" when filling out past employment history, is it smart to put "Laid off"?

I'm curious because I don't want prospective employers to assume that I was laid off for any other reason than the fact that business had slowed down to the point where the company needed to cut costs.

What should I do?

I don't know the buzz words of today to use. But something like Company downsizing due to economic reasons or some shit like that.

Are you typing this on location at an interview?

It's fine to write that, especially now. I'm sure nearly every application will have that in the "Reason for Leaving" section. People that have jobs right now are too scared to leave.




Besides, it's better than writing the truth of why you left your last job:

Reason for Leaving: My boss was Chaldean

Put what you think is the truth, "affirmative action".

There has never been a better time to put "Laid off" or "Downsized" on your resume.

Are you typing this on location at an interview?

No. A friend sent me an application for a county job, and I have to fax it back when I'm done.

I wonder though, if employers view "laid off" as if "you weren't an asset since they were able to move on without you".

I'm probably reading too much into it.

Besides, it's better than writing the truth of why you left your last job:

Reason for Leaving: My boss was Chaldean

LOL

I wonder though, if employers view "laid off" as if "you weren't an asset since they were able to move on without you".

I'm probably reading too much into it.

With Michigans unemployment rate, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Also, you weren't so much of an asset that they couldn't afford to lose you. That's not a criticism, it's the truth of anyone let go of a company that doesn't fold immediately afterward. That isn't held against you. It's likely a reality of the position you are applying for.

Think nothing of it Wil. I was recently laid off as well.

When she witnessed firsthand my enormous sausage, she got cold feet, possibly frightened, and...

.....


Waitaminute... are we talking "employment" here?

If you get an interview, you should totally puke on the floor.

Wil, I'm surprised you didn't pay somone to do your resume.

I agree that in these times, it's OK to reference 'laid off' in a way that sounds less blunt like 'Downsized'. If I remember right it was recent, so you can't say that you put in another semester at school as the reason. That's always a good bailout if you have a significant gap.

There's no obligation to include "reason for leaving" on a personal resume. I'd reserve that sort of detail for an interview. The one job I was fired from was back in high school and due to nepotism (owner dismissed me to hire his dumb nephew) but I couldn't imagine saying that on a resume.

For that matter, at this point, I wouldn't include the fact that you no longer have a job. Just don't list the date that the job ended. As long as it's not more than a few months out of date, no one's going to think that you're disingenuous. "Current resume" doesn't have to mean "up to the second".

But, if you feel compelled to disclose such things, you can say "Hours were cut back" as your reason for leaving, since I recall that being especially true in your case. Spin it like they just didn't need you for as many hours as you wanted to work.

I agree with Moxie--resumes aren't the place to tell every little detail about past jobs. Besides, you are a student, right? You just tell them at your next interview that you were in crunch time at school and the job interfered with school and you had a choice to make--and the degree is important. If they say, "Well, would this job interfere with school?"--you say, "Nope. That was LAST semester. This semester is quite a bit easier in terms of class load" or some such bullshit. And your last job can't tell them why you were let go, only whether you are eligible for rehire.

Now it also depends on how honest you were about your last job. I always put the name of a friend within the last company I worked for as a "supervisor"--never my real supervisor.

I'll tells ya what: these days, with so many people looking for work, many companies are looking deeper into backgroud--credit, criminal checks, etc. You make it past that into an interview, then give them the details, but not on the resume.

A serious post from Zip. And a helpful one at that. Impressive.

I was always told, a resume is to get you an interview not the job. Don't be too specific on the resume.

You could even say (in the interview) there have been a lot of cutbacks at your job and people getting laid off. They won't ask if you are one of them. I'm sure they'd understand that as a reason for you job hunting.

Here's another helpful post:

You don't spell resume with an apostrophe at the end, dumbass. And if it's an attempt at an accent mark, like the French accent aigu, you don't use that either in the English spelling. It's just RESUME. I'm surprised bukdow didn't catch that.

You might as well prepare for a career in the newspaper business with these kinds of faux pas, Will. As in get a good bike to use on your route.

Here's another helpful post:

You don't spell resume with an apostrophe at the end, dumbass. And if it's an attempt at an accent mark, like the French accent aigu, you don't use that either in the English spelling. It's just RESUME. I'm surprised bukdow didn't catch that.

You might as well prepare for a career in the newspaper business with these kinds of faux pas, Will. As in get a good bike to use on your route.


Screw you, I'll use all the apostrophes I want to!

A serious post from Zip. And a helpful one at that. Impressive.
Yeah. I was expecting Zip to say something about the virtues of being "Laid On" rather than "Laid Off". :)

I really see no problems with being laid off (in a resume stance). It doesn't tell the employer that you were a bad employee or that you did anything wrong. It simply says that you had some bad luck in a down economy. A lot of solid workers are being laid off because of financial issues these days. I would definitely agree on using the word "downsizing" before "laid off" though. Laid off just makes it sound a bit more harsh than it needs to for an application.

Being laid off is just another opportunity for growth. It's an opportunity, usually, to get out of a job you hate. They have freed you. Now, if you are smart like me and don't carry a lot of debt, and you don't worry about your kids' next meals, you have the time to really go out there and challenge yourself.

Of course, if I recall correctly, Will is an accountant. Which means he's super boring, conservative, and a big challenge for him is trying to decide whether to wear a white pocket protector or a blue one.

Of course, if I recall correctly, Will is an accountant. Which means he's super boring, conservative, and a big challenge for him is trying to decide whether to wear a white pocket protector or a blue one.
Or how tall his white socks should be with his black dress pants and dress shoes.

I like a good deep cranberry pair of socks when wearing dress pants and shoes.

Argyles?

Not necessarily, but I don't shy away from the dramatic either.