Interview prep, part 2 of 6: Master Your Exit Statement

What’s the one thing people dread most in an interview? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 "𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲?" 

When you’ve moved on to a bigger, better role, the "Why are you leaving?" question is a breeze. But if you’ve been laid off, it’s a different story. I’ve seen it many times—otherwise confident professionals start overthinking, stumbling, and feeling like they’re being interrogated.

The reality is, most interviewers just don't have the context they need to make a quick, accurate assessment of your situation. So, you have to provide it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯-𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 "𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲" 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮

The goal is simple: distance yourself from the "problem" by framing the layoff as a logical business outcome of external forces. You aren't the problem; the shifting market is.

Here's the format:

1️⃣ The External Event: What changed in the world or the parent company?

2️⃣ The Internal Shift: How did the company respond strategically?

3️⃣ The Result: Why did your role (and others) go away?

𝗠𝘆 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲

Here's how I've phrased my own exit from Enel: "The Enel group in Italy appointed a new CEO in May of 2023 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵). As part of a strategic review, the company decided to refocus on Italy, Iberia, and Latin America as core markets (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵). Consequently, most of the marketing team in North America, including me, were laid off in December 2023. (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵)"

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀

It’s clear as day. It moves the focus from "performance" to "geopolitical strategy." It’s obvious that the layoff was inevitable, regardless of how well I did my job.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁? 𝗜'𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽. Book a free chat to discuss it using the button at the top of the page.