Unfortunately, it's true: many companies will start firing people to avoid additional layoffs. If you're currently employed and worry that your company might fire people instead of announcing layoffs, what can you do to prepare for the worst?
Here's what J.T. O'Donnell, Work It DAILY's founder and CEO, advises professionals to do if they're in this situation...
Prepare To Explain The Situation To Future Employers
Companies facing financial troubles after massive layoffs are placing more employees on performance reviews to avoid additional layoff costs and boost productivity. Survivors of these layoffs should prepare to explain their situation in future job interviews, as many employers conduct reference checks.
To address this issue effectively, consider using the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model when asked about the situation (your reason for leaving/getting fired) in job interviews. The "Experience + Learn = Grow" model is the best way to answer behavioral interview questions—those hard interview questions that require a lot more than a "yes" or "no" answer.
When you use the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model to explain this situation to employers in job interviews, you provide a factual response about the layoffs, your commitment to improving, and your proactive approach to personal growth, demonstrating accountability.
It's unfortunate that when companies are in financial trouble, they feel like they need to blame people who they think are no longer performing. They put them on performance reviews and then fire them instead of announcing layoffs. There are some warning signs, and there are things that you can do to combat this. But most importantly, you should be prepared to explain why you got fired from a job if you know it had to do with their financial situation and their desire to avoid layoffs.
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