Telling Networking Contacts You're Laid Off? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Got my 3 months notice about 2 months ago, c/o 2015. How do you broach you're looking for a job without disclosing you were let go? It's difficult to explain without seeming negative and without getting auto-rejected.

[ArtistOfManliness]

Got my 3 months notice about 2 months ago, c/o 2015. How do you broach you're looking for a job without disclosing you were let go? It's difficult to explain without seeming negative and without getting auto-rejected.

What have you been saying so far? I'd think that "I'm leaving my firm" would be sufficient?

[Anonymous User]

Got my 3 months notice about 2 months ago, c/o 2015. How do you broach you're looking for a job without disclosing you were let go? It's difficult to explain without seeming negative and without getting auto-rejected.

What have you been saying so far? I'd think that "I'm leaving my firm" would be sufficient?

Have been implying I'm still there, but want to focus on x or do more of y, etc. Saying you are leaving while trying to snag an interview is tantamount to saying you're canned, no? On the other end of the spectrum, recruiters advised giving answers that make sense from their purview, but are obviously bs to anyone who spent a day in BL.

[trebekismyhero]

Were you laid off for performance reasons or the firm do it for financial reasons? If it was done for financial reasons or at least partially for financial reasons I think it would be ok to tell your contacts that and it might make them move quicker at connecting you with possible job opportunities.

[Anonymous User]

Were you laid off for performance reasons or the firm do it for financial reasons? If it was done for financial reasons or at least partially for financial reasons I think it would be ok to tell your contacts that and it might make them move quicker at connecting you with possible job opportunities.

I was told it was economic when I got "the talk".

But I made a lot of technological mistakes at the beginning - I wasn't as tech savvy as others, and it took me longer to format docs, make redlines, etc. because I wasn't good enough with office.

I got yelled out about typos, think I was actively being pulled off stuff to keep my hours low.

Right before I got "the talk", I got a call about a major mistake I made on something that could have cost the firm millions, but they fixed it. The issue was I was never even on that matter, and when I brought that up, I got an "oh shit, sorry". I sent a follow up e-mail reiterating I wasn't on the matter, but would be happy to help fix it. Shortly thereafter, I got the talk, and they said it's economic, but there's never such thing as 100% economic.

Reflecting back on it, if the plan was to invent a screw up but they made a sloppy mistake then I must've seriously upset someone or did something really bad. There was no word of financial issues before "the talk" so I have no idea. I was never allowed to see my reviews so all i can say is I try not to think about it.

[Anonymous User]

Interested in this as well, big law junior in a similar situation. I'm still waiting to hear back from my only call back. Jan-Feb seems to be a hot time for lateral movements, but how do I tell the firms when my profile is no longer on the website? My office had quite a few partners leaving and significant over-hiring this year, should I stress this when I network and interview?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Re: economic or not - even if there were non-economic things going on, the fact that they told you it was for economic reasons means that they'll tell anyone asking about you that it was for economic reasons, so you can just give that explanation and not worry about what may really be behind it (except to the extent that it's stuff you can improve on for the future, but not wrt to telling other employers).

[Anonymous User]

I'm not concerned about that. From a business standpoint, it almost never makes sense to badmouth someone unless you're competing with them for business which is n/a. They wouldn't even say I'm leaving to outside employers.

It's more whether it for me to bring it up, and how to push for an interview without saying you're leaving. I could say something about opportunities, interest groups, etc., but putting myself in the other person's shoes, if I think someone isn't being honest with them I dismiss them mentally. I also know saying you're being let go gets you dismissed mentally according to what I've read/heard, which is why I asked the question (same as AP 2).

Also, the firm said they have economic problems and clearly do, but it's not published anywhere, which means they've kept it quiet. I trust them about as far as I could throw their building. They will do what's best for them - say I'm still there as option A, say I'm a POS as option B and admitting it's economic as option Z. If that got around it would bring down morale, scare off talent, etc. It's been implied that I won't say that.

[nealric]

Got my 3 months notice about 2 months ago, c/o 2015. How do you broach you're looking for a job without disclosing you were let go? It's difficult to explain without seeming negative and without getting auto-rejected.

Generally, I don't think you need to tell them you were let go. Just tell them you are looking. However, they will figure it out if you don't find something within the 3 month period. You might want to treat close friends differently than acquaintances in this regard.

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same position OP. I haven't brought it up with acquaintances as I was hoping to have something by the end, but that's increasingly unlikely as time ticks by. Are you using a recruiter? Or applying directly?