Tech IndustryDec 30, 2017
Oathoecs07

Managers thinking for hiring candidate affected by layoff

Do you think managers have negative thoughts about hiring a candidate who was previously effected by layoff in his company? Any managers here?? Does it effect his growth in new company?

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flatsixer Dec 30, 2017

It wouldn’t matter to me and not to any of the managers in my company if I can speak for them.

AT&T DDM2K Dec 30, 2017

If you’re talking about an internal employee, having once been laid off and then recalled? Absolutely no issue. We have a process for that and it’s outlined in our union contract. A new hire, whose reason of separation from his last company was layoff, may be looked at under scrutiny because he may be subject to recall. He could be seen as a flight risk, believed to only be applying to your company as a second choice, etc.

Airbnb Tratou Dec 30, 2017

In my experience layoffs target the lowest performers. Of course that’s not always the case- sometimes entire groups get axed - but it seems to be the norm to let high performers within those groups stay on and find a job elsewhere within the company.

Microsoft Arye11 Dec 30, 2017

Not always

Fitbit B.B. Dec 30, 2017

True, in the past when I’ve been required to cut headcount, I’ve always gotten rid of the weakest links. After all, it’s the most logical thing to do

Cisco Mylady Dec 30, 2017

Yes, a friend felt a change in recruiters' reaction after she mentioned the layoff. She stopped mentioning it.

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flatsixer Dec 30, 2017

If a manager or a company rejected me just because I was laid off and for that reason alone, I would rather not work with those people anyway. This is why, 1) If they think I am a flight risk then they are insecure and/or don’t have anything interesting to keep me in that company. 2) If they reject thinking I was the weakest link, then they just made a huge assumption. The assumption here is the previous company made the right decision in figuring out who are the weakest link and there was no politics involved. Let’s say for argument sake the previous company made absolutely no mistake in identifying the poor performers, still the question remains did they perform poorly because they were not good enough or the manager/company didn’t provide the right environment/projects for them to excel.

Microsoft UMbR31 Dec 30, 2017

Come on man, when you're laid off and desperately looking for a job, you can't afford the luxury of thinking on the above lines. You just want someone to hire you at a good pay.

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flatsixer Dec 30, 2017

So what’s your advice if a manager rejected you just because you were laid off? Feel good that you dodged a bullet like I mentioned or feel bad that you were rejected and lose your confidence.

Blippar selfuser Dec 30, 2017

Layoff may be a business decision or a cultural misfit decision or performance decision from past employer or elimination of the position. What does not work in one company may work better in another. Candidate has to provide good reason and this should be fine.

CareerBuilder hdTI13 Dec 30, 2017

no negative thoughts here

AT&T DDM2K Dec 30, 2017

To make a blanket statement: Stating that you are laid off, apart from answering reasons for departure on an application, nets you no extra consideration or sympathy points when applying for a job. It may, for reasons contained in answers above, cause to be viewed “in a certain light” by some hiring managers and I don’t mean in a good way. Leave it undisclosed unless directly asked.

Microsoft 4agK93 Dec 30, 2017

Doesn’t affect growth once hired but could affect how a candidate is perceived by a recruiter or hiring manager. I’ve had some people explain getting laid off with lots of excuses and blame. “I had a terrible manager” and “the company had no idea what they were doing” etc doesn’t do the candidate any favors.

New
IIBY67 Dec 31, 2017

Well I can tell you at a semiconductor company I once worked at layoffs were constant. The group I was in once had 10 people in it. It was cut to 3, including my manager, after multiple layoffs and I was let go. They once had 30K FTEs (back in the 90s) and were below 10K when I was let go. Outsourced and contracted much of IT and even the highly technical engineering work for their tools, among many other areas. Typical semi company and Fortune 500. No loyalty. Director level and up were the only ones with a reasonable amount of security. I saw many very skilled IT engineers laid off. While honestly I wasn’t really that great of an employee - since I came in from their acquisition of a vastly smaller company I never felt like I was part of the company even though I landed in a great group with very good engineers - i did see many laid off that were top notch so I don’t think it’s necessarily all about merit-based layoffs.