Interviewing after being let go
Hi everyone - seeking advice on current situation. I am going to be a bit vague so I don't doxx myself.
I was recently let go for performance reasons and worked in an industry outside of finance. Moving forward, I’ve decided to pursue HF roles where I have particular fit from the work I did in my previous role.
I need advice on how to address my departure from the previous role. Should I say I was laid off or that I left? I have unique circumstances that allow me to spin a story where I plausibly left and it wouldn't raise eyebrows. On the other hand, layoffs are common nowadays and usually not a cause for concern in most industries. My main worry is the stigma of a layoff makes interviewing for HFs even more challenging than it already is. My sense is finance folks and HHs can be particularly hardo and less forgiving to someone outside the industry being laid off.
I can mostly get references as needed but would be in trouble if I needed a manager reference specifically from my previous role. I can get managers from other jobs I had though.
Any advice is appreciated.
Got laid off 6+ months ago but recently secured another job so i can chime in for this one.
Yes, you are right that finance is unforgiving with layoff stories. I recommend you to NOT go with the layoff story as much as possible since Headhunters and finance interviewers might drop you (very common) as soon as they know you were laid off (especially if it were a performance reason). I personally had to endure headhunters dropping me as soon as I told them about my layoff story; it made my search process 100x harder.
If you have a plausible story of quitting, I would go with that. Although i dont know what the story is to make it so plausible (usually people quit after knowing they have another job lined up)
It sucks that high finance is one of the fields that I think is an absolute hardo & cringe space where layoff stigma is so much worse than any other fields that I have seen. But cant
blame the game when you are playing it.
Thank you this is helpful. Good to know my intuition about it being less forgiving is correct.
I think then the main concern will be around references, and I guess I will just have to take that risk if it comes to it.
The story about me quitting is: xxxx. Seem plausible?
not a bad story. I would try to get at least one person who can vouch for you. the firm you are interviewing with might ask you to provide a reference to cross check your story so at least have one person who is super willing to help you.
Agree w the comment above. You mentioned you were outside of finance looking to get into it - do you have a strong base of knowledge for financial analysis? Can you take some courses in the space during your free time now and say you took the time off to reorient your skill set toward what you really want to do? That can be a combination of things - e.g. there's Macabus or WSO modeling courses, but there's also Continuing Education (CE) courses offered by schools like NYU. Not sure if it makes sense in your situation but could be a way to give yourself cover.
What else are you supposed to say if you were laid off? I’m confused. They’re gonna ask if you are employed and you can’t lie and say you left
Hey, do you know if HR from old firm is going to disclose whether someone was laid off vs they willingly left? Just don't want to shoot myself in the foot if - during networking/making connections - I position myself as "having left to pursue a career move" (which is true) and if I get an offer, they come to find out I was laid off (also technically true) and said I lied or something.
Reference checks depend on the firm, have worked in PE and 2 HFs, the PE firm checked with a VP in my IB group while the first HF did thorough reference checks and the second zero.
Tell the story as you leaving. That’s going to be tough to spin because if you were leaving a similar investing role then you could spin it as interpersonal tension, got a payday and wanted to take time off, etc. Coming from what sounds like the coverage industry will be much more difficult. How do you explain that you left your previous role when you didn’t have anything lined up? It’d be one thing to move within the industry without another job lined up but between industries would raise questions to me because it seems like you’re putting all your eggs into one basket in a new industry/role which is bad risk mgmt and makes me think you may think of it as a fallback. It’s not, it’s the major leagues.
Let’s assume that you have good answers for those questions - now why are you better than the ER/IB/lateral HF junior who has covered the space? You have to be able to run circles around those guys when it comes to industry/technical knowledge because they’ll know the public space better than you. Not at all insurmountable, it’s how I landed my first HF role and how I picked up my second after I got blown out. If you really, really know your stuff then it’s doable but then you have to translate that into tradable ideas which I would say very few people actually can and do well. Candidly, without knowing anything else, you being fired for performance makes me think you probably can’t. I hope that you can and have some tangible proof, but Im just an anon HF guy and that’s my first thought.
If you were at your previous job for 3+ years and got promoted you can spin the story but if you were less than 2 years and no advancement then it’ll be tough. Best of luck to you though. Understand that the odds are VERY long you make it so it’ll take everything you’ve got and the Good Lord’s favor to make it happen.
Appreciate this response
1) Thanks for color on references. I confirmed with at least one friend they would back up what I say.
2) I deleted the details to keep anon, but the other poster agreed my story is likely solid enough. (part of the reason is that I am actually doing the equivalent of a full time job now and getting paid). I have also shopped the story with some friends and HHs and no red flags so far.
3) I am pitching myself as domain expertise + alt data, so a bit of a different pool than the traditional ER/IB guys. What do you think? Separately, do you have any tips for the more traditional coverage stuff so I can get up to speed. I don't have access to SS reports so I think it's mainly reading as much research/newsletters as possible?
4) I did have history of success and advancement in my previous role :)
5) I know you did not mean this maliciously and that people in the industry just talk this way, but I am going to write this mainly for my own sake. I have a history of success in my past (top school, good FO job prior to industry, promotion), and yes, I got fired for 'performance reasons' but these things are not black and white. If I am to actually succeed in HF business, I am pretty sure I will have to get used to being wrong and picking myself back up, so that's what I am going to do and not let comments like this affect me reaching my goals. Again, mainly writing that out for myself.
That’s all great. The reason I was so pointed was because you’ll run into far worse but your response is reasonable enough.
if you’ve got real coding/data analytics chops then you should definitely push that angle. The lack of finance knowledge isn’t a problem if you’re not a research analyst (but a major one if you are). If you’ve got an edge and an in demand skill set then you’ll likely get some shots on goal - just have to connect on one of em
Could I ask for advice regarding my situation?
It’s very similar
Sure
I was laid off as a junior in IB. My advice? Be honest about the layoff. They’ll smell bs a mile away, and if you can control the narrative and you’ll do better in an interview. I never had one firm look down on me in an interview due to my layoff; I simply mentioned that I was let go and they moved onto the next questions. The more you try to build a story around it and talk too much they’ll begin to question you.
My friend who was also fired early in his job did the honesty route and ended up at a way better bank and making double the money. Yeah finance hardos is can be unforgiving but you don’t want to work for those guys anyways.
If you wanna talk more about it respond to my thread and I can give you my experience.
I would love to learn more about how you and your friends were able to land offers. I have been out for 9 months and had maybe 6-10 processes. Struggling to generate interviews and wondering at what point to reconvert. Corporate roles have not given much at all too.
Yes so circling back after some interviews. In some interviews it made sense for me to say layoff while in others I stuck with the 'I left' story. It's hard to say if its causal but when I say I left, I didn't even make it past HR. However, the layoffs were well received in the interviews where I told that story. Obviously, I am now upset that I wasted two good opportunities based on trying to hide the truth.
Now my question is: given I told the headhunters I left, will it be bad if I say layoff in the actual interview? I am not sure how much the headhunters talk about/pitch candidates in the conversations.
I also think my experience is probably good for other people to see. To be very clear, the two times I said I was laid off I moved on with funds that are frequently considered strict about background e.g., famous Tiger Cubs.
It depends on the market - like you it was better received when I said it was a layoff because then I wouldn't be perceived as a job hopper. In this market where layoffs have been just so prevalent, it would be better to stick to the truth. Unless you found another job in a similar area saying you left would be better. If you're still unemployed it would be better to say you were laid off, but it would also be fine in a frothier market where you could say that you just "needed a break". It's more nuanced than people think, and much more case-by-case.
He got very lucky and was able to land after his second interview. Me not so much, had about 6 IB interviews in a span of 7 months but wasn't able to convert. I took a transition job in tech consulting for the meantime until we re enter a frothier market. Your results seem normal for conditions were currently in. I'd say start pivoting now... not saying give up on high finance but maybe try doing other jobs besides banking for now.... not everyone's career is a 100% perfect. Lots of fired people did other things in the meantime before going back. You'll probably be able to reflect on your failed processes with time away from recruiting too so that's a plus.
Thanks,like 3 of those processes were cancelled and only reached one final round. Already taking a job in the Healthcare/Engeneering space given study background. Just concern this might worsen things since it is not very related and the gap keeps increasing. After how long do you think we might need an MBA to pivot back-in, i.e the gap would be considered too long.
Also the banks seem they struggle to fill-up associates positions (given the number of repost on Linkedin), althoug a lot of candidates are available - they might have gotten pickier.
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