Disclosing past layoff
Hi all,
I was previously laid off through a major restructure at my BB, but left on good terms (my team tried to connect me to elsewhere in the firm and Team Head offered a reference). I was able to secure an investment role in a different part of my space I was interested in, but differing geographical mandate. There is no gap in my CV.
I’m now looking at roles back in IB in an adjacent space after some time investing. I expect that further into my processes the referencing could be rigorous due to the high profile nature of my firm’s restructure. If asked by recruiters or interviewers before any processes, should I explain my situation, and how?
I don’t want to lie by omission (since it’s dishonest and also could potentially be undone by a few phone calls), but I also don’t want to unnecessarily disclose given the move makes sense.
Keen to hear all views, and happy to provide details where helpful!
My thinking is either:
I. Focus on the positives of my current role (which I applied to anyway) and natural reasons why I wanted to move.
II. A mixture of I, but also disclose that I was restructured, but efforts were made to connect me elsewhere. I would also offer the same senior reference (though would need to ask if he’d still be willing to give me one) and can tangibly show my performance review at my current firm, which was strong
if there's no gap why would you bring up the layoff? just position it as a natural transition into investing, and talk about why yoiu want to get back into banking after seeing the other side. you're overthinking the lying by omission bit. this is finance.
Thanks for the reply!
Effectively - I anticipate being asked explicitly, I wouldn’t be proactive in highlighting. I’ve had former colleagues need to give references from my former employer when getting a new job. I think it could end up being a worse look if I omit the glaring detail being queried and am found out later if the question is asked explicitly, vs being honest if asked. Given some particular context the truth feels like a compelling story. To be clear though if I’m not asked I’m not saying anything as my profile is pretty coherent.
For what it’s worth for others reading in a similar situation, having sense-checked with recruiters my old boss connected me to, in my particular case they’re advising being honest if asked given the senior reference and the nature and scope of the layoffs at my former firm.
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