You were made redundant. That doesn't have to be your story.
There are few questions more uncomfortable for a senior executive than: “why did you leave your last role?”
If you resigned, that's relatively straightforward. If your worksite relocated but you could not, that’s understandable. But if your role disappeared through restructuring, acquisition, consolidation or redundancy, the temptation is to explain everything.
And that's often where things go wrong.
Redundancy isn't necessarily failure
Senior executives know this intellectually.
Organizations restructure. Businesses are acquired. Leadership teams change. Costs are reduced. Roles are consolidated. Reporting lines move. Sometimes a very successful executive loses their job because the organization no longer requires the role in its previous form. It happens.
When you're the person sitting in the interview, it's remarkably easy to become defensive but don’t turn the interview into a courtroom. Yes, you may feel that you need to establish that you were right. So you explain. The CEO made a poor decision, the board didn't understand the business, the new owners wanted their own people, your predecessor created insurmountable problems, the restructuring was political, the new strategy was flawed.
Maybe all of it is true. But the interviewer isn't a judge. They're trying to decide whether they want to hire you. And the more time you spend proving that your former employer was wrong, the less time you spend explaining why you are right for their organization.
Your redundancy needs an explanation, not a defense
A good explanation is usually short. For example: “Following the acquisition, the organization consolidated the regional HR leadership structure and my role was eliminated. I'd been with the business for six years and had led the HR function through significant transformation. I'm now looking for an opportunity where I can bring that experience to an organization going through its next stage of growth.”
That's enough. You have explained what happened. You've established that it was organizational. You've highlighted your contribution. And you've moved the conversation forward.
Don't hide a redundancy
Some executives become so uncomfortable about redundancy that they try to obscure it. That's rarely helpful. Experienced recruiters and hiring managers will usually work it out eventually. If those people are well networked, they’ll know who to speak to informally, to check on what you’ve claimed. If you’ve tried to cover up reality, that will very likely create concern over your honesty and trustworthiness, which rarely results in a job offer.
Regardless of what some “experts” advise, my counsel is always that it is better to be clear. And in this day and age, a career that includes redundancy is not unusual. In fact, a career that includes nothing but success can actually be less believable.
What you do next matters more
The interesting question isn't “why were you made redundant?” Instead it should be “what did you do afterwards?”
Did you maintain your network? Did you think carefully about your next move? Did you use the time off constructively? Did you gain new perspective? Did you advise and support others? Did you explore a new sector? Did you reconsider what you actually want?
Your response to a career setback can tell an employer a great deal about your resilience.
Don't let bitterness leak into the conversation
This is particularly difficult when the redundancy was unfair. Perhaps you genuinely were treated badly. Perhaps someone less capable kept their role. Perhaps politics played a part.
You don't have to pretend that you enjoyed the experience. But there is a difference between being honest and being bitter.
You can say: “It was disappointing, particularly because I had invested heavily in the transformation program. But the decision was made as part of a broader restructuring, and I decided to focus my energy on what I wanted to do next.”
That's mature.
Be careful with the “I was pushed out” story
Senior executives sometimes use phrases like: “I was basically pushed out” or “It was a political decision.”
Those statements may be accurate. But they create additional questions. What happened? Why? What was your relationship with the CEO? How do you handle disagreement? Would the same thing happen here?
Your story may unintentionally turn a straightforward redundancy into a lot of doubt in the mind of the interviewer.
Your career is bigger than your last employer
This is worth remembering.
If you have twenty years of experience, one redundancy represents one event. It does not erase everything that came before it. You have still built teams, hired leaders, transformed organizations, advised CEOs, managed crises, developed talent, handled difficult employee situations, supported acquisitions, led change, made mistakes and learnt invaluable lessons, and delivered results that (hopefully) made a difference to the success of your company and to its workforce.
Don't allow one career event to become the headline of your entire professional identity. In our modern world there are so many leaders who have experienced multiple redundancies in their career. From our own recent analysis, it’s more odd to find someone who has never been made redundant, than someone who has.
Reframe the story without rewriting history
There is a difference between reframing and spinning. You shouldn't invent a positive story. But you can choose what you emphasize.
The story isn't: “I lost my job.” The story might instead be: “I spent six years leading HR through significant transformation, and following a change in ownership my role was eliminated. I'm now looking for an organization where that experience can be applied to its next stage of growth.” Both statements are true. Only one tells the interviewer where you're going.
Remember what you’ve told other people
As HR professionals, we have probably told hundreds of employees: “Redundancy isn't a reflection of your worth.”
Now you have the opportunity to believe it yourself. Your employment ended. Your career did not. Your title disappeared. Your experience did not. Your company stopped paying you. Your professional reputation didn't automatically disappear with your salary.
The final test
If you can talk about your redundancy calmly, briefly and without blaming everyone involved, you are demonstrating something valuable. You are demonstrating perspective. And perspective is one of the qualities organizations need most from senior HR leaders.
So don't spend your next interview trying to prove that your redundancy wasn't your fault. Spend it showing them why your next chapter should be with them.
About the Author
Sally-Anne is appreciated across her leadership network for her constructive honesty and care. As a senior partner she brings many years of career experience supporting executives in their search for new career challenges, and in their search for high performing talent for their own teams.