Got retrenched? Here’s how to talk about it in your job interview

“You should open up about the current industry climate, the nature of your previous’s employer’s business, and its business performance —without revealing overly sensitive information—to provide some context as to why you were retrenched. We find that when candidates are upfront about the predicament they were in, they come across as being open and objective.

If it’s about productivity, it depends on the job function you were in – if you were in a sales role, productivity and achievements are measurable. However, if you were in a, say, IT engineer role, it would be harder to gauge. It is paramount that candidates share their
key achievements and examples of how the current climate has affected not just the firm, but also their role, which then helps justify the redundancy.”

“You should always be honest about the situation and provide the right context as to why the retrenchment happened. However, we would encourage candidates to not spend too long talking about it. Employers will appreciate candidates who are positive and forward-thinking rather than those who dwell on the past.”

“You should always talk about the new things you have taken up while between jobs, be it a freelance project, a course or even a relevant hobby. You should also talk about your upskilling efforts, particularly if these are relevant or add value to the role you are applying for. This will show that you’ve been using your downtime wisely and have taken to the experience positively.”

“It is important to emphasise the transferability of your skill sets and agility in adapting, particularly when applying to
a company in a different industry. Generally, it is the honest and open-minded candidate with a higher chance of securing the role as it reflects their willingness listen to suggestions, so it would help to be those things as well.”

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