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Should I disclose I've left the firm in interviews?

Addressing interviewer
Neue Antwort am 8. Juli 2023
8 Antworten
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Anonym A fragte am 3. Juli 2023

I will leave my firm in the end of this month due to involuntarily reasons (company counselled out a few underperformers during down times), and will soon need to face the decision of whether I should disclose that I have left the firm. 

Technically speaking, on resume I will still be with the firm till month end. What makes me nervous is how to communicate with interviewers after I left the firm. 

For firms that I have already been interviewing, should I proactively mention I left the firm? And for firms that I apply after I left, I would suppose that I need to be upfront that I left the firm - any other tips or options? It's quite hard to explain why I left the firm after 1 year…

Thanks in advance!

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Francesco
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 4. Juli 2023
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the situation. In terms of your question:

Q: For firms that I have already been interviewing, should I proactively mention I left the firm? And for firms that I apply after I left, I would suppose that I need to be upfront that I left the firm.

No need to mention it if they don’t ask.

If they ask why you want to move to that company, you can answer by referring to the positive elements you see in that company that were not present in your previous company.

The only situation where you have to say that you left the firm is if they ask explicitly if you did so. In that case, you will have to confirm you left. 

If they ask why, you can say that (i) there was a lack of business and the company decided to reduce headcount (assuming that’s true), plus (ii) you could have improved in X, Y and Z by doing specific actions (that you can explain). You learned the lesson and want to bring now your experience to the new firm.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

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Anonym A am 4. Juli 2023

Thanks for the helpful advice - really appreciate it. Just to clarify - suppose I apply to roles at the instant (or shortly after) I left the firm, am I obliged to reflect this on the resume?

Francesco am 4. Juli 2023

Hi there, if you are not working at the firm anymore when you apply, you will have to report the correct ending period. So if you concluded your contract in June and apply in July, you will have to indicate June as the last month you worked there. Hope this helps

Cristian
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 6. Juli 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

You have no obligation to disclose why you left. 

You can also say that you decided to leave the job to look for other opportunities, in particular, because you wanted more of [insert the reasons why the firm you're interviewing with is great]. 

Don't make this harder on yourself by putting so much pressure. If anything, try to set up your application strategy so things are actually easy, and that means applying broadly across the industry. You can use the following guide for this:

Best,
Cristian

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Dennis
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 4. Juli 2023
Ex-Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

Hi,

don't lie when being directly asked, but don't offer these information proactively. If you need to talk about it though, it's actually not that uncommon that firms are downsizing in the current economic climate. So this is not necessarily a sign of failure on your end. 

Focus the conversation on what you want to do going forward and what appeals to you with respect to the role you are currently applying for.

Best of luck

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Anonym A am 4. Juli 2023

Thanks for the helpful advice - really appreciate it. Just to clarify - suppose I apply to roles at the instant (or shortly after) I left the firm, am I obliged to reflect this on the resume?

Agrim
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 4. Juli 2023
BCG Dubai Project Leader | Learn to think like a Consultant | Free personalised prep plan | 6+ years in Consulting

I resonate with Francesco on this one. The specifics should be only on a need-to-know basis. Unless explicitly asked - just let it be.

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Andi
Experte
antwortete am 4. Juli 2023
BCG 1st & Final Round interviewer | Personalized prep with >95% success rate | 7yrs coaching | #1 for Experienced Hires

Hi there,

agree with the other coaches here - don't mention, unless asked, but also don't lie about it.

Also, would not over-estimate how much the interviewer actually cares. Most don't at all. Leaving a role after 1 year is nothing unusual nowadays and there can be many legit reasons for it. The days when most folks in the corporate world spend half of or even their career with 1 firm and when someone gets bad looks for hoppingare long gone. The vast majority of employers understand that and for consulting firms its particularly true.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi

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Anonym A am 4. Juli 2023

Thanks for the helpful advice - really appreciate it. Just to clarify - suppose I apply to roles at the instant (or shortly after) I left the firm, am I obliged to reflect this on the resume?

Ian
Experte
Content Creator
antwortete am 4. Juli 2023
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

You gain nothing from pro-actively sharing this! Just don't bring it up. If it comes up, focus on the positives (always).

If you're recruiting after the end date and they ask, you need to be upfront, but you can talk about the “truth” in a certain way. Emphasize what you learned. Emphasize positives of the experience. 

Ultimately, you can/should spin this in a way where it is still positive and viewed as a value-add to your candidacy.

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Sophia
Experte
antwortete am 7. Juli 2023
Top-Ranked Coach on PrepLounge for 3 years| 6+ years of coaching

Hello,

Good question. I would follow standard practice on putting month + year on your resume, and I would only disclose this information if you are directly asked about it in the interview. No need to volunteer it proactively, but do prepare a good narrative in case you are asked about it.

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Pedro
Experte
antwortete am 8. Juli 2023
Bain | Roland Berger | EY-Parthenon | Mentoring Approach | 30% off first 10 sessions in May| Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

Here's what to do:

- Apply while you still have a job. As such, you can state in your resume that you are still working there

- You don't need to update your linkedin yet. It's fine if you take a couple of months to do it

- Don't lie, but don't offer any information that is detrimental for you.

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Francesco gab die beste Antwort

Francesco

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