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I was outsourced last year and have only now begun applying for work again in the IT trade. It's possible I will be asked these questions:

  1. Why did you leave the company? True complete answer: I didn't leave, I got told it was a business decision to outsource server management, which I had done for 17+ years. How do I make this look less bad?
  2. I now have a 6+ month employment gap from last June when #1 above happened. True answer which I can't really give: it's been mentally emotionally difficult, plus, I'm supporting/assisting a disabled husband. What are possible truthful answers that don't look so bad?
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    Have you considered just answering truthfully? Personally, that's what I'd do.
    – joeqwerty
    Mar 6 at 3:29
  • Did the outsource your role or a whole team/department?
    – cdkMoose
    Mar 6 at 15:22
  • I'd answer the second question with "Family/personal/private reasons" and leave it that. They should leave it that as well, and not further pry.
    – Abigail
    Mar 6 at 17:54
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    Thank you all for your replies, they are very helpful.
    – Parkaboy
    Mar 7 at 0:31

3 Answers 3

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  1. Being outsourced is a completely understandable situation. No reason not to be up front about what happened. As I wrote last time you posted this question, be honest. Explain that your job was outsourced. Explain that lots of jobs in your company were outsourced (if that's actually the case). It's not unusual. It happens. Hiring managers will understand this.

  2. Needing to help family is understandable - if and only if you can explain why your help is no longer needed.

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  • Remember that a key-part of a job getting out-sourced is that you made that possible! You created stable systems, and documentation, and work-processes so reliable that the job could be given to someone cheaper/less experienced. Turn "getting out-sourced" into a POSITIVE thing, you did such a great job you just weren't needed anymore. :)
    – abelenky
    Mar 6 at 16:10
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The best answers are always the truthful answers.

You should always tell them the truth when aksed.

  1. Why did you leave the company?

    Tell them that you were unfortunately let go due to outsource. Everyone knows that this happens to many tech companies strictly for business reasons. There is no need to hide.

  2. I now have a 6+ month employment gap

    Tell them that you have been constantly looking for a new job (if you indeed apply for jobs online. I suppose that you do).

    During this time, if you have any additional training in term of technical skills via many resources such as online video classes, then feel free to tell them that you make the best use of this situation by training and improving your skills and knowledge.

I don't see why you need to mention the situation with your husband in an interview. No interviewers should ask about that. And, you don't need to reveal that info either because that info is personal and not related to the requirements of the job that you apply for.

Recently, many big tech companies (FAANG) in the US have laid off tens of thousands software developers. So, it may take awhile for tech workers to get their jobs back. It is understandable that it may take longer than 6 months to look for a new job.

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  • Thank you for this reply, it is very helpful.
    – Parkaboy
    Mar 7 at 0:32
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Answer 1: "The company decided to pursue an outsourcing model for some of it's internal functions - and unfortunately, my department was one of the ones outsourced"

No one is going to bat an eyelid at that answer, it happens. It's pretty common and in almost all cases, there's nothing you did that caused it - as such, there's nothing for you to worry about.

Answer 2: This is a bit harder, but there are some options:

"During this time, I decided to take some time out of the workforce to attend to both some personal matters and to go through a process of re-evaluating my life" or "I kept myself busy with some family commitments during this time" or "I completed a number of personal projects around the house and garden during this time"

(adjust as needed - reference a hobby).

Otherwise you could phrase it as "I did some volunteering to help someone who was disabled during this time" - which isn't a complete lie.

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