Hey Everyone,
I have a phone interview this week with an IBD recruiter at a BB and am very unsure how to deal with the following situation:
I am currently working at a boutique firm, and about 2 weeks ago there were announcements that there would be major layoffs due to business being slow. The CEO basically told us that if anyone was considering leaving in a few months to a year and wasn't totally committed to staying on, we could consider this an opportunity to accelerate our plans and volunteer to leave. I had been considering leaving for a while for a variety of reasons and ended up meeting with the CEO and volunteered to leave. I figured that was more honest than taking the spot of someone who really wanted to stay, among other reasons.
However, officially and on paper I was "laid off," meaning I got a letter saying I was let go, got severance, etc. My end date is in about a week (so it would be after my phone interview but it would be during the interview process if I make it through). Not sure if it matters, but the layoffs ended up being about half the company.
I am conflicted about how to deal with this. Should I:
a) tell the recruiter that I was laid off
b) tell the recruiter that I decided to leave for XYZ reasons and not mention layoffs
c) tell the recruiter that I volunteered to leave but was officially laid off on paper
d) not tell the recruiter anything during the phone interview but disclose one of (a-c) later in the process
I am concerned that anything other than option (c) could lead to some consequences down the line if the BB does an employment verification and what I told them doesn't match up, and especially if I didn't tell them anything. Obviously I am also concerned that options (a) and (c) make me look like a weaker candidate.
I would appreciate any input on this.
Thanks!