Three weeks ago, a new guy came, two weeks ago, this new guy was announced as the General manager. Yesterday, I became one of the first to let go.

Our company has been in bad shape for some time now. The president decided that things must be changed, that is why the new GM came.

I think the following are the reasons why I was chosen to let go.
1. I was am one of the three guys that the company provided dormitory to. The company offered us a little pay rise in exchange of cancelling company dormitory. I did not sign the agreement.
2. The new GM said I was not strong enough to execute his plan, because I seek consensus from relevant people.
3. This new GM understands Quality Management System, my job was to establish QMS, so probably the president thinks it is not necessary to keep me here any more.
4. Another potential reason is that the former GM appreciated my job very much, and often told other employees that I was his most trusted employee, this may make the new GM suspicious.

Anyway, I'm going to start looking for a new job from tomorrow.

My problem is, I have only been working in this company for about half a year, how am I going to explain to the potential employer the reason of my leave? If I put my true reason in my CV, what can I expect from the inteview, or can I get an interview?

Welcome to the Cove.

I am so sorry to hear of your plight. I have a similar experience, where my employer went through a merger about 8 months after I arrived. Within another 2 months, the plant was announced for closing and I was among the first of 800 people let go.

I never said why this was a short employment term on my resume. But when asked, I give a short version of the truth with evident wistful exasperation, ending with: "Only ten months! And there was so much I wanted to accomplish there." I emphasize how it was a good place, what I had learned/accomplished in that short time. Everything has some value, you see.

Your explanation can describe, in 10 seconds, how a management change was installed and a large scale personnel swap quickly followed. You can sigh once with regret and end the topic with some nugget of positive knowledge you came away with.

Do not forget to get a letter of recommendation from your old QM; two others from respected people may also help.

I wish you well! You can prevail. Even the most tarnished of coins can be shined up.

I usually find telling the truth gets me into far less trouble then hiding it. :)

Three weeks ago, a new guy came, two weeks ago, this new guy was announced as the General manager. Yesterday, I became one of the first to let go.

Our company has been in bad shape for some time now. The president decided that things must be changed, that is why the new GM came.

I think the following are the reasons why I was chosen to let go.
1. I was am one of the three guys that the company provided dormitory to. The company offered us a little pay rise in exchange of cancelling company dormitory. I did not sign the agreement.
2. The new GM said I was not strong enough to execute his plan, because I seek consensus from relevant people.
3. This new GM understands Quality Management System, my job was to establish QMS, so probably the president thinks it is not necessary to keep me here any more.
4. Another potential reason is that the former GM appreciated my job very much, and often told other employees that I was his most trusted employee, this may make the new GM suspicious.

Anyway, I'm going to start looking for a new job from tomorrow.

My problem is, I have only been working in this company for about half a year, how am I going to explain to the potential employer the reason of my leave? If I put my true reason in my CV, what can I expect from the inteview, or can I get an interview?

Welcome to the cove :bigwave:

Good to note,that you have not permitted yourself to be disturbed by the turn of events.Some heads are bound to roll,whenever a new broom takes over.Don't worry,just foresee this as a boon in disguise.

Jennifer has given good advise here.You do not have to explain any thing about this in your resume'.Just prepare a curt and succinct reply to be given at the time of interview.The reply has to be carefully crafted,ensuring not to divulge your hurt/pride/emotions.The interviewer may coerce you (by showing pity)to divulge your emotions,just intelligently avoid such traps.You should be focused on your future,and more importantly (from employer's perspective),how the new company will be benefited,if you are taken in.

And remember,half glass of water can be viewed differently.Optimists say,the glass is half filled with water,pessimist says the glass is half empty.There is a third angle too-'The glass is full,half with water and half with air'.This is the realistic approach.

Wish you Best of luck.

/Umang :D

Lets look at this from a "gatekeeper's" point of view:
Gatekeepers are the folks who do the preliminary screening of resumes for employers to discard the obvious mismatches. Gatekeepers are usually limited in the amount of personal evaluation to use in sorting resumes and often follow a rather strict list of "must haves" and "must not haves" in deciding whether to discard a resume.

Fair or not, short terms of employment must be explained for most gatekeepers or they ASSUME the candidate was terminated for cause.

A simple sentence or two in a very neutral tone will ease that gatekeeper bias.

There may be hundreds of examples floating around the internet, but a straightforward statement without emotion is usually best. Here's one sample I just thought up:
"My primary function was to support the then-current general manager in establishing and implementing a Quality Management System. He was subsequently replaced by a new general manager who brought in his own support team and a new management plan, eliminating my position.

While there for only ten months, I did manage to initiate and implement a [I]"a streamlined in-process inspection system which reduced nonconforming products and saved the company much more in reduced scrap than the cost of inspection."]
[/COLOR]In another vein, since you are now in the job market, I suggest folks start their job quests by reading through the tips offered in these threads

Candidates:
Thinking about a New Job for New Year? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19619)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19619
Resume and cover letter - How good are yours? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=10169)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=10169
The Job Hunt - Care and feeding of references (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19094)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19094
Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9325)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9325

Everyone one has provided excellent recommendations. The utmost is that Honesty is always the safe way to go. Lies are usually found out in a matter of time. :caution:

Jennifer hit right on the nail head.


Kinda, :topic: I am not trying to be harsh and that is not my intention, but my question is:

Why have you waited 3 weeks to start searching for a new job? I understand 1 week, but three weeks seems a little too long, in my opinion.

Kinda, :topic: I am not trying to be harsh and that is not my intention, but my question is:

Why have you waited 3 weeks to start searching for a new job? I understand 1 week, but three weeks seems a little too long, in my opinion.He didn't wait three weeks after the job loss. He just didn't realize three weeks ago that he was on a "hit list." He only lost the job the day before the post.

I guess that is what happens when you selective read posts. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

From the looks of it we're in China here and USA solutions are not gonna help one bit due to the total difference in culture and all that.

Part of what I see in the original OP statement is the emphasis on seeking consensus before making a decision....running a business isn't a democratic exercise as far as the company was concerned (or the new boss)

Pardner what you should do is be honest, but emphasize your strengths and try to portray the problem as the difference in management styles between you and your former employer.

Everyone one has provided excellent recommendations. The utmost is that Honesty is always the safe way to go. Lies are usually found out in a matter of time. :caution:

Jennifer hit right on the nail head.


Kinda, :topic: I am not trying to be harsh and that is not my intention, but my question is:

Why have you waited 3 weeks to start searching for a new job? I understand 1 week, but three weeks seems a little too long, in my opinion.

Wes is right. I did not expect I was on the list.

I have studied lean for some time, and have built in some lean stuff in the system. We are still using the batch-and-queue approach, No other person have talked about lean in our company.

This new guy talked about SMED, small lot more delivery, reorganize the layout to facilitate flow.

I thought, Gee, this guy knew lean, he was going to need my help.

At our last conversation, I realized that he had already made up his mind to bring his own people in. I just have to go.

I must wholeheartedly agree with my colleagues regarding honesty. And, in the light of Who Moved My Cheese, you can view this as an excellent opportunity.

As far as your CV..

1. Always, always be honest.
2. Spend some time evaluating the skills/abilities you have gained in the six months. I'm sure you were not there just consuming oxygen.:)

3. Since the 80's, it has become a bit more commonplace to see 'activity' on a resume. The days of working for one company your whole life are gone. If you allow yourself to be affected by it, others will pick up on that also.

4. Any future employer will probably ask why you left your last job. It's a fair and relevant question. You need to be able to provide a legitimate response to the question without sending the wrong non-verbal (or verbal) cues. Make sure you are not sending negative cues about your previous job. An employer does not want the feeling you are carrying baggage. If you need to, have a friend mock-interview you and videotape it.

In the end, it's so important to remember that it's not personal, but business. You were hired as a business decision, and this was a business decision. If you had been offered substantially more money with another company, you probably would have taken it. It would have been business, right?;) Phrase your response something like "My previous employer made a business decision to go another direction, and I am OK with that" as one possible suggestion.

From the looks of it we're in China here and USA solutions are not gonna help one bit due to the total difference in culture and all that.

Part of what I see in the original OP statement is the emphasis on seeking consensus before making a decision....running a business isn't a democratic exercise as far as the comapny was concerned (or the new boss)

Pardner what you should do is be honest, but empasize your strengths and try to portray the problem as the difference in management styles between you and your former employer.Not to belabor the point, but this guy was low enough on the totem pole (regardless of country) that he HAD to seek consensus before implementing a change. Certainly he was low enough on the totem pole that he wasn't in the loop when his direct boss was about to be replaced.

The stuff about "dormitory versus extra pay" was not a direct reason for his termination, but it did add another nail to his coffin when bosses were looking for "reasonable excuses" to terminate anyone loyal to the replaced boss.

This guy and countless others like him are primarily concerned with doing their job and pleasing the boss they directly report to; they rarely have radar about the rest of the organization and how changes may impact them.

WHY?
I often talk about Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) and that organizations which do not instill a SoPK throughout the organization foster dissension and misunderstanding because they lack cohesion and common purpose which come from SoPK. It seems pretty obvious the OP's organization is not practicing SoPK. Perhaps even the attempt at consensus would have been a start because it would have meant folks were knowledgeable enough about an initiative and its consequences to agree or disagree until they reached consensus.

Alas . . . we mourn what might have been!