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Dear Quota Team

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I'm in a bit of a pickle. I got let go from my AE job last month. I missed my quota for 3 months and got put on a PIP. I wasn't able to recover and they let me go. It wasn't just me though. I would say that about 60% of the sales reps got put on PIPs within the last several months. The company was in panic mode and execs were looking to make a change and decided that the sales team was the problem. Needless to say, my reason for being let go doesn’t look very good.

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I'm applying to jobs now and I'm struggling with how I should approach conversations about what happened. I definitely don't want to lie, but I imagine that mentioning I was put on a PIP and let go won't go over well with hiring managers. What’s the best way to handle this? I want to be honest with future employers, but I feel a bit unemployable right now.

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Honest in California 

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Dear Honest,

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Sorry to hear you got let go, but you shouldn't let it discourage you. Just because you lost one job doesn't make you unemployable, especially because it sounds like there were bigger issues. 

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The good news: most companies want to avoid legal risk from employees they've let go, which means they're unlikely to tell your potential employers much detail about why you no longer work there. If asked, they'll most likely just confirm the dates of your employment and maybe comment on whether or not they would hire you again.

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That being said, you shouldn't lie in interviews with potential employers. They probably won't ask about the PIP, so don't bring it up. If they ask if you decided to leave or were let go, you should say "I was unexpectedly laid off," which is true. They might just accept it and move on, but if they press further, you should absolutely mention that it was department wide and the majority of the sales team was let go as well.

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Don’t lie, but also don't be afraid to artfully dodge a question or flip it back on the interviewer to close the deal. Best of luck!