So I was let go without a deeper analysis of my contributions or highly positive performance review.
I have been having some success getting interviews at decent companies despite it being the slowest time of year for hiring but I do get the impression that some recruiters are looking my layoff negatively.
If pressed for a reason, explain that you feel that you have achieved all that you could at the company and are excited for a new challenge where you can apply everything you’ve learned through your career. As long as you don’t explicitly lie, it’s not going to matter… and as long as you had the job for at least 6 months, nobody would question why you left — I’ve quit jobs after 6 months with no new job lined up and it has never been an issue in subsequent hiring processes.
The signal of a layoff isn’t great but it’s a very weak signal that a hiring manager would rely on only if they didn’t have any better signals. Don’t give them the opportunity to be lazy and rely on it. You’re pitching yourself, only give them the information you think benefits you.