[spartango]

While I am aware that this is the reality, I find the attitude underlying this reality rather unfortunate.

As an interviewer assessing a candidate, I would like to believe that I'm thoughtful enough to see that corporations lay people off for any number reasons. The macro-scale conditions at Microsoft likely have no bearing on the candidate's quality.

Imagine if the candidate were from RIM. We'd hardly question the reality that RIM has to lay off people, many of whom are competent.