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Getting laid off
NP
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So..just like the title says, it looks like I'm going to be losing my job tomorrow. I work in the financial industry in NYC, in tech for a big bank that you all have most likely heard of (the name rhymes with "Shitty"), and I've gotten some "info" that my name is on the list to be announced tomorrow.
Now what? I honestly have no idea what to do. I have about 3.5 years solid tech (Java & C++) experience on my belt. I gotta say, I'm pretty confused as to why they would pick me, my ratings have always been very solid and in the top 20%, but I guess now's not the time to cloud my head with thoughts like that. I have to say though, that I consider myself one of the best coders on my team.
I found out discreetly from my manager that I'm on the list, although he's not supposed to officially tell me, but I'm pretty sure he's also on the list so he doesn't really care.
Should I start looking for a job immediately? The market is absolute shit right now, and I'll have no leverage for negotiations since I won't have a job. Should I just say fuck it and take a 3 month vacation in south-east asia somewhere (I'm 24 yrs old and single, I honestly want to do this), or will that screw me over when I get back?
By my best guess, I'll have about a 4 months severance package (this is according to the employee handbook based on the # of years I have worked and my current salary).
Sorry if this post isn't completely coherent, but it's probably representative of the million thoughts that are going through my brain right now. Any advice at all would be appreciated, probably starting with exactly what I should say tomorrow when they call me in for a "meeting"..
Now what? I honestly have no idea what to do. I have about 3.5 years solid tech (Java & C++) experience on my belt. I gotta say, I'm pretty confused as to why they would pick me, my ratings have always been very solid and in the top 20%, but I guess now's not the time to cloud my head with thoughts like that. I have to say though, that I consider myself one of the best coders on my team.
I found out discreetly from my manager that I'm on the list, although he's not supposed to officially tell me, but I'm pretty sure he's also on the list so he doesn't really care.
Should I start looking for a job immediately? The market is absolute shit right now, and I'll have no leverage for negotiations since I won't have a job. Should I just say fuck it and take a 3 month vacation in south-east asia somewhere (I'm 24 yrs old and single, I honestly want to do this), or will that screw me over when I get back?
By my best guess, I'll have about a 4 months severance package (this is according to the employee handbook based on the # of years I have worked and my current salary).
Sorry if this post isn't completely coherent, but it's probably representative of the million thoughts that are going through my brain right now. Any advice at all would be appreciated, probably starting with exactly what I should say tomorrow when they call me in for a "meeting"..
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Yeah, sucks that you're getting laid off, but when you come back from Asia you'll still be a great coder, this time with life experience.
I would check up on the logistics of it first, though - don't you need to get all sorts of inoculations first?
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
That, and four month employment gaps don't look good when you're in a technical field.
Then again, you're young. Fuck it, if you feel strongly enough about it, just go. You have no significant other, no job, and no children to tie you down to any one place, and this is an opportunity that you may not have for a long time, as you're likely going to be recuperating financially from such a trip for quite a while, and new employers don't really like it when you ask for four months off.
Just understand that if you do go, you may have a hell of a time finding work when you get back, since you won't have the cushion that your severance pay allows you.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
"3 months playing Xbox on the couch" would look bad and should probably be re-cast in some other way when explaining that in job interviews.
Unless you decide to take your trip, which shouldn't really hurt you, I'd start looking immediately. It being a bad job market currently is a terrible reason to not look. What's the worst that can happen? You're stuck in the same jobless state you are currently? It certainly can't make things worse and it sure would blow to miss out on some rare opportunity just because you didn't look because the market sucks now anyway.
"what's up?" Seriously. There's really not much else to say. Start it however you would any other meeting with that person. I think the last time I laid off I walked into my boss' office and said "God damn it, as long as you took to call me in here, I thought I had made it".
hoping to survive at this point, though.
if i were you, i'd start looking for work immediately. the tech market in NYC is pretty bad right now (i have a friend who's been out of work for 4 months now, with no solid prospects).
1. Do you have 7-9 months of funds to last you (financial advisers are now saying 6 months is no longer enough). This is an addition to your vacation since you have to pay bills and stuff while on vacation.
2. Start cutting out any expenses and use the severance to pay off any debt that may be a risk later on.
3. Do not look for a job before going on vacation least you want is to get a call of potential job. I say focus on your trip on self development where do you see yourself what you want to grow (take reading material focusing on this). A lot of people getting let go are going back to school. I lost my job in April decided to start grad school and landed a job in September that may last for a while.
4. Make sure if you are let go tomorrow don't burn any bridges on the contrary try to get as many numbers and exchange your contact as much as you can before security kicks you out.
5. Set up a budget for 2009 considering that its going to be hard to find a job how you can manage for the worst.
6. In case they reconsider you again and your on vacation make sure they can contact you easily where you can respond.
I just want to point some things out since I was in the same shoes, lost my job in April wanted to travel in August but flaked out at the end. Same time as my vacation I landed a lot of interviews leading to my current job.
Good luck man and sorry to hear your job loss. Don't blame yourself in any sense its just how are things are flowing.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
So do the trip, but be careful where you go. Thailand or Chinese factory towns probably aren’t great places to visit. And limit yourself to a month, so that you have time to come back, find a job, and if necessary, move to wherever the new job is.
It would also be a good idea to start job hunting before you leave. Do up a great resume and get it to the headhunters, letting them know that you’ll be traveling and when you’ll get back. If you can stay in touch via email you might be able to come home to a few job interviews.
Fortunately I don't have any debt at all, and I have a decent amount of savings, plus the severance package, which should keep me afloat for a while.
Admittedly, if things don't work out for a long time I could always tuck my tail between my legs and head home to my parents, who live an hour outside of the city--still a commutable distance for interviews and such.
Also, I just feel like going on a trip will really help to clear my mind and find the priorities in my life. I was getting to the point where coming in to work was just becoming painfully dull as I wasn't doing anything new or learning anything, and I'm starting to think it showed in my attitude when I was there, which is why I'm on the chopping block in the first place.
Honestly, when I was at my job, realizing I only have 3 weeks per year to get out and see the world was a depressing thought--now, the fact that I will have all the time in the world to go anywhere I want, but no steady paycheck is also a scary thought!
I agree it doesn't make sense to start applying for jobs if you don't plan on being around to interview, but it couldn't hurt to update your resume at the very least and put it on monster. That way you'll at least be on the radar of any head hunters who might be looking.
Rumors are that after the holiday season is over they're going to shut down another 150ish locations....
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You should be looking for another job already if you're working for Circuit City right now.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I'd say consider a working holiday if this recession business wasn't nearly everywhere. Mind you, there's no reason you can't work at all while travelling, its just unlikely that you'll score a temp job in your professional field. Just do some bar work or whatever for beer money. Its a great way to really see a place, and make friends too. And if money really isn't a problem after careful budgeting, consider volunteer work. Charities in developing economies always need a hand. Hell, do that while you're searching for work even if you don't travel.
If you get wind that your job is on the line and you want to be in work a year from now, it's definitely better to start looking for a job now. Jump before the floor collapses.
So, what the HR rep told me is that I'm technically an employee for 60 days longer and will continue to get paychecks, and then after that I'll get a lump sum of the remaining balance. Does that mean when I go to interviews I can say I'm still employed by my current company, or do I have to say I am unemployed?
now that it's done, mind sharing the sector/bu you were working for? morbid curiosity on my part
I also would say to not go unless you have 9-12 months of savings or don't mind risking living with your parents for a while. I don't want to be a downer on what has to be a shitty day for you, but I feel compelled to mention that I have two acquaintances (a couple, 24-25 years old) who quit their jobs to travel around SE Asia for 3 months about 8-9 months ago. Both are living at home with their respective parents now, and they are having a hell of a time finding new jobs. It's true that they're both in finance, but these are also people with degrees from Yale. I don't know whether the trip is hurting them or if it's just the market being awful. Not trying to scare you, just putting that out there for you to chew on.
And honestly, the ones you reach out to do not have to be above you. It is cliched, but often the job you land is who you know. Do not ever forget that.
If you insist on looking for reasons this might happen to you. Do it systematically. List them down on paper so you can see them. Present this list to a support network (your friends, this forum, whatever) and have someone else objectively look at it. Odds are certain these are not the reasons; but there could be some things you find that could use improvement and people can help you. Let me repeat that point. You are not getting let go because of you. This is a good time to brush up on personal skills, though.
Good luck with the job hunt!
Hey illig, check your PMs, I'd rather keep it vague here in case I'm violating some terms of the agreement or something, haha. Especially since I posted about it yesterday before it happened.
Good points on the networking with people above me, my boss was also let go, but I was never really that close with him (I worked closely with many other great managers, most of whom left due to politics, etc..). I'm shooting out an email to one of my former managers who's now in Singapore, maybe I can kill 2 birds with one stone and head out to Asia that way.
I spoke to some recruiters earlier, they sent over a few opportunities in the area, so I'll try for those. In the meantime, I guess I'm supposed to relax or something, but I'm actually quite bored, all my friends are working right now, so there isn't really anything for me to do besides stare at my resume.
Like at all.
You will regret it in 2 months when you're a fat lazy slob, believe me.
My hard earned advice-
Get on Linkedin or something similar. It's how I got my current job, and has helped numerous other people find jobs. It also allows you to stay in touch with all of the contacts from your last job. I like it better than most other networking sites- less drunken orgy pics, more biz oriented.
Read 4-hour workweek. It actually has some really good advice for your situation, as well as some good info if you really want to take the SE Asia trip.
Take a day to decompress. Go work out, party, whatever but get the maudlin shit out of your system ASAP. It is a poison that will just intensify the longer you let it. It sucks that you were laid off, but if you play your cards right it is actually a benefit.
File for unemployment - it is a pittance, but it doesn't hurt.
Learn something new during your time off. Business or even personal. It shows well when you interview that you did not just veg for 4 months.
Good Luck!
So I (in)formally went into business for myself and I'm now making money at a steady trickle. Not enough to live on, but it helps fund my personal cosplay projects and buy goodies at conventions.
The other perk is that it counted as "employment" that I could list on my resume. And it impressed the hell out of potential employers that I did this in response to getting fired, instead of sitting on the couch for the seven months I was unemployed watching TV and wallowing in self-pity.
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* Douchebags hired me even though they didn't know what they wanted the position to accomplish and then let me go a month later when they still didn't know.
In the financial sector (I too work for a bank) the employment situation is horrendous. Add in the fact that it's December, during which many companies in the financial sector impose hiring freezes and even sometimes do layoffs during GOLDEN economic times, and you have a period of time where getting hired somewhere else in the sector is possible but unlikely.
Not to worry you; it's just how it is. And I'm not recommending you give up before you try, just don't be discouraged if nothing bites right away.
You should probably tell them if they ask and be honest about it. It probably won't look good if they find out you are trying to "get them" by using technicalities and loop holes. Honesty never hurts and secondly, I think I know what company they work for. In an interview you would always joke about it "Yes, I'm 1 of the many 55 thousands employees let go". That makes it sounds less bad, as in the company is hacking and slashing and you weren't let go for performance reasons.
I've been thinking about this too, I'm still employed - but not very secure in my job I think.
If laid off I would:
Inquire to the unemployment office and see if any benefits are available or start that process (I don't know, never did it, but would be good to learn about it).
Call your ex-employer HRs and ask about health insurance and such. Find how long it'll last after your termination. Maybe consider getting private insurance.
After that, I personally would take a day or two off... just to relax and wind down. Then maybe a day or two to give some serious thought to the sisuation.
I've also been playing around with the idea of going back to school. Jobs will be hard to find and likely be paying less then normal. So now might be the time to get some more education/training and re-enter the market in another 2 or so when it's picked back up.
Also there is no shame in going back to your parents. Save your money (like you have been doing). No reason to blow though all your hard worked money trying to keep your pride when mom's basement is free. (I'm 30 and have a lady friend and would consider moving back if I got laid off)
And, while your friends might make fun of you for having to live in Mom's basement, they won't have much to say a year or two later when you have significantly bettered your education, and as a result have landed a much better job.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
What I decided to do was just hit up the recruiters hard and fast in the short term, just to see what's available and how feasible it will be for me to find a job soon. I updated my resume and got a few emails from headhunters about opportunities that match. Hopefully,I can land an interview or two in the next few weeks and see how it goes from there.
As for taking a trip to Asia, basically, if nothing comes up within the next few weeks then I'll just hop on a plane and go. After checking flight prices, it's a little too pricey to travel last minute during the holiday season, it seems like a much better deal to go in January. If I do manage to land a job, then I'll probably take that 2-3 week gap before starting and go somewhere nice to clear my head.
If I can't find anything by the end of Jan, I'll probably end up moving back home, as of now I've already paid my rent, so I might as well stick around where the action is for a little longer (although, I live about 2 blocks from my old office, which is a little irritating--if I want to grab lunch around here, I'll probably run into some of my former coworkers).
In any case, I think I'm just gonna relax this weekend with some friends, maybe get drunk and goof around, let off some steam. Then come Monday I'm gonna get back in the game with the ultimate goal of having a new awesome job that pays 20% more and works with cool, new, better technology (gotta aim high, right?).
Thanks for all the advice and support.
That way of jumping jobs was highly related to the same method of getting a better house.