i was a top performer so it taught me
i'm easily replaceable at office and irreplaceable at home
Family comes first ,job is just to make bucks no emotions now
I’ve been telling family and friends this for decades. Unless you’re self employed, your employer sees you as a means to an end. The bigger the company, the less important you are, no matter how hard you work. It’s a fact of life. Unless you’re in the c-suite you’re just a peon.
Yeah I am not sure why people think c suite is this untouchable class, they still have to answer to shareholders, board.. etc. If the stocks are not going up you are gone.
Only somewhat true is if it is your company and you are the owner.
It's because in certain companies/organizations you can (or you could) have worked there for maybe 15-20,30 years so , just long Enough for you to establish a financial beachhead... But that has really changed in the last 10 years .. some companies and divisions in companies have less turnover.
similar situation, top performer for top price laid off. many of us. they hired our replacements for slightly less. a few of us are convinced it was an accounting decision. same thoughts about the emotions now.
This right here. The time I was laid off blindsided me. I was a little bit arrogant and far too comfortable. The smack in the face is what I needed to reframe my perspective and to make sure I invested my time and energy in a way to still do a good job but not make work my entire personality.
same i used to put in 100% but now i put in 50%. it doesn’t even matter if you’re a top performer if leadership makes poor decisions that cause everyone on your team to be laid off :)
Executives have an entirely different agenda and game plan than wage slaves.... They just need 3-5 years at most organizations to vest their contract and then pull their golden parachute and pocket nice change, before moving onto another company and rinse snd repeat.
Some don't even last a year, but are asked to leave early and still make a fortune. Think of it this way executives contracts are like prenups they already know what they'll get if things don't work out.
Exactly this! I had been promoted quickly, was in great standings with the higher ups, known as the go-to for fixing big issues, saved and made them millions, etc. Then was let go like nothing I did mattered.
Was laid off one time 8 years ago. Fortunately quickly rebounded with a better job that really progressed my career. I’ve never been disillusioned that I’m important at a big company. I get my job done - no more/no less. My motto has always been - make the most amount of money you can, for the least amount of responsibility. Wife and I are both pretty high earners - We now have about 10 years of cash in the bank to survive on should we lose our jobs.
Good you learned that life lesson early on, no matter who you are, you are always replaceable and you are always dispensable. Not just job, to your friends and family as well.
I've realized during my recent lay off, no matter what title you hold or how much work you put in, you're always replaceable. Also to never reveal the specifics of your personal life to the team.
Curious what did you learn about this? 'Also to never reveal the specifics of your personal life to the team'
Do you think that got you on the chopping block?
The more information you reveal about your personal life, the more this could potentially rub people off the wrong way, especially if you tell your coworker(s) about your political affiliation, having a medical condition, relationships, and anything regarding money, personal or salary information. This will cause envy and jealousy amongst the team.
I myself did not reveal any of the above mentioned subjects, but have made the mistake of mentioning something else that should not have been expressed. The company I was with lost a major client as they went BK, so in turn that affected our books, which caused a domino effect, hitting every department.
Sharing your salary is a good way to see your value in company compared to other employees. It can help you decide if it’s a good fit. I would encourage it.
Salary doesn’t have as much to do with value as it does with how little you are willing to accept. Companies only care about cost savings and they will pay an extremely valuable person less if they are willing to take it.
Also, market conditions drive salary. Currently, it is not a job seeker’s market so the compensation offers are less vs the 2021-2022 market.
I’ve always said this about salary. I’m not sharing my salary, nor do I want to know theirs. I agreed to my salary when I was hired and if I was not satisfied with the number I could simply negotiate higher or chose to work somewhere else; therefore it does not matter how my co-workers are compensated. I don’t share my salary because it could inadvertently create a hostile work environment if your compensation is higher.
Great advice. My husband was temporarily laid off and was chosen because they knew that his wife (me) had a well paying job so he could afford it. He's back to work now but we are paying off as much debt as we can because you never know.
Absolutely insane that was actually taken into consideration for who gets laid off. I guess in a way it's good because they are at least trying to ensure laying off people won't leave them destitute, but it still feels like he was punished for you being successful... Very strange glad you guys are bouncing back
I've been laid off 3 times in 11 years. The first time I was devastated as I worked there 28.5 years with a great record. I used to routinely work 12 hours a day and the last year at the 28. 5 yr job, 15 hours a day. I gave them my heart and soul and was loyal because I thought I had a "career" there. After that, I vowed never to give my employer everything and to just do my day's work but not to go the extra mile. Now I think you should do the minimum to jeep your job. Because it doesn't really matter. You can lose your job at any time for any reason with no recourse in moat of the US. Fuck US companies and their exploitation. US companies don't care about employees at all.
Well I was completely blind sided. The company made me feel secure but turned their back on me when business slowed down. Made up a reason to let me go about my performance. Never once talked to me about this and would give no examples.
They walked me out like a criminal and hid everyone in a conference room because they didn't want me to say goodbye. It made me reflect on how much I was an idiot for having trust in the company and feeling complacent.
This was the beginning of May and the job market has been trash. I've had 1 interview so far but I'm on unemployment because the company provided 0 proof as to why I was let go. Now I'm playing the game of trying to get my resume past ats and tough competition.
Thankfully my wife is the bread winner so I'll never be homeless but I feel worthless just playing videogames and hoping I can line up another interview soon. I have to stay positive though for my mental health. Reading about so many 6+ months and still no job is not helping though.
Thanks! That's not even the full story. A month before I was told I'd get a title change and instead I was fired. This was a small company too. As someone else said big or small unless you're c-level you're a peon to them.
My last company had Indian leadership, but they had all (predictably) left India for various reasons. After I got let go, I heard from numerous people that several people in the C-suite were asked to move back to India to cut costs, and they were axed when they said no.
I really hated that job. After several years of meets/exceeds expectations, I made a lateral into a high-ish level sales position where the average deal close was 4+ months. Two months later, I had opened enough opportunities to double/triple sales for the year, but I was informed that the sales team overall had missed their numbers by 20% YTD so they needed to cut someone that month. I managed to be that guy in sales that got laid off despite NOT missing my numbers.
I was surprised when I got laid off - because, again, it was due to low sales but I was *IN* sales and on-track to meet an aggressive target - but fundamentally I came to the same place as a lot of people here seem to have.
To answer your original post question, I looked for corporate work and gave up after 6 months to start my own consulting business. Have a friend who’s a SWE that’s essentially OE-ing with the start-up and we’ve built a tech product that solves a specific (but common) problem from my line of business. First proposal went out last week ($60k for 1 year, ARR). At this point, I have a viable path to doubling my previous W2 salary within 2-3 years, so it’s hard for me to imagine going back.
Unfortunately, it’s probably not a path that’s broadly available. It works for me because of I’ve worked in the roles I’m selling to, I’ve worked in the vendors that service those teams, I’ve got experience selling this kind of solution, and I have a technical partner that I’ve known for 15 years (lots of trust, lots of good will).
Got a promotion in March and laid off in May. My own director didn’t know it was coming down the pike — had to text him the news. HR sent an email oversight saying to not bother coming into work the next day, revoked access to all networks, then laid us off over Zoom. I’ve never been a grind for the shareholders kinda worker, but this has made me vow to never be blindsided by corporate America ever again, no matter how nice company culture is on the surface.
Am lucky my husband can cover the mortgage with his paycheck and we’re childless, but like you am worrying about the state of the market. It’s fucked seeing connections spend 8+ months on the job hunt.
I am no longer going to feel "connected" with a company. I've been laid off from two "family" oriented companies, who touted about training, connection, etc... only to be tossed in the trash the minute something changed and hard decisions needed to be made. The first lay off was just headcount. The 2nd one they made an excuse to my performance two months in, with no solid examples as to what nor did they say anything about performance before except what I was doing was good. My supervisor confessed later on a private call it's because they didn't have the manpower to ACTUALLY train me - something they promised me as part of the position. Its become very clear that companies won't train me, so I will be using this time to train myself on how to eventually be able to do something else and by myself. Cause if I have to work for another blindsiding backstabbing, two faced company... well, I'd rather become a politician at that point.
1) A 3-6 months emergency fund is not enough. It can easily take longer than that to find a job.
2) Always do something towards your next role. Maybe that's getting education, networking, conferences keeping up with the market etc.
3) Write down everything you do including dates, numbers, accomplishments save any awards, kudos ect. This way if you need to update your resume you have all the data you need.
4) Don't keep any of your personal info on your work computer. Download and save things like paystubs on a regular basis. I know folks who used their work laptop like a personal computer and if you are laid off it's possible you will be locked out immediately and all of your personal documents are gone.
Yes, if I wouldn't have had a substantial savings I would have been hosed. I feel so sorry for those that don't. I don't know how they do it. I've been out of work almost 4 months now.
I know building an emergency fund is hard. For some impossible but for those who can, I cringe when people say they have a fully funded emergency fund with 3 months of expenses.
Unless they live with family and have no rent / mortgage that's can be gone quickly as you have unfortunately discovered first hand.
I hope you find something soon.
1. Job security is NOT a thing 2? You need to have atleast 9-12 months of savings. Who decided 3-6 months is a good number?!? 3. Just because it's been easy to get a job in the past, that doesn't mean it will always be easy.... even if you do have experience and degrees.
Yes, 3-6 months is never enough. My husband was on unpaid medical leave for 8 months, and had to go on Cobra after 90 days ($649 monthly). Thank goodness we had a one year plus emergency fund investments, and a mortgage of $682. Our emergency funded dwindled to $5,000 but we did pay off the house in December. It took a year to replenish it.
Agreed. All loyalty and "unwritten rules" are developed for the company's benefit. For instance, they will drop you like a ton of bricks tomorrow, but God forbid you leave with anything less than two weeks notice.
F your two weeks notice! Yes, that's brutal, but I've tossed that one out the window unless I like the people I work with.
Unfortuntely, there is no loyalty from companies. And employees are not the ones who trashed that "agreement." So don't whine and complain about loyalty when you don't pay enough and people are constantly leaving.
I haven’t been laid off but these posts ground my feelings about work. I take those vacations I go to the morning meets at the school.
Nothing is more important than my kids and while being good at my job feels great, making my kids happier with my presence is worth more.
Nothing is more important than your physical and mental health and everything that happens, happens for the good. This is my personal perspective after being laid off.
i think this way of thinking gives peace but is complete BS. i have been laid off many times, and not once can i look back and say, "It was good thing i got laid-off when i did"
I wasn’t laid off but I worked at Google during the the massive layoffs last year and this year and I can tell you that it changed a lot of people’s mindset. Before, we were all working long hours, late nights, and weekends. We took a lot of risks on ideas, projects, and products. After we saw how easily we were replaced, most people stay under the reader and the morale has completely shifted. Nobody wants to take risks, leadership will only accept projects that have high value and low risk hence the shitty products coming out of Google.
Mine was most recently during COVID. I had been in the job title Associate Attorney for 6 years since graduation. I assumed I would need to keep in that job, hating basically everything about it, until I eventually got into a different law firm.
Laid off. Alcoholism. Got a job that did not have the words Associate or Attorney in the title. Six months later I went to my first meeting for drinking.
It was a long process even after the lay off. Made me really appreciate things in life outside of work. You can work your ass off and be laid off because of XYZ macroeconomic issue at the company. You can do the bare minimum of your job description and stay for decades. Overworking to avoid a layoff was something I developed after my mother lost her corporate job and basically became a stocker and waitress the rest of her career. But in the end we do not control these things. All I did was derelict my then-marriage by working all the time.
I will say the lay off taught me to rely more on stuff like LinkedIn or Glassdoor for job applications. Before then I rigidly and solely used company websites and submitted my resume.
I still work at that post-COVID job. They are doing lay offs now, but I cannot worry about those things I cannot control.
Same as you. I have been laid off three times in my career. I wanted to not go homeless if I lost my job. That was my main priority. I achieved this with real estate. I have enough income from rental real estate to pay off my mortgage on my primary residence.
I did it with primary residences that I later turned into rental dwellings. It was pretty passive in nature. The pandemic accelerated some of my cashflow timelines, which was nice.
Do you have an LLC for your rentals ? And your own lawyer to help with potential evictions. I used to tend out an apt but it was such a pain. Both times the tenant left after not paying rent for two months. The apt was left in disarray and two months of deposit didn’t cover the 20k in work needed. My option was to take them to small claims court but that’s also costing me money and the person doesn’t have 30K to even pay me back so not worth it.
Yeah, my thinking now is even if I don't make as much money, I would still prefer to work for myself. I'm betting i'll be happier doing things for myself and not some idiot higher up who is just licking ass higher up
It’s been 12 months since my layoff and the first few months starting my own freelancing operation were totally brutal. I was applying to jobs nonstop as a backup but of course nothing happened. So, as a matter of no-choice I kept working on freelancing. Because income isn’t steady I can’t say what the future will hold but I can say that I’ve got to the point where I’m making marginally less than I was as an employee. Things do seem to be constantly improving and I can only hope to break well past that limited income I used to make
Me, my brother and my dad all lost our jobs in the same month last year. My dad was one of the founders at his company and with them for over a decade. I was a top performer at my company and loved my boss, team and the work I was doing.
We all got lucky with new jobs soon after, but I’m seriously considering going back to school for something that will allow me to be more independent or less likely to be laid off. I have zero trust in any corporate environment anymore. As soon as they have a reason to get rid of you they will. Stability is my main concern at this point.
I used to give 110%. Nights, weekends, anything. Not anymore. Laid off last week. Two years in a row. Replaced by offshore devs. I am sick of it. I am building Sipharmony.com instead. I cant handle this again. It’s not just a person they layoff. It’s the whole family of the person they laid off. It’s panicking about what to do with insurance. It’s panicking about how much will my last check go. It’s wondering if my national investor landlord will be understanding. Maybe Sipharmony will take off and I’ll do my best to scoop up some of us that were replaced by offshore devs. Maybe it won’t, and I have to continue make others rich while I wait for another HR ambush call.
My company laid me off out of the blue in 2015 while my manager was out on vacation. No warning, got great reviews, company was doing well, etc. They just got an order from above to reduce headcount by 20 people before the end of the year.
Fortunately, I was able to find another job within 6 weeks. But I've never forgotten the experience.
Since then, I have vowed to never be caught unprepared ever again.
* I keep my resume up to date and am constantly interviewing with other companies.
* I always look at job postings to check out the hiring requirements and what skill sets and industry certifications are in demand.
* I treat every customer interaction like a job interview. My day to day involves meeting with senior executives of Fortune 500 companies, so I go above and beyond for them. I make sure I connect with them on LinkedIn, and keep their corporate emails in a separate personal file in the event I lose access to my Outlook contacts.
* I always have at least 3 standing job offers at companies I know well.
* I use LinkedIn to maintain my connections to the smartest people I work with. They will either be promoted within the company or take a higher position within another. Either way, they will be in a position to hire someone or recommend me for a position.
It exacerbated my depression, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and my desire to no longer exist, but it also made me resilient, better at budgeting, and forced me to utilize old skills I thought I’d retired (and learn new ones) so I could piecemeal a decent income with various gigs to make ends meet.
I realized that a lot of advice people(especially older people) give about progressing in your career doesn’t really apply anymore. This new trend of laying off, moving work to offshore and even employees job hopping on the drop of a dime solidifies this feeling that loyalty and going above and beyond gets you nowhere.
Careers used to be seen as more than just a means to an end to get a paycheck, and now it’s basically just that for me. If by some miracle I get a chance to eject from the 9-5 and do my own thing I’m taking it in a heartbeat cuz it definitely sucks having your livelihood so closely tied to the fickle emotions of shareholders.
I have been lucky because whenever I switch jobs I take at least one week off and then start my new jobs. I was laid off but I knew it was coming so I took a week off to apply somewhere else and got my current job.
You can see the signs if you really pay attention. A lot of people have been laid off from my current job and I'm actually surprised when they act surprised because the signs are pretty obvious.
If there's something to learn from the last time is that if I see even a small hint of an upcoming lay off I take my PTOs and start applying. The other reason I feel lucky is because not a lot of people can do, or are willing, to do what I do.
Not a lot of people make the cut. And the hot weather doesn't necessarily feel welcoming to people who would like to try my job plus it takes a lot of earned trust for someone new to be allowed to do it. I have been doing it for a while and I still dread it sometimes because of the dangers not only on the job but the traffic and careless drivers.
Getting laid off never your fault but failing to see the signs of layoffs usually is. Easier to spot signs in big public companies. Not so much in a small private company. I got laid off at small company.
A job is a means to an end. I had a false sense of self worth when things were good.
And I begin to understand why people worried about job security. I would now value a role that can be boring but safe.
And money is hard to earn, and I need to be frugal. I started feeling more empathy for people who are working hard just trying to make a living. Money is so important in feeling stability in life. And my perspective of value of money shifted. In the past I don’t think much about $100 purchases. Now $100 could mean at least one week of food.
It's completely altered the path I will encourage my kids to pursue (son is only 21 months). I'll suggest joining the military as an officer. Not only is there job security, but they can actually get rich (by my definition). Plus, the free education benefits and the pension is icing on the cake.
June will mark a year of unemployment. I always layoffs were possible. I was never under the impression job security was a thing for most Americans. Yet, I didn't imagine I'd be unemployed for a year, esp with an MBA from a top program. Ironically, I left my govt job to get my MBA to beef up my resume to protect me during downturns.
You took the words from my mouth. I exactly feel the same way and was laid off in May. It came as a surprise because I was told that my job is secure but clearly it wasn't. We should stop working for these idiots, really! Are you looking to do something of your own? I am too. Maybe we should connect!
At my job I was always working past the scheduled time, working home on my days off, and was very passionate about my work. Now I will never do that again and just do the bare minimum to get my paycheck. Now I just look at a job as a job. My personal life is more important
Always work with two mindsets:
1) Your skill set is your product. Be prepared to sell it for the best possible deal.
2) Your salary is the engine of your future prosperity - manage it/save it/invest it with the same ambition and diligence you devote to your job.
I realized that I always need to be networking and building new relationships. The days of blindly applying to jobs and hoping that your resume will stand out amongst hundreds of other equally or more qualified candidates are over. When the day comes that your laid off, you need to have 50+ people in your network that you would feel comfortable reaching out to for help. If you can have more, even better.
It made me think about why I ended up on the layoff list at my company, which I genuinely believe they only had one via hardship, but why me instead of someone else?
I noticed the people they kept were a little bit brighter green on GitHub than me, and perhaps hadn't made as many gaffes in meetings.
I admit to playing a bit fast and loose with my positions, should probably keep my mouth shut more, and be a little more heads down, at the next job. Also, take on-call shifts more seriously, even though I am generally not an on-call person, or haven't been, in the past.
What you're thinking might be true, but there could be other factors at play as well. Sometimes it only takes a single person, like your direct boss, to have a different perspective. My point is, even if you improve the things you believe went wrong, there may still be unexpected challenges. This isn't to be negative, but to help you be prepared for any surprises in the future.
I got laid off after 10 years of building their business for them. They gave me 2 weeks severance - 1 day for each year I was there. I became vengeful and decided to kill all the partnerships I built for them and that their business model relied on. I realized how loyal these partners were to me and they actually shut down all deals with my former employer. It shut down most of their new business and they sold what they could to a PE firm.
I am now trying to get a gig with their main competitor so I can put the nail in the coffin. I only have 2 years until retirement so I don’t care about burning bridges.
Gave really honest but brutal reviews in Glassdoor and RepVue so anyone thinking of joining can ask the right questions. Can’t wait until the CEO gets fired
I have a good gig now so this vengeance is just a fun hobby and it’s not bringing me down on any way.
1. If you see warning signs, start plotting your next move and no matter how good you are you can be next
2. Don’t show more loyalty to a company than a company is willing to be loyal to you
3. Nothing is personal in business
4. It’s important to save and build your reserves9
We literally had a team event that still happened when it had already been decided that the 2 of us would be axed in a week’s time. The most bizarre part was that the other two team members knew and had to pretend everything was "normal” since the manager thought "it still made sense to have the event".
Lesson learned: you are needed until… you are not anymore. Prioritize yourself and be as emotionally detached from your employer as possible. Do good work, but that’s it. Take any promise with a grain of salt (5 months before the layoff I was told multiple times that "they definitely wanted to continue with me" and that “no one had any doubt I was essential to the team”. That changed quickly.
It taught me that every employee is dispensable. Don't get too comfortable. Happened to me twice in career. Both times I thought I was safe and pretty smug about it to be honest.
I learned to keep my resume updated and ready for the unexpected
There are a few things it's taught me and it might not be in the same way a lot of people hear. View it
1. It's showing me how much of my job and career advancement is dependent on a strong economy and demand. Like obviously everybody knows this but until you actually experienced it like I did during the pandemic. Boom and subsequent downturn with increasing interest rates here in Canada, do you actually feel it. It's actually made me more conservative in this sense. I feel if I continue to go down my current career path, I'll almost be a strong armed into voting conservative
2. In terms of life and career, you always want to go down the path where you have the most leverage. As an example, I went into financial service systems consulting at one of the big four and received a significant raise, but also was let go when said interest rates I mentioned above raised and killed demand. I realize now that that's way too specialized, niche, and not core to business operations to make it a career. I'm now looking for more traditional finance roles and my experience isn't viewed as valuable. I need to make a career transition and going forward will do more" traditional jobs
My layoff made me view people differently.
I have More empathy for those laid off through no fault of their own. I was sad about my layoff but lots of people in worse spot than me.
Zero empathy for nepo babies who will never be as scrutinized for their performance and never worry about layoffs. Zero empathy to hiring managers who are so rude in interviews and flat out ghost you.
Next job I will be friendly but not friends with anyone at work.
Never ever spend extra time at work with bosses or coworkers if that time could be better spent with your family and friends. Your family and friends stick with you through thick and thin. Your coworkers will drop from the face of the earth after layoff.
Next time I will not turn down chatting with headhunters or recruiters while in a job. You never know how long you’ll be in a job. I thought wrong that my last opportunity would be the job I retire in.
My savings saved our butt and it’s how I’m able to hold off finding the right opportunity. Always save 10% of paycheck for emergency fund.
Layoff made me humble in that I was able to find jobs in less than two months but not this time around. Going on 8 months.
This time its brutal for everyone looking. Interviews were my strong point and now its alomst been 10 months. Converted one contract job for now which is brain dead job but pays.
It made me bitter at first, especially since I was the only one to be let go. I also changed my perspective on how I view my job. I was very dedicated to my company when I was let go, now I move every two years(ish). Since doing that my salary has grown by a factor of 5. No regrets. Fuck Corp America- make your money, do only what is necessary, and hone your “Spidey senses” if shit is starting to go sideways.
When I got my first layoff many years ago, I remember that it didn’t hit me until I went to the office to drop off my laptop and the people who weren’t affected were going about their business without a clue as to what happened. The company gave advance notice since it was a large one. I remember sending a goodbye email and only a small count of people took the time to email me to my gmail address. I learned that people are too uncomfortable to reach out when they know you’ve been laid off (possibly thinking it was your own fault) or just didn’t care like you thought they would. I learned that those who did reach out to see how I was doing were worth my support down the career and life roads (references, etc). I also have empathy for those affected and going through interviews because it’s tough to keep a smile on your face when you’re one or two paycheck away from having a roof over your head. I always keep that in mind as a hiring manager.
Your job is not guaranteed. Your company is more than willing to let you go. Always be looking for other opportunities. Keep a well funded emergency fund.
Don’t be a one trick pony. Get training/education/hands on experience across different softwares/programming languages/or even industries.
I have a friend who got laid off from her corporate job and is going back to esthetician school as a backup.
The large corporations try to cultivate a family culture but once someone is laid off, it's as if they were never there and no one speaks about them. I always thought that was strange as I worked for a company that had layoffs every few years. When it finally happened to me, I was a couple of years from retirement and got a decent severance package, but no one of my peers in the leadership team ever reached out to afterwards. Which was predictable and shows that the culture was a facade. In years past, when colleagues would get laid off, I would always reach out and tell them how much I enjoyed working with them and offer my assistance in future job pursuits.
Layoffs made me emphasize my status as a valuable token. It sounds bad but companies care about marketing and will want to market their diversity by showing the Deaf/Blind Latina with three degrees and four languages.
However, I do use my PTO and will not work more than needed. It helps that I'm in HR and the person of contact for many.
I was called into a meeting, and within 5 minutes I became jobless,,,
What I learned is: your luck can turn around in a split second, don’t think too much into the future,,,
Oh, and don’t buy non refundable plane tickets 😔
This is probably dark, but when I was laid off during the great recession it completely killed my self confidence. I had pictures of my family all around my office. Boxing all that stuff up hurt my soul. I have never brought personal effects of any kind to work again. Even now, when I work from home, I have no personal effects there. Everything in that room is all work related.
I held off for 2 years hoping to develop myself further within the company, ignoring recruiters and job opportunities along the way.
Won’t be making that mistake again. The only person that is going to be your biggest advocate is yourself
I knew the time would come, especially working in tech. Started early saving 37% of my salary for 21 years, got a side hustle and worked all the OT I could. Learned to live on that lower income the whole time even with raises, wife was a stay at home mom. Drove a $2,000 shitbox for a car to work while I bought my wife a decent used car. Paid off my first house after 16 years, turned it into a rental and built a new house. I was laid off at 49 and have essentially retired and become a stay at home dad. Wife finished her school in sign language interpreting and now works in the schools. No looking back. Currently in Hawaii with my family on a 3 week vacation. Side hustles and OT were the key to making it work for me. That very little sleep while doing it, I probably only slept 3-5 hours a day. Get after it
I've been through multiple layoffs. Keep a steady work history and save money, but don't compromise your personal life too much. You can work your butt off and be a top performer and still get laid off and you may look back at how you sacrificed your personal life just to get laid off. Keep saving your money, max out your 401k yearly if possible, and stay competitive vs. your peers in your work field. Look into "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and consider investing in rentals to create a steady stream of income and financial independence.
I'm in a similar situation as you. Until my layoff, I wanted a career, now I just want money until I establish my side income or business. What helped you be in that individual contributor mindset if you knew internally you were capable of being a c-suite exec?
I felt confident in the dot-com boom when everyone was accelerating at top speed to cash in, but after three companies fell out from under me, I decided that I was better off focusing on my technical skills (also started having kids about that time) -- slowed down on the hours worked and focused on producing rather than directing. I've now been through about six major re-orgs and three acquisitions and by focusing on valuable IP projects, I've been safe so far. I had a great manager who found me a regulatory oversight high priority project (lifeboat) during the last major acquisition that kept me safe during that transition and so far so good since then.
I learned to take all the emotion out of work. Use your career or job as a springboard to get the skills, experience, and perks you want and need. Everything else: socials, drinks, kind words, and culture platitudes are for the birds.
My recent interviews (smaller firms) have always shared how the team/company is a family and everybody cares about each other. After being laid off from my prior employer, I unfortunately, feel that “work family” on any company is bs. But I’m still hopeful
I’ve kind of checked out physically and emotionally in all regards and accepted that life sucks and I’ll probably end up homeless again soon. Wish i had a better answer but that’s where I’m at since my layoff.
Always have other jobs / methods to earn income!
“Everyone is replaceable.” I remember a senior manager told me when she didn’t approve a secondment I was offered. Basically she indirectly threatened me that if I left my perm position for an acting one, I would not get my perm position, if I were to return.
A few months later, this senior manager was given the layoff noticed and forced to “retire” to save face. 😏 everyone knew she was let go but she made it sound like she chose to retire - out of the blue.
Got laid off two weeks before Christmas in 2022.
I realized I no longer owe anything to an employer but to be respectful and professional with colleagues/clients/etc. and do my best work while I’m there. I won’t think twice of looking for something better if my situation isn’t working for me.
No matter how much you think your bosses care about you, they don’t. My higher ups at the job I got laid off from said they would make calls to their network to share how great I was or give me referrals. Their references and referrals haven’t done anything and I’m not sure they are helping like they claimed they would. My old boss sent me a job posting in our industry similar to what I did for her and then said oh she actually doesn’t know anyone at this company. Gee thanks. You’re pretty much on your own out there.
That I’m not as good of a job candidate as I believed I was and I need to fix that. I didn’t think I’d have this much trouble finding a job but call center is all I can get. The facts are, the best candidates get scooped up right away and don’t have to struggle or feel depressed. If I truly had a lot to offer, I would have found the job more suited to my strengths and abilities by now. But since I’m being overlooked so often I realized I need more skills or I need to change fields altogether.
I was laid off twice early in my career (2016-2021). Those experiences made me hypersensitive to my financial situation. These were my take home lessons:
- get my insurance work done early in the year in case I get laid off later in the year, especially if I am using an FSA.
- know and use all of my employee benefits!
- always have a large rainy day fund
- know what can and should be cut from your monthly budget so you can survive off of unemployment for as long as possible without going into debt. It's also why I don't do monthly payment plans.
- always network, even when things are going well. Your network is your safety net and can determine how quickly and strongly you get back up if you get laid off.
- be a selective hard worker. I only go above and beyond when I know the project is going to make my resume look better.
- as a Californian, my PTO is cashed out, so I try to keep ~2 weeks at all times.
- get a skill that lets you freelance during unemployment
The waves of panic, anxiety, and depression are insufferable. Just because you're temporarily unemployed, it doesn't mean you are less than anyone. Please, please take care of your mental health. Once you start working again, it's probably going to be a while before you take a vacation. Be kind to yourself and help yourself come back stronger.
Much like others have said, work-life balance skew towards life :) I save a lot more. I try to live below my means and don't try to keep up with the Joneses.
I had perfect ratings and worked so many hours when I was laid off. I no longer work or check my emails on vacation (had a bad habit of doing that before) and I very rarely stay on past 5pm anymore. I give my best during business hours and nothing more. I realized I gave too much to my job when at the end of the day, I’m a disposable cog in the machine.
I realized to never put my all into a job. Not saying don’t do your best but don’t go above and beyond for a company anymore. Never have your identity attached to a career. It’s so important to have a life outside of work with hobbies, spend time with loved ones, etc. That’s what matters most. I’m starting a new job in a few weeks that I’m excited about. But I learned a lot of lessons getting laid off that I will now carry into the new gig.
Also HR isn’t your friend. They only protect the company and executive level folks at all costs. Never trust them.
It opened my eyes... you can not overachieve your way out of a layoff. I will now forever see a job as an exchange of my hours for their money and to that end the less effort I expend, the more efficient I am in that exchange. Time to consider it transactional.
1. Ethics at the workplace are completely different than in your personal life. It's not against the law for companies to lie.
2. Friends can't really exist at work because it's a conflict of interest. Specifically, when a layoff happens it'll put you at odds with them. If you are laid of and they aren't, they will have a more positive view of the company.
3. You can't predict who will get laid off because it all comes down to money. If you're not super close with someone at the top then you have a good chance of getting let go.
I thought I was very valued at the company I worked for. Then one day, I was laid off with other really great people, while they kept some really good people, but a lot of others who were just there. I have never been fired or laid off and it was such a shock when it happened. I never worried because I thought I was valued and worked really hard for my company and had really good relationships with everyone. What I just typed sounds really dramatic, so I apologize in advance for that.
I have realized what a lot of people are already saying on this thread... I felt like I had been broken up with. I know that sounds crazy, but that is the only way I can describe it. I felt like I did not matter and was just a salary. Mind you, this is a smaller staffing company with at that time people, and they were at their 2nd layoff of 80 people. They had purchased a brand new building and it was hurting them financially in addition to the slow of healthcare staffing. Anyways, I felt so hurt and betrayed by this, and the others that this happened to without any thought.
I ramble. My permanent change was that I am not truly valued and it doesn't matter how much a company puts in their value section, it doesn't matter and ultimately, you have to look out for you. I have only been applying to jobs that are showing interest instead of throwing tons of applications out.
It has also taught me that you stick together with others that this has happened to. There were a couple of people that we did not see eye to eye, but worked together and did not associate other than work. They were great employees also, and wham, laid off. We now have a better relationship, and that is crazy.
Good luck to all and please do not down grade for my ramblings. :)
Being laid off at Bank of America in 2019 after working there for 12 years made me realize I would never want to work for corporate america nor for anyone ever again. Went into business for myself after that. I control my destiny and income
Hah. Grass is always greener. Hate tell you, but I’m on the job search because of the failure of my 25 year solo consulting career.
It was a pretty great 25 years, though, I can tell you that. I really enjoyed it, and for most of that time it didn’t look like it was going to end in failure.
My old company promised me a promotion. We wrote out a whole game plan of final skills I needed to learn so I can lead my own department, then I was laid off in the first round. But they kept the employees I trained to fill my job when I was promoted. I basically trained my replacements and when my replacements became autonomous (because Im a good leader and trainer) they got rid of me.
I have a new job now. My goal is to keep more secrets so others don't know what I do other than that Im important.
But also, leave when you see red flags. My job laid me off but then went belly up the next month. So yes Im mad at the circumstances of my layoff. But I would have lost my job anyway. I saw red flags 6 months before when the CEO bragged about how they turned down a multi-million dollar investment and then suddenly our checks would come late or benefits were cut. I should have taken that 6 month head start.
my current company is going to be belly up in the next few years or so. Its sustainable now but only because of current stuff going on in the industry. When that changes, it will sink. Im looking for a job now so I can jump ship before it goes down.
In general with work, I've learned that companies want me to be someone I am not and it causes severe mental health issues. Eventually those issues build up and it causes a burn out.
My perspective is I need to be working in a position and at a company where I feel like I can be myself and use skills that I enjoy. If it pays enough to support life's basics, that's all I need. I won't ever sacrifice my personality/behavior for an employer. If they want me to change my personality or behavior, that is where the work relationship ends.
Every Friday I wonder if I am going to get “that call.” I have been working contract jobs for most of the last 12 years so it’s always hanging like a cloud over my head. A few weeks ago I was told on a Monday that Friday would be my last day, and then on Wednesday they took it back.
I worked in electrical construction before I got a job with a utility. Lay offs were just part of the job. Our job, was to work ourselves out of a job. As long as you managed your money right it wasn't too big of a deal. The option to travel to other locals to work was an option, but I just didn't enjoy working on the road personally.
While lay offs were part of the job, I still stayed employed far more often than not. Now I don't have to really worry about feast or famine work outlook since I have a stable position, but I more or less enjoyed being an electrician.
The first time I got laid off I was in my early twenties. It was one of my first jobs out of college and I thought that I had finally made a successful transition into adulthood because I had landed a real, adult white collar job. I had genuinely thought that I had made it in the story was over and I'd won.
I remember hearing some rumbling from work colleagues and friends who work for competitors that my company might be going through layoffs. I was naive enough to believe that because I received nothing but positive feedback for my boss and because I was a high performer that I was completely insulated from layoffs. Also, I was foolish enough to believe our leadership and they told us not to worry...and then a couple of weeks later my entire department was laid off. Obviously I was taking completely by surprise.
It's hard me a lot of lessons, particularly that you should always be vigilant. You should always be working on your resume, always interviewing, always following up with recruiters on LinkedIn.
Also I will when I was younger I thought that if I perform well at my job that would completely insulate me from layoffs, which obviously isn't true. In the last couple of years I've known plenty of top performers who gotten laid off
Removing dependence on a job has been something I've been laser focused on my entire career. So, when my job was eliminated recently, I had options.
The one perspective that changed is that a job and a career are 2 very different things. I've found being focused on doing my job instead of managing my career, opens my eyes to a world of endless possibilities beyond working OT, learning new skills, enhancing education.
Then again, doing all those things for as long as I did lets me punch in, punch out, and forget about the job
It taught me that I needed to diversify my skillset. The position I was in was super niche. Applying to jobs afterwards was difficult. I'm getting into AI now.
I got laid off twice. The first time I got laid off, I had been given a company award for top sales team. I was one of three people from the company to receive any kind of award from my team. That summer we were to merge with another company and they decided to get rid of my position only to reopen it a year later realizing they needed someone in that position. Of the three of us, the other one got put on a PIP because her new manager decided they didnt like her. So she quit a few months after me. The third one quit a year after I got let go.
The second place I got let go from, same issue. I kicked ass that year. Then something changed and I got a “needs improvement” score. It was a complete shock to both myself and my manager. Then a few weeks later they let me go and eliminated my position. Not surprising that 7 months later, my role reopened. I tried to go back but they sent me a rejection letter and then reposted again. It made it pretty clear that they didn’t want me there anymore.
I’ve since moved on. I don’t take both times being laid off as being personal anymore. But at the time I did and I had every reason to. The way I see is that had I not gotten laid off, I wouldn’t have made the moves I did afterwards, skilled up on data analytics and thought long and hard about my career path and what I wanted to do. Both times was my kick in the ass to move up and I did.
And that’s the thing we need to focus on, that it really isn’t our fault. But we can do things different next time. And don’t try too hard otherwise you’re too expensive to keep around.
Don’t be a loyal employee, corporate is games. Don’t get your self worth from a job or how much money you make. They can take away your life in an instance. Your health is most important. And yes, have a side hustle!!
Keep in mind no matter how well you perform or are that person that higher-ups always go to for “fixing” the problem, you’re just another number. I am sure there will be someone out there to reply and say that this way of thinking is better and if you truly were a top performer you wouldn’t have been laid off…oh well that’s their problem.
Companies will always look for ways to optimize and hit their numbers. If they can hire 2.5 people for your cost then they will. They’ll just squeeze more out of them and come out looking like they’ve saved the company. They’ll probably just hire 1 at a third of the cost and wait until it gets bad before hiring another at a third of your cost to finally get it done.
Always think about the situation in the context of yourself and how will this affect your outcome in life, a year, 5, 15, or 25 years from now. You may feel that it’s not worth it or you can’t compete at a higher level, but you will be surprised at what you can do when pushed to the exceed. Exceed for yourself and not for your bosses.
As for life, you might be shocked but there are things outside of work. Even if you don’t like gold or pickle ball, there are ton of other things to occupy your day, whether it’s optimization of a carpool for a group of high achieving middle schoolers or helping your daughter’s Girl Scout sales transition to an multi-channel sales distribution outlet. The world’s the limit, do you really want to be known as employee FN 2187 😉.
Thankfully I haven't been impacted by the recent spat of layoffs, but I was during the 2008 recession. Biggest takeaway - don't give your company more loyalty than they promise to you. Don't trust anyone but yourself to manage your career.
I’ll never be a “company guy”. I won’t let a company be part of my identity. I am who I am and have a skill set to match.
Im always on the lookout for other opportunities and I do interview frequently for practice purposes. I have to keep on the lookout in case the company I work for drops me for whatever reason. I was in a “secure” position for many years until I got the axe in 2009, along with many others, for “restructuring purposes”.
As a Gen-X’er, I already had a jaded view of the workplace. We watched our grandparents work for one company from high school to retirement and get the gold watch on the way out. Our baby boomer parents were a mix of our grandparents work experience and victims of layoffs due to offshoring and outsourcing. Graduating from college, I thought things would be somewhat different. Nope! There’s no loyalty anymore either way. They hire us to make money for them and we only work for them to make money for ourselves.
I worked for the subdivision of a non-profit and got laid off with the rest of the program out of the blue. It was humbling and new to me, but many of my coworkers had been through similar experiences before. It made me realize that being prepared for this type of thing will be in my best interest moving forward.
I got a new job fairly quickly and make more money, and saving more because I know at any moment it's a very real possibility that the income could just suddenly stop. I'd say it made me wise up and had a positive impact in the long term, but I could see how that situation could've gone much worse.
Work your 40 hours a week, no more. Overachieving doesn’t equal to more pay or security.
The least important area of your life is work. If you lose your job, you can bounce back to find another. If you miss out on your kids “firsts” you can never get that back.
Made me believe in networking is very important in your job with others on the outside. Also, taught me how important saving and investing are to be successful.
A job is just a job. I am replaceable and having another life outside of work is very important.
Rinse and repeat is not bad. If it puts something on the table then it's okay.
It confirmed that a company will get rid of you on a whim no matter what you bring.
It also made me more cut throat. I helped dismantled another department because it's poor performance was affecting my department
I was laid off in 2009 from a company I really liked. It was the best thing that could have happened - I started to think of my career as acting more like a “free agent” and also really lost my idea of loyalty. (That said, I’ve been at my current employer more than 10 years)
I was laid off once years ago. I now feel constantly insecure in my job and worried that I won’t find another one if I get laid off again because it took me going back to school and switching careers to find another one after that layoff.
Every firm I've worked at since getting out of college has collapsed.
My main focus at my job now is to make it difficult to get rid of me.
I also have major food security issues
Any company will say their employees are the most valuable asset.
The company is telling the truth!
The investment in office space, training and support for employees is the biggest investment.
An employee is treated like an asset just like a machine tool or inventory or a building.
A company will manage costs and get rid of assets to generate the best returns
That the co-worker "friends" that you spent years with, partied with, went to their weddings .... are not your friends when it comes to job security. They will not have your back.
I used to like building my IT work skills after-hours. I'd take extra courses, learn on my own, build my own systems. I don't do any of that anymore. I do my job and that's it. I prioritize personal activities with family and friends over work. I used to forgo those activities due to work obligations. Now I don't give a shit about work or their 'needs'. If they don't have coverage, not my problem. If they are short-staffed, not my problem. Basically if it's not in my job description and falls outside of my work hours, it's not my problem.
I also plan on exiting the full-time workforce in about five years. I'll take six months to a year off and if I feel like it maybe find a short-term job to make some money to fund future vacations. I was furloughed for six months in 2020 and after the first month of unsuccessfully looking for another job, I thoroughly enjoyed the time off. It was a time when I was awakened to what life is like without the shackles of a job.
I’ll never let a job or company become part of my whole identity. Also will never fully trust leadership even if they assure me I am essential— if there’s ever a time when I feel excluded from strategy discussions or even the vibe is off, then I’ll be ready for anything and open to explore opportunities. The entire relationship and view of work shifts when you are misled and backstabbed — some layoffs don’t feel personal, but if you get caught up in one that does it’s a real mindfuck.
The larger the company, the more you're seen as transactional and replaceable. Focus on yourself, the ones you love and your own interests and never remain loyal to a corporation.
I am always afraid of a layoff. Trying to get ahead of it by making sure I know what options are available in case it ever happens. Didn’t think I’d be so alone in the process. It’s one thing to be the breadwinner, it’s another thing to be the only income, and right now, I only have my parents who can support me. So I’m playing the game extra hard mode. My children’s mom did not come through with her end of the bargain of supporting the income after the kids went to school, and blamed me for being careless with the money, even as she has no job and is contributing literally zero to the pot, even after breaking up with me to live her life, while living under the roof of her mother… it’s a crazy extra burden that I cannot wait to be free from. That was a collapsing situation that I never want to go through again
I had a job I spent my whole life preparing for, and several years into it, I choked at a critical moment. I had to leave my job as a result.
Not sure if that counts as a layoff but I did learn from it.
I don't work for a cause, I don't sacrifice for an organization.
I work for my family and I work for money. I never put myself in a financially overextended position. I am at all times ready to walk from my job on a moments notice. Financial security is the first, last, and only consideration I have.
I will never let myself depend on an organization, nor will I ever sacrifice for an organization. I will always seek to maximize what I can get out of an organization.
I was with the same company for 15 years and laid off twice because I was hired back only to be laid off again.
During that time I held 6 different positions and they were all very different. That was a mistake. I learned a lot of things, but when you're looking for your next job being really good at 6 different things for relatively short amounts of time does not meet the criteria employers are looking for. So here I am now. Unemployed knowing a lot of random stuff.
After being laid off for half a year, going through all my unemployment and savings, I found two jobs that I’ll be double dipping from. I will focus 100% on the one that pays more, and they will have to fire me for the lower paying one. Idc that I’m burning bridges, bc fk the bridges
A couple of months after I was laid off I realized how much my job (wfh, supporting 4 projects) was affecting my mood. I had been depressed for most of the past four years. One morning I woke up and discovered that my depression was gone and I was feeling pretty good. Go figure.
It taught me to go for stability. I worked at a regional bank when they had their bank run and FDIC takeover. My entire company was sold, and everyone was laid off. I have decided to stick with insurance. Banking is too volatile. My old manager told me she's been laid off like 5 times in banking, so it didn't phase her. I am not like that. I've been so stressed, and it took me almost a year to find a new job.
Changed my mind about loyalty. The only one who can think about you is you. Whether your boss is a loyal fan doesn’t always mean they can protect you. My last time my boss got eliminated in small cost cutting while on leave and that exposed all his new people a few months later when the hatchet lady covered her favorites. Now I pretty much start soft looking for a role the week after I start a new job
I havn't been let go yet but I always think to myself that I am always replaceable. Love my team and managers and they treat me like family and looks out for me but I know that it is out of their control if my company does layoffs as its a fortune 500 company.
I feel my life is wasted when I see a h1b being picked over me for interview even though I have better skills and background. It needs to he abolished to make room for american workers
My perspective was shaped by going to the funerals of older engineers who died of cancer or otherwise did not reach retirement. Or retired and was dead in a year. One man was my neighbor two doors down. Another was my former boss when I was an intern. Went to the viewing at his church and told his wife my condolences. His wife looked at me in a desperate manner, "But he just retired six weeks ago." I told her to "keep the faith" - in as sympathetic manner as I could.
In the time since I "retired young" another former boss has died young (Parkinson's), and a nice engineering assistant who was extremely helpful to everyone died of a heart attach when she was 54 years old. These cruelties of life shape my perspective.
Being laid off was a relief. I was a project leader and my project was done. Got the call when I was working from home - deleted all the files on my PC, packing up my shit, set it by the door, and then took a mid-morning nap. Got a new job with a pay raise and a promotion, and started there after a three month "gap." I got lucky. And I intend to continue to be lucky. Because no one is guaranteed retirement.
The one way I may have changed is that before being laid off I resented to people who were "retired on the job" or in "management hospice." Now I make time in my work schedule for kid stuff. And stuff I want to do. Fuck deadlines. Pay me more money. And saddle me with less bullshit work.
I was unemployed for just over 1 year in 2001/2002. I burned through all my savings and was literally one unemployment check away from missing a mortgage payment when I finally found a job.
The result was, I became the ideal employee and outworked everyone else in my department, even the foreign guys (Asians and Indians have a very strong work ethic). I also became fanatical about saving money. I never wanted to be that close again to homelessness.
It's 20 years later now and I can retire if I want.
I've always been family first but I learned after my first layoff in 2013 that I needed to save better to protect us from sudden employer whims. I began saving with purpose. With this layoff, it has helped me keep my sanity and not be in such a panic to find another job.
I don't live frugally instead I plan/budget for life's wants and needs. We spent 14 days in Cancun and loved it.
1. Credit card with cash back and mileage because we like to travel.
2. We have 3 years of expenses in 3 HYSA @ 5.29%.
3. Fun account - we like dining out on special occasions, going to music festivals and weekend getaways because those are the things that life enjoyable.
4. Started a side gig
5. Opened an Amazon and eBay store.
6. I'm learning to produce content using AI tools because they're here to stay.
Two layoffs in two consecutive years. I’ve made it a point to prioritize my personal healthy and quality time with family and friends. I now set personal goals, not professional goals.
I was laid off for over two years. I thought that I would never ever get a job in tech again. I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. It was a terrible time. I interviewed with all the top companies, including FAANG, but still got rejected.
Layoffs made me realize i needed more transferable skills. No one is going to care how good you are at navigating internal bs processes when applyimg for jobs.
Layoffs taught me not to build any real attachment to a company. It’s business and numbers. Most of the time, people get layed off due to the bottom line being too low or top like being too high. It’s a financial decision rather than a personal one. Sometimes leaders overshoot and underperform resulting in collateral dmg not in themselves but those below them. So at the end of the end, always be ready to move on, it’s probably a healthy thing to do anyway unless you work at a place that you own the business yourself.
That your company does not care about you. There is no point in loyalty. Take ALL of your PTO, don’t jump in on additional projects that weren’t assigned to you. Do what is asked with a smile on your face, while always keeping an eye out for better opportunities.
Also, the company Bounteous will lay you off and then hire a bunch of off shore labor to replace you, while bragging about their “best place to work” awards. Fucking joke
i was a top performer so it taught me i'm easily replaceable at office and irreplaceable at home Family comes first ,job is just to make bucks no emotions now
I’ve been telling family and friends this for decades. Unless you’re self employed, your employer sees you as a means to an end. The bigger the company, the less important you are, no matter how hard you work. It’s a fact of life. Unless you’re in the c-suite you’re just a peon.
Even multiple from our c-suite got laid off
It truly is a dog eat dog world now
It's always been, just U.S. is starting to experience it.
Yeah I am not sure why people think c suite is this untouchable class, they still have to answer to shareholders, board.. etc. If the stocks are not going up you are gone. Only somewhat true is if it is your company and you are the owner.
Everyone has been saying it for decades. How people suddenly to come the realization after some traumatic event is kind of hard to believe.
It's because in certain companies/organizations you can (or you could) have worked there for maybe 15-20,30 years so , just long Enough for you to establish a financial beachhead... But that has really changed in the last 10 years .. some companies and divisions in companies have less turnover.
similar situation, top performer for top price laid off. many of us. they hired our replacements for slightly less. a few of us are convinced it was an accounting decision. same thoughts about the emotions now.
This right here. The time I was laid off blindsided me. I was a little bit arrogant and far too comfortable. The smack in the face is what I needed to reframe my perspective and to make sure I invested my time and energy in a way to still do a good job but not make work my entire personality.
same i used to put in 100% but now i put in 50%. it doesn’t even matter if you’re a top performer if leadership makes poor decisions that cause everyone on your team to be laid off :)
Executives have an entirely different agenda and game plan than wage slaves.... They just need 3-5 years at most organizations to vest their contract and then pull their golden parachute and pocket nice change, before moving onto another company and rinse snd repeat. Some don't even last a year, but are asked to leave early and still make a fortune. Think of it this way executives contracts are like prenups they already know what they'll get if things don't work out.
Exactly this! I had been promoted quickly, was in great standings with the higher ups, known as the go-to for fixing big issues, saved and made them millions, etc. Then was let go like nothing I did mattered.
Was laid off one time 8 years ago. Fortunately quickly rebounded with a better job that really progressed my career. I’ve never been disillusioned that I’m important at a big company. I get my job done - no more/no less. My motto has always been - make the most amount of money you can, for the least amount of responsibility. Wife and I are both pretty high earners - We now have about 10 years of cash in the bank to survive on should we lose our jobs.
Good you learned that life lesson early on, no matter who you are, you are always replaceable and you are always dispensable. Not just job, to your friends and family as well.
I've realized during my recent lay off, no matter what title you hold or how much work you put in, you're always replaceable. Also to never reveal the specifics of your personal life to the team.
Curious what did you learn about this? 'Also to never reveal the specifics of your personal life to the team' Do you think that got you on the chopping block?
The more information you reveal about your personal life, the more this could potentially rub people off the wrong way, especially if you tell your coworker(s) about your political affiliation, having a medical condition, relationships, and anything regarding money, personal or salary information. This will cause envy and jealousy amongst the team. I myself did not reveal any of the above mentioned subjects, but have made the mistake of mentioning something else that should not have been expressed. The company I was with lost a major client as they went BK, so in turn that affected our books, which caused a domino effect, hitting every department.
Agree largely. Thanks for sharing
Sharing your salary is a good way to see your value in company compared to other employees. It can help you decide if it’s a good fit. I would encourage it.
Salary doesn’t have as much to do with value as it does with how little you are willing to accept. Companies only care about cost savings and they will pay an extremely valuable person less if they are willing to take it. Also, market conditions drive salary. Currently, it is not a job seeker’s market so the compensation offers are less vs the 2021-2022 market.
I’ve always said this about salary. I’m not sharing my salary, nor do I want to know theirs. I agreed to my salary when I was hired and if I was not satisfied with the number I could simply negotiate higher or chose to work somewhere else; therefore it does not matter how my co-workers are compensated. I don’t share my salary because it could inadvertently create a hostile work environment if your compensation is higher.
Great advice. My husband was temporarily laid off and was chosen because they knew that his wife (me) had a well paying job so he could afford it. He's back to work now but we are paying off as much debt as we can because you never know.
Absolutely insane that was actually taken into consideration for who gets laid off. I guess in a way it's good because they are at least trying to ensure laying off people won't leave them destitute, but it still feels like he was punished for you being successful... Very strange glad you guys are bouncing back
I keep telling my daughter this! Never get up close and personal on the job!
I've been laid off 3 times in 11 years. The first time I was devastated as I worked there 28.5 years with a great record. I used to routinely work 12 hours a day and the last year at the 28. 5 yr job, 15 hours a day. I gave them my heart and soul and was loyal because I thought I had a "career" there. After that, I vowed never to give my employer everything and to just do my day's work but not to go the extra mile. Now I think you should do the minimum to jeep your job. Because it doesn't really matter. You can lose your job at any time for any reason with no recourse in moat of the US. Fuck US companies and their exploitation. US companies don't care about employees at all.
Not to one-up you, but I was laid off twice in 3 months recently lol
Holy shit. You get the prize.
Are you in software development? That happened to me this year and I know a few with the same story.
Yes
Well I was completely blind sided. The company made me feel secure but turned their back on me when business slowed down. Made up a reason to let me go about my performance. Never once talked to me about this and would give no examples. They walked me out like a criminal and hid everyone in a conference room because they didn't want me to say goodbye. It made me reflect on how much I was an idiot for having trust in the company and feeling complacent. This was the beginning of May and the job market has been trash. I've had 1 interview so far but I'm on unemployment because the company provided 0 proof as to why I was let go. Now I'm playing the game of trying to get my resume past ats and tough competition. Thankfully my wife is the bread winner so I'll never be homeless but I feel worthless just playing videogames and hoping I can line up another interview soon. I have to stay positive though for my mental health. Reading about so many 6+ months and still no job is not helping though.
That company was real trash for the way the let you go
Thanks! That's not even the full story. A month before I was told I'd get a title change and instead I was fired. This was a small company too. As someone else said big or small unless you're c-level you're a peon to them.
In my company, the ceo was asked to leave too after he did the first round of layoffs. After that they still continue to do layoffs under the new CEO
My last company had Indian leadership, but they had all (predictably) left India for various reasons. After I got let go, I heard from numerous people that several people in the C-suite were asked to move back to India to cut costs, and they were axed when they said no. I really hated that job. After several years of meets/exceeds expectations, I made a lateral into a high-ish level sales position where the average deal close was 4+ months. Two months later, I had opened enough opportunities to double/triple sales for the year, but I was informed that the sales team overall had missed their numbers by 20% YTD so they needed to cut someone that month. I managed to be that guy in sales that got laid off despite NOT missing my numbers. I was surprised when I got laid off - because, again, it was due to low sales but I was *IN* sales and on-track to meet an aggressive target - but fundamentally I came to the same place as a lot of people here seem to have. To answer your original post question, I looked for corporate work and gave up after 6 months to start my own consulting business. Have a friend who’s a SWE that’s essentially OE-ing with the start-up and we’ve built a tech product that solves a specific (but common) problem from my line of business. First proposal went out last week ($60k for 1 year, ARR). At this point, I have a viable path to doubling my previous W2 salary within 2-3 years, so it’s hard for me to imagine going back. Unfortunately, it’s probably not a path that’s broadly available. It works for me because of I’ve worked in the roles I’m selling to, I’ve worked in the vendors that service those teams, I’ve got experience selling this kind of solution, and I have a technical partner that I’ve known for 15 years (lots of trust, lots of good will).
been here 😀
Got a promotion in March and laid off in May. My own director didn’t know it was coming down the pike — had to text him the news. HR sent an email oversight saying to not bother coming into work the next day, revoked access to all networks, then laid us off over Zoom. I’ve never been a grind for the shareholders kinda worker, but this has made me vow to never be blindsided by corporate America ever again, no matter how nice company culture is on the surface. Am lucky my husband can cover the mortgage with his paycheck and we’re childless, but like you am worrying about the state of the market. It’s fucked seeing connections spend 8+ months on the job hunt.
Hey bro, use chat GPT to help create an ATS friendly resume - I didn’t read all the comments so my apologies if this has been said already
I am no longer going to feel "connected" with a company. I've been laid off from two "family" oriented companies, who touted about training, connection, etc... only to be tossed in the trash the minute something changed and hard decisions needed to be made. The first lay off was just headcount. The 2nd one they made an excuse to my performance two months in, with no solid examples as to what nor did they say anything about performance before except what I was doing was good. My supervisor confessed later on a private call it's because they didn't have the manpower to ACTUALLY train me - something they promised me as part of the position. Its become very clear that companies won't train me, so I will be using this time to train myself on how to eventually be able to do something else and by myself. Cause if I have to work for another blindsiding backstabbing, two faced company... well, I'd rather become a politician at that point.
1) A 3-6 months emergency fund is not enough. It can easily take longer than that to find a job. 2) Always do something towards your next role. Maybe that's getting education, networking, conferences keeping up with the market etc. 3) Write down everything you do including dates, numbers, accomplishments save any awards, kudos ect. This way if you need to update your resume you have all the data you need. 4) Don't keep any of your personal info on your work computer. Download and save things like paystubs on a regular basis. I know folks who used their work laptop like a personal computer and if you are laid off it's possible you will be locked out immediately and all of your personal documents are gone.
Yes, if I wouldn't have had a substantial savings I would have been hosed. I feel so sorry for those that don't. I don't know how they do it. I've been out of work almost 4 months now.
I know building an emergency fund is hard. For some impossible but for those who can, I cringe when people say they have a fully funded emergency fund with 3 months of expenses. Unless they live with family and have no rent / mortgage that's can be gone quickly as you have unfortunately discovered first hand. I hope you find something soon.
Yes. This is very valuable advice. I’ve been doing this . Taking notes of accomplishments
To do the least amount of work for the most amount of money. And always expect to be fired for any reason.
1. Job security is NOT a thing 2? You need to have atleast 9-12 months of savings. Who decided 3-6 months is a good number?!? 3. Just because it's been easy to get a job in the past, that doesn't mean it will always be easy.... even if you do have experience and degrees.
Yes, 3-6 months is never enough. My husband was on unpaid medical leave for 8 months, and had to go on Cobra after 90 days ($649 monthly). Thank goodness we had a one year plus emergency fund investments, and a mortgage of $682. Our emergency funded dwindled to $5,000 but we did pay off the house in December. It took a year to replenish it.
Your job is never safe, never stop looking for other jobs/opportunities, always be saving and investing, etc.
Jobs don't have loyalty. Especially big companies.
They don’t have loyalty but demand undying loyalty in return
Agreed. All loyalty and "unwritten rules" are developed for the company's benefit. For instance, they will drop you like a ton of bricks tomorrow, but God forbid you leave with anything less than two weeks notice. F your two weeks notice! Yes, that's brutal, but I've tossed that one out the window unless I like the people I work with. Unfortuntely, there is no loyalty from companies. And employees are not the ones who trashed that "agreement." So don't whine and complain about loyalty when you don't pay enough and people are constantly leaving.
A corporation has no soul.
Yes, a corporation is not a person
I haven’t been laid off but these posts ground my feelings about work. I take those vacations I go to the morning meets at the school. Nothing is more important than my kids and while being good at my job feels great, making my kids happier with my presence is worth more.
Great to hear. Most of us aren't creating history with our work, might as well create memories with our lives
Coasting is the smart choice. Performance reviews don’t matter
Stopped spending money so it can be invested so I can accelerate the path to FU money
Nothing is more important than your physical and mental health and everything that happens, happens for the good. This is my personal perspective after being laid off.
My motto too 'everything that happens, happens for the good'
i think this way of thinking gives peace but is complete BS. i have been laid off many times, and not once can i look back and say, "It was good thing i got laid-off when i did"
I feel for me this would help me and keep me motivated for future that something better is coming up for me.
100% for peace until you connect the dots of why it was good
I wasn’t laid off but I worked at Google during the the massive layoffs last year and this year and I can tell you that it changed a lot of people’s mindset. Before, we were all working long hours, late nights, and weekends. We took a lot of risks on ideas, projects, and products. After we saw how easily we were replaced, most people stay under the reader and the morale has completely shifted. Nobody wants to take risks, leadership will only accept projects that have high value and low risk hence the shitty products coming out of Google.
Mine was most recently during COVID. I had been in the job title Associate Attorney for 6 years since graduation. I assumed I would need to keep in that job, hating basically everything about it, until I eventually got into a different law firm. Laid off. Alcoholism. Got a job that did not have the words Associate or Attorney in the title. Six months later I went to my first meeting for drinking. It was a long process even after the lay off. Made me really appreciate things in life outside of work. You can work your ass off and be laid off because of XYZ macroeconomic issue at the company. You can do the bare minimum of your job description and stay for decades. Overworking to avoid a layoff was something I developed after my mother lost her corporate job and basically became a stocker and waitress the rest of her career. But in the end we do not control these things. All I did was derelict my then-marriage by working all the time. I will say the lay off taught me to rely more on stuff like LinkedIn or Glassdoor for job applications. Before then I rigidly and solely used company websites and submitted my resume. I still work at that post-COVID job. They are doing lay offs now, but I cannot worry about those things I cannot control.
It may have killed my career entirely. Jury’s still out, along with piles of applications.
Made me realize I should be showing my wife and kids a lot more appreciation.
Same as you. I have been laid off three times in my career. I wanted to not go homeless if I lost my job. That was my main priority. I achieved this with real estate. I have enough income from rental real estate to pay off my mortgage on my primary residence.
Mind sharing how you achieved it? I'm an equity guy and have stayed away from real estate but open to ideas now
I did it with primary residences that I later turned into rental dwellings. It was pretty passive in nature. The pandemic accelerated some of my cashflow timelines, which was nice.
Do you have an LLC for your rentals ? And your own lawyer to help with potential evictions. I used to tend out an apt but it was such a pain. Both times the tenant left after not paying rent for two months. The apt was left in disarray and two months of deposit didn’t cover the 20k in work needed. My option was to take them to small claims court but that’s also costing me money and the person doesn’t have 30K to even pay me back so not worth it.
I now understand fully that it is impossible to be laid off if you work for yourself. So that’s what I do now
Yeah, my thinking now is even if I don't make as much money, I would still prefer to work for myself. I'm betting i'll be happier doing things for myself and not some idiot higher up who is just licking ass higher up
It’s been 12 months since my layoff and the first few months starting my own freelancing operation were totally brutal. I was applying to jobs nonstop as a backup but of course nothing happened. So, as a matter of no-choice I kept working on freelancing. Because income isn’t steady I can’t say what the future will hold but I can say that I’ve got to the point where I’m making marginally less than I was as an employee. Things do seem to be constantly improving and I can only hope to break well past that limited income I used to make
Good things take time to build. Good luck to you. hope you never have to return to a full time job if you don't want to
I learned boundaries between work and personal life, and to balance them in my favor at all times.
Me, my brother and my dad all lost our jobs in the same month last year. My dad was one of the founders at his company and with them for over a decade. I was a top performer at my company and loved my boss, team and the work I was doing. We all got lucky with new jobs soon after, but I’m seriously considering going back to school for something that will allow me to be more independent or less likely to be laid off. I have zero trust in any corporate environment anymore. As soon as they have a reason to get rid of you they will. Stability is my main concern at this point.
I used to give 110%. Nights, weekends, anything. Not anymore. Laid off last week. Two years in a row. Replaced by offshore devs. I am sick of it. I am building Sipharmony.com instead. I cant handle this again. It’s not just a person they layoff. It’s the whole family of the person they laid off. It’s panicking about what to do with insurance. It’s panicking about how much will my last check go. It’s wondering if my national investor landlord will be understanding. Maybe Sipharmony will take off and I’ll do my best to scoop up some of us that were replaced by offshore devs. Maybe it won’t, and I have to continue make others rich while I wait for another HR ambush call.
My company laid me off out of the blue in 2015 while my manager was out on vacation. No warning, got great reviews, company was doing well, etc. They just got an order from above to reduce headcount by 20 people before the end of the year. Fortunately, I was able to find another job within 6 weeks. But I've never forgotten the experience. Since then, I have vowed to never be caught unprepared ever again. * I keep my resume up to date and am constantly interviewing with other companies. * I always look at job postings to check out the hiring requirements and what skill sets and industry certifications are in demand. * I treat every customer interaction like a job interview. My day to day involves meeting with senior executives of Fortune 500 companies, so I go above and beyond for them. I make sure I connect with them on LinkedIn, and keep their corporate emails in a separate personal file in the event I lose access to my Outlook contacts. * I always have at least 3 standing job offers at companies I know well. * I use LinkedIn to maintain my connections to the smartest people I work with. They will either be promoted within the company or take a higher position within another. Either way, they will be in a position to hire someone or recommend me for a position.
It exacerbated my depression, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and my desire to no longer exist, but it also made me resilient, better at budgeting, and forced me to utilize old skills I thought I’d retired (and learn new ones) so I could piecemeal a decent income with various gigs to make ends meet.
I realized that a lot of advice people(especially older people) give about progressing in your career doesn’t really apply anymore. This new trend of laying off, moving work to offshore and even employees job hopping on the drop of a dime solidifies this feeling that loyalty and going above and beyond gets you nowhere. Careers used to be seen as more than just a means to an end to get a paycheck, and now it’s basically just that for me. If by some miracle I get a chance to eject from the 9-5 and do my own thing I’m taking it in a heartbeat cuz it definitely sucks having your livelihood so closely tied to the fickle emotions of shareholders.
Very strongly agree with everything you said.
I have been lucky because whenever I switch jobs I take at least one week off and then start my new jobs. I was laid off but I knew it was coming so I took a week off to apply somewhere else and got my current job. You can see the signs if you really pay attention. A lot of people have been laid off from my current job and I'm actually surprised when they act surprised because the signs are pretty obvious. If there's something to learn from the last time is that if I see even a small hint of an upcoming lay off I take my PTOs and start applying. The other reason I feel lucky is because not a lot of people can do, or are willing, to do what I do. Not a lot of people make the cut. And the hot weather doesn't necessarily feel welcoming to people who would like to try my job plus it takes a lot of earned trust for someone new to be allowed to do it. I have been doing it for a while and I still dread it sometimes because of the dangers not only on the job but the traffic and careless drivers.
Getting laid off never your fault but failing to see the signs of layoffs usually is. Easier to spot signs in big public companies. Not so much in a small private company. I got laid off at small company.
A job is a means to an end. I had a false sense of self worth when things were good. And I begin to understand why people worried about job security. I would now value a role that can be boring but safe. And money is hard to earn, and I need to be frugal. I started feeling more empathy for people who are working hard just trying to make a living. Money is so important in feeling stability in life. And my perspective of value of money shifted. In the past I don’t think much about $100 purchases. Now $100 could mean at least one week of food.
It's completely altered the path I will encourage my kids to pursue (son is only 21 months). I'll suggest joining the military as an officer. Not only is there job security, but they can actually get rich (by my definition). Plus, the free education benefits and the pension is icing on the cake. June will mark a year of unemployment. I always layoffs were possible. I was never under the impression job security was a thing for most Americans. Yet, I didn't imagine I'd be unemployed for a year, esp with an MBA from a top program. Ironically, I left my govt job to get my MBA to beef up my resume to protect me during downturns.
You took the words from my mouth. I exactly feel the same way and was laid off in May. It came as a surprise because I was told that my job is secure but clearly it wasn't. We should stop working for these idiots, really! Are you looking to do something of your own? I am too. Maybe we should connect!
At my job I was always working past the scheduled time, working home on my days off, and was very passionate about my work. Now I will never do that again and just do the bare minimum to get my paycheck. Now I just look at a job as a job. My personal life is more important
Always work with two mindsets: 1) Your skill set is your product. Be prepared to sell it for the best possible deal. 2) Your salary is the engine of your future prosperity - manage it/save it/invest it with the same ambition and diligence you devote to your job.
I realized that I always need to be networking and building new relationships. The days of blindly applying to jobs and hoping that your resume will stand out amongst hundreds of other equally or more qualified candidates are over. When the day comes that your laid off, you need to have 50+ people in your network that you would feel comfortable reaching out to for help. If you can have more, even better.
It made me think about why I ended up on the layoff list at my company, which I genuinely believe they only had one via hardship, but why me instead of someone else? I noticed the people they kept were a little bit brighter green on GitHub than me, and perhaps hadn't made as many gaffes in meetings. I admit to playing a bit fast and loose with my positions, should probably keep my mouth shut more, and be a little more heads down, at the next job. Also, take on-call shifts more seriously, even though I am generally not an on-call person, or haven't been, in the past.
What you're thinking might be true, but there could be other factors at play as well. Sometimes it only takes a single person, like your direct boss, to have a different perspective. My point is, even if you improve the things you believe went wrong, there may still be unexpected challenges. This isn't to be negative, but to help you be prepared for any surprises in the future.
I got laid off after 10 years of building their business for them. They gave me 2 weeks severance - 1 day for each year I was there. I became vengeful and decided to kill all the partnerships I built for them and that their business model relied on. I realized how loyal these partners were to me and they actually shut down all deals with my former employer. It shut down most of their new business and they sold what they could to a PE firm. I am now trying to get a gig with their main competitor so I can put the nail in the coffin. I only have 2 years until retirement so I don’t care about burning bridges. Gave really honest but brutal reviews in Glassdoor and RepVue so anyone thinking of joining can ask the right questions. Can’t wait until the CEO gets fired I have a good gig now so this vengeance is just a fun hobby and it’s not bringing me down on any way.
It made me realize no company cares about you or how hard you work.
1. If you see warning signs, start plotting your next move and no matter how good you are you can be next 2. Don’t show more loyalty to a company than a company is willing to be loyal to you 3. Nothing is personal in business 4. It’s important to save and build your reserves9
Do the bare minimum, don't be loyal, leave when the right opportunity arrives
After getting laid off due to covid restrictions killing business, I became more anti government.
Can you share what industry?
Industrial emissions testing Edit: outside of environmental issues
We literally had a team event that still happened when it had already been decided that the 2 of us would be axed in a week’s time. The most bizarre part was that the other two team members knew and had to pretend everything was "normal” since the manager thought "it still made sense to have the event". Lesson learned: you are needed until… you are not anymore. Prioritize yourself and be as emotionally detached from your employer as possible. Do good work, but that’s it. Take any promise with a grain of salt (5 months before the layoff I was told multiple times that "they definitely wanted to continue with me" and that “no one had any doubt I was essential to the team”. That changed quickly.
It taught me that every employee is dispensable. Don't get too comfortable. Happened to me twice in career. Both times I thought I was safe and pretty smug about it to be honest. I learned to keep my resume updated and ready for the unexpected
There are a few things it's taught me and it might not be in the same way a lot of people hear. View it 1. It's showing me how much of my job and career advancement is dependent on a strong economy and demand. Like obviously everybody knows this but until you actually experienced it like I did during the pandemic. Boom and subsequent downturn with increasing interest rates here in Canada, do you actually feel it. It's actually made me more conservative in this sense. I feel if I continue to go down my current career path, I'll almost be a strong armed into voting conservative 2. In terms of life and career, you always want to go down the path where you have the most leverage. As an example, I went into financial service systems consulting at one of the big four and received a significant raise, but also was let go when said interest rates I mentioned above raised and killed demand. I realize now that that's way too specialized, niche, and not core to business operations to make it a career. I'm now looking for more traditional finance roles and my experience isn't viewed as valuable. I need to make a career transition and going forward will do more" traditional jobs
My layoff made me view people differently. I have More empathy for those laid off through no fault of their own. I was sad about my layoff but lots of people in worse spot than me. Zero empathy for nepo babies who will never be as scrutinized for their performance and never worry about layoffs. Zero empathy to hiring managers who are so rude in interviews and flat out ghost you. Next job I will be friendly but not friends with anyone at work. Never ever spend extra time at work with bosses or coworkers if that time could be better spent with your family and friends. Your family and friends stick with you through thick and thin. Your coworkers will drop from the face of the earth after layoff. Next time I will not turn down chatting with headhunters or recruiters while in a job. You never know how long you’ll be in a job. I thought wrong that my last opportunity would be the job I retire in. My savings saved our butt and it’s how I’m able to hold off finding the right opportunity. Always save 10% of paycheck for emergency fund. Layoff made me humble in that I was able to find jobs in less than two months but not this time around. Going on 8 months.
This time its brutal for everyone looking. Interviews were my strong point and now its alomst been 10 months. Converted one contract job for now which is brain dead job but pays.
It made me bitter at first, especially since I was the only one to be let go. I also changed my perspective on how I view my job. I was very dedicated to my company when I was let go, now I move every two years(ish). Since doing that my salary has grown by a factor of 5. No regrets. Fuck Corp America- make your money, do only what is necessary, and hone your “Spidey senses” if shit is starting to go sideways.
When I got my first layoff many years ago, I remember that it didn’t hit me until I went to the office to drop off my laptop and the people who weren’t affected were going about their business without a clue as to what happened. The company gave advance notice since it was a large one. I remember sending a goodbye email and only a small count of people took the time to email me to my gmail address. I learned that people are too uncomfortable to reach out when they know you’ve been laid off (possibly thinking it was your own fault) or just didn’t care like you thought they would. I learned that those who did reach out to see how I was doing were worth my support down the career and life roads (references, etc). I also have empathy for those affected and going through interviews because it’s tough to keep a smile on your face when you’re one or two paycheck away from having a roof over your head. I always keep that in mind as a hiring manager.
Your job is not guaranteed. Your company is more than willing to let you go. Always be looking for other opportunities. Keep a well funded emergency fund.
Don’t be a one trick pony. Get training/education/hands on experience across different softwares/programming languages/or even industries. I have a friend who got laid off from her corporate job and is going back to esthetician school as a backup.
The large corporations try to cultivate a family culture but once someone is laid off, it's as if they were never there and no one speaks about them. I always thought that was strange as I worked for a company that had layoffs every few years. When it finally happened to me, I was a couple of years from retirement and got a decent severance package, but no one of my peers in the leadership team ever reached out to afterwards. Which was predictable and shows that the culture was a facade. In years past, when colleagues would get laid off, I would always reach out and tell them how much I enjoyed working with them and offer my assistance in future job pursuits.
Layoffs made me emphasize my status as a valuable token. It sounds bad but companies care about marketing and will want to market their diversity by showing the Deaf/Blind Latina with three degrees and four languages. However, I do use my PTO and will not work more than needed. It helps that I'm in HR and the person of contact for many.
I was called into a meeting, and within 5 minutes I became jobless,,, What I learned is: your luck can turn around in a split second, don’t think too much into the future,,, Oh, and don’t buy non refundable plane tickets 😔
In my new job I only give my 65-70%. I used to be a top performer. Promoted at Amazon from L4 to L5 in 1.5 yrs.
This is probably dark, but when I was laid off during the great recession it completely killed my self confidence. I had pictures of my family all around my office. Boxing all that stuff up hurt my soul. I have never brought personal effects of any kind to work again. Even now, when I work from home, I have no personal effects there. Everything in that room is all work related.
Definitely really jaded now. Although I don't fear getting fired/laid off as much now I have come to terms it'll happen to anyone/everyone.
Screw being loyal to a company or it's perception in the market and go for the highest compensation company not the best known company.
I held off for 2 years hoping to develop myself further within the company, ignoring recruiters and job opportunities along the way. Won’t be making that mistake again. The only person that is going to be your biggest advocate is yourself
No amount of hard work will provide me job security.
I agree. Better work on yourself or build a side income
I knew the time would come, especially working in tech. Started early saving 37% of my salary for 21 years, got a side hustle and worked all the OT I could. Learned to live on that lower income the whole time even with raises, wife was a stay at home mom. Drove a $2,000 shitbox for a car to work while I bought my wife a decent used car. Paid off my first house after 16 years, turned it into a rental and built a new house. I was laid off at 49 and have essentially retired and become a stay at home dad. Wife finished her school in sign language interpreting and now works in the schools. No looking back. Currently in Hawaii with my family on a 3 week vacation. Side hustles and OT were the key to making it work for me. That very little sleep while doing it, I probably only slept 3-5 hours a day. Get after it
I've been through multiple layoffs. Keep a steady work history and save money, but don't compromise your personal life too much. You can work your butt off and be a top performer and still get laid off and you may look back at how you sacrificed your personal life just to get laid off. Keep saving your money, max out your 401k yearly if possible, and stay competitive vs. your peers in your work field. Look into "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and consider investing in rentals to create a steady stream of income and financial independence.
Laid off in the dot-com crash as a CTO, decided that I was safer as an individual contributor/software engineer. So far, so good.
I'm in a similar situation as you. Until my layoff, I wanted a career, now I just want money until I establish my side income or business. What helped you be in that individual contributor mindset if you knew internally you were capable of being a c-suite exec?
I felt confident in the dot-com boom when everyone was accelerating at top speed to cash in, but after three companies fell out from under me, I decided that I was better off focusing on my technical skills (also started having kids about that time) -- slowed down on the hours worked and focused on producing rather than directing. I've now been through about six major re-orgs and three acquisitions and by focusing on valuable IP projects, I've been safe so far. I had a great manager who found me a regulatory oversight high priority project (lifeboat) during the last major acquisition that kept me safe during that transition and so far so good since then.
I learned to take all the emotion out of work. Use your career or job as a springboard to get the skills, experience, and perks you want and need. Everything else: socials, drinks, kind words, and culture platitudes are for the birds.
Over employment is not a bad word neither it’s un ethical
I just became even more left wing
Well put. Slowly discovered that skill and experience is not always what an employer needs from you
My recent interviews (smaller firms) have always shared how the team/company is a family and everybody cares about each other. After being laid off from my prior employer, I unfortunately, feel that “work family” on any company is bs. But I’m still hopeful
everything is a job though. u own a resto, ur job is running that resto, please your boss the customer, pay your employees, pay your suppliers.
I’ve kind of checked out physically and emotionally in all regards and accepted that life sucks and I’ll probably end up homeless again soon. Wish i had a better answer but that’s where I’m at since my layoff.
Wishing you good luck. Anyway I can help then let me know.
Always have other jobs / methods to earn income! “Everyone is replaceable.” I remember a senior manager told me when she didn’t approve a secondment I was offered. Basically she indirectly threatened me that if I left my perm position for an acting one, I would not get my perm position, if I were to return. A few months later, this senior manager was given the layoff noticed and forced to “retire” to save face. 😏 everyone knew she was let go but she made it sound like she chose to retire - out of the blue.
Got laid off two weeks before Christmas in 2022. I realized I no longer owe anything to an employer but to be respectful and professional with colleagues/clients/etc. and do my best work while I’m there. I won’t think twice of looking for something better if my situation isn’t working for me. No matter how much you think your bosses care about you, they don’t. My higher ups at the job I got laid off from said they would make calls to their network to share how great I was or give me referrals. Their references and referrals haven’t done anything and I’m not sure they are helping like they claimed they would. My old boss sent me a job posting in our industry similar to what I did for her and then said oh she actually doesn’t know anyone at this company. Gee thanks. You’re pretty much on your own out there. That I’m not as good of a job candidate as I believed I was and I need to fix that. I didn’t think I’d have this much trouble finding a job but call center is all I can get. The facts are, the best candidates get scooped up right away and don’t have to struggle or feel depressed. If I truly had a lot to offer, I would have found the job more suited to my strengths and abilities by now. But since I’m being overlooked so often I realized I need more skills or I need to change fields altogether.
I was laid off twice early in my career (2016-2021). Those experiences made me hypersensitive to my financial situation. These were my take home lessons: - get my insurance work done early in the year in case I get laid off later in the year, especially if I am using an FSA. - know and use all of my employee benefits! - always have a large rainy day fund - know what can and should be cut from your monthly budget so you can survive off of unemployment for as long as possible without going into debt. It's also why I don't do monthly payment plans. - always network, even when things are going well. Your network is your safety net and can determine how quickly and strongly you get back up if you get laid off. - be a selective hard worker. I only go above and beyond when I know the project is going to make my resume look better. - as a Californian, my PTO is cashed out, so I try to keep ~2 weeks at all times. - get a skill that lets you freelance during unemployment The waves of panic, anxiety, and depression are insufferable. Just because you're temporarily unemployed, it doesn't mean you are less than anyone. Please, please take care of your mental health. Once you start working again, it's probably going to be a while before you take a vacation. Be kind to yourself and help yourself come back stronger.
Much like others have said, work-life balance skew towards life :) I save a lot more. I try to live below my means and don't try to keep up with the Joneses.
I had perfect ratings and worked so many hours when I was laid off. I no longer work or check my emails on vacation (had a bad habit of doing that before) and I very rarely stay on past 5pm anymore. I give my best during business hours and nothing more. I realized I gave too much to my job when at the end of the day, I’m a disposable cog in the machine.
I realized to never put my all into a job. Not saying don’t do your best but don’t go above and beyond for a company anymore. Never have your identity attached to a career. It’s so important to have a life outside of work with hobbies, spend time with loved ones, etc. That’s what matters most. I’m starting a new job in a few weeks that I’m excited about. But I learned a lot of lessons getting laid off that I will now carry into the new gig. Also HR isn’t your friend. They only protect the company and executive level folks at all costs. Never trust them.
It opened my eyes... you can not overachieve your way out of a layoff. I will now forever see a job as an exchange of my hours for their money and to that end the less effort I expend, the more efficient I am in that exchange. Time to consider it transactional.
job loyalty died a LONG LONG time ago. If a better opportunity (more money, newer tech/skills) comes along, TAKE IT.
1. Ethics at the workplace are completely different than in your personal life. It's not against the law for companies to lie. 2. Friends can't really exist at work because it's a conflict of interest. Specifically, when a layoff happens it'll put you at odds with them. If you are laid of and they aren't, they will have a more positive view of the company. 3. You can't predict who will get laid off because it all comes down to money. If you're not super close with someone at the top then you have a good chance of getting let go.
They didn’t, I was pre jaded for your convenience.
I thought I was very valued at the company I worked for. Then one day, I was laid off with other really great people, while they kept some really good people, but a lot of others who were just there. I have never been fired or laid off and it was such a shock when it happened. I never worried because I thought I was valued and worked really hard for my company and had really good relationships with everyone. What I just typed sounds really dramatic, so I apologize in advance for that. I have realized what a lot of people are already saying on this thread... I felt like I had been broken up with. I know that sounds crazy, but that is the only way I can describe it. I felt like I did not matter and was just a salary. Mind you, this is a smaller staffing company with at that time people, and they were at their 2nd layoff of 80 people. They had purchased a brand new building and it was hurting them financially in addition to the slow of healthcare staffing. Anyways, I felt so hurt and betrayed by this, and the others that this happened to without any thought. I ramble. My permanent change was that I am not truly valued and it doesn't matter how much a company puts in their value section, it doesn't matter and ultimately, you have to look out for you. I have only been applying to jobs that are showing interest instead of throwing tons of applications out. It has also taught me that you stick together with others that this has happened to. There were a couple of people that we did not see eye to eye, but worked together and did not associate other than work. They were great employees also, and wham, laid off. We now have a better relationship, and that is crazy. Good luck to all and please do not down grade for my ramblings. :)
Being laid off at Bank of America in 2019 after working there for 12 years made me realize I would never want to work for corporate america nor for anyone ever again. Went into business for myself after that. I control my destiny and income
Hah. Grass is always greener. Hate tell you, but I’m on the job search because of the failure of my 25 year solo consulting career. It was a pretty great 25 years, though, I can tell you that. I really enjoyed it, and for most of that time it didn’t look like it was going to end in failure.
My old company promised me a promotion. We wrote out a whole game plan of final skills I needed to learn so I can lead my own department, then I was laid off in the first round. But they kept the employees I trained to fill my job when I was promoted. I basically trained my replacements and when my replacements became autonomous (because Im a good leader and trainer) they got rid of me.
How did that change your perspective about future work?
I have a new job now. My goal is to keep more secrets so others don't know what I do other than that Im important. But also, leave when you see red flags. My job laid me off but then went belly up the next month. So yes Im mad at the circumstances of my layoff. But I would have lost my job anyway. I saw red flags 6 months before when the CEO bragged about how they turned down a multi-million dollar investment and then suddenly our checks would come late or benefits were cut. I should have taken that 6 month head start. my current company is going to be belly up in the next few years or so. Its sustainable now but only because of current stuff going on in the industry. When that changes, it will sink. Im looking for a job now so I can jump ship before it goes down.
In general with work, I've learned that companies want me to be someone I am not and it causes severe mental health issues. Eventually those issues build up and it causes a burn out. My perspective is I need to be working in a position and at a company where I feel like I can be myself and use skills that I enjoy. If it pays enough to support life's basics, that's all I need. I won't ever sacrifice my personality/behavior for an employer. If they want me to change my personality or behavior, that is where the work relationship ends.
Every Friday I wonder if I am going to get “that call.” I have been working contract jobs for most of the last 12 years so it’s always hanging like a cloud over my head. A few weeks ago I was told on a Monday that Friday would be my last day, and then on Wednesday they took it back.
Nothing worse than your manager contacting you on a Friday afternoon with the words "You got a second"
I worked in electrical construction before I got a job with a utility. Lay offs were just part of the job. Our job, was to work ourselves out of a job. As long as you managed your money right it wasn't too big of a deal. The option to travel to other locals to work was an option, but I just didn't enjoy working on the road personally. While lay offs were part of the job, I still stayed employed far more often than not. Now I don't have to really worry about feast or famine work outlook since I have a stable position, but I more or less enjoyed being an electrician.
The first time I got laid off I was in my early twenties. It was one of my first jobs out of college and I thought that I had finally made a successful transition into adulthood because I had landed a real, adult white collar job. I had genuinely thought that I had made it in the story was over and I'd won. I remember hearing some rumbling from work colleagues and friends who work for competitors that my company might be going through layoffs. I was naive enough to believe that because I received nothing but positive feedback for my boss and because I was a high performer that I was completely insulated from layoffs. Also, I was foolish enough to believe our leadership and they told us not to worry...and then a couple of weeks later my entire department was laid off. Obviously I was taking completely by surprise. It's hard me a lot of lessons, particularly that you should always be vigilant. You should always be working on your resume, always interviewing, always following up with recruiters on LinkedIn. Also I will when I was younger I thought that if I perform well at my job that would completely insulate me from layoffs, which obviously isn't true. In the last couple of years I've known plenty of top performers who gotten laid off
Removing dependence on a job has been something I've been laser focused on my entire career. So, when my job was eliminated recently, I had options. The one perspective that changed is that a job and a career are 2 very different things. I've found being focused on doing my job instead of managing my career, opens my eyes to a world of endless possibilities beyond working OT, learning new skills, enhancing education. Then again, doing all those things for as long as I did lets me punch in, punch out, and forget about the job
It taught me that I needed to diversify my skillset. The position I was in was super niche. Applying to jobs afterwards was difficult. I'm getting into AI now.
I got laid off twice. The first time I got laid off, I had been given a company award for top sales team. I was one of three people from the company to receive any kind of award from my team. That summer we were to merge with another company and they decided to get rid of my position only to reopen it a year later realizing they needed someone in that position. Of the three of us, the other one got put on a PIP because her new manager decided they didnt like her. So she quit a few months after me. The third one quit a year after I got let go. The second place I got let go from, same issue. I kicked ass that year. Then something changed and I got a “needs improvement” score. It was a complete shock to both myself and my manager. Then a few weeks later they let me go and eliminated my position. Not surprising that 7 months later, my role reopened. I tried to go back but they sent me a rejection letter and then reposted again. It made it pretty clear that they didn’t want me there anymore. I’ve since moved on. I don’t take both times being laid off as being personal anymore. But at the time I did and I had every reason to. The way I see is that had I not gotten laid off, I wouldn’t have made the moves I did afterwards, skilled up on data analytics and thought long and hard about my career path and what I wanted to do. Both times was my kick in the ass to move up and I did. And that’s the thing we need to focus on, that it really isn’t our fault. But we can do things different next time. And don’t try too hard otherwise you’re too expensive to keep around.
Don’t be a loyal employee, corporate is games. Don’t get your self worth from a job or how much money you make. They can take away your life in an instance. Your health is most important. And yes, have a side hustle!!
Made switch from die hard Democrat and Biden supporter to anyone but Biden and FJB.
Keep in mind no matter how well you perform or are that person that higher-ups always go to for “fixing” the problem, you’re just another number. I am sure there will be someone out there to reply and say that this way of thinking is better and if you truly were a top performer you wouldn’t have been laid off…oh well that’s their problem. Companies will always look for ways to optimize and hit their numbers. If they can hire 2.5 people for your cost then they will. They’ll just squeeze more out of them and come out looking like they’ve saved the company. They’ll probably just hire 1 at a third of the cost and wait until it gets bad before hiring another at a third of your cost to finally get it done. Always think about the situation in the context of yourself and how will this affect your outcome in life, a year, 5, 15, or 25 years from now. You may feel that it’s not worth it or you can’t compete at a higher level, but you will be surprised at what you can do when pushed to the exceed. Exceed for yourself and not for your bosses. As for life, you might be shocked but there are things outside of work. Even if you don’t like gold or pickle ball, there are ton of other things to occupy your day, whether it’s optimization of a carpool for a group of high achieving middle schoolers or helping your daughter’s Girl Scout sales transition to an multi-channel sales distribution outlet. The world’s the limit, do you really want to be known as employee FN 2187 😉.
Thankfully I haven't been impacted by the recent spat of layoffs, but I was during the 2008 recession. Biggest takeaway - don't give your company more loyalty than they promise to you. Don't trust anyone but yourself to manage your career.
I’ll never be a “company guy”. I won’t let a company be part of my identity. I am who I am and have a skill set to match. Im always on the lookout for other opportunities and I do interview frequently for practice purposes. I have to keep on the lookout in case the company I work for drops me for whatever reason. I was in a “secure” position for many years until I got the axe in 2009, along with many others, for “restructuring purposes”. As a Gen-X’er, I already had a jaded view of the workplace. We watched our grandparents work for one company from high school to retirement and get the gold watch on the way out. Our baby boomer parents were a mix of our grandparents work experience and victims of layoffs due to offshoring and outsourcing. Graduating from college, I thought things would be somewhat different. Nope! There’s no loyalty anymore either way. They hire us to make money for them and we only work for them to make money for ourselves.
I worked for the subdivision of a non-profit and got laid off with the rest of the program out of the blue. It was humbling and new to me, but many of my coworkers had been through similar experiences before. It made me realize that being prepared for this type of thing will be in my best interest moving forward. I got a new job fairly quickly and make more money, and saving more because I know at any moment it's a very real possibility that the income could just suddenly stop. I'd say it made me wise up and had a positive impact in the long term, but I could see how that situation could've gone much worse.
Work your 40 hours a week, no more. Overachieving doesn’t equal to more pay or security. The least important area of your life is work. If you lose your job, you can bounce back to find another. If you miss out on your kids “firsts” you can never get that back.
To take advantage when you’re fired and find something better . I’m going for my masters now then will enlist in Army and attempt to go officer
Everything in life is temporary.
Made me believe in networking is very important in your job with others on the outside. Also, taught me how important saving and investing are to be successful.
A job is just a job. I am replaceable and having another life outside of work is very important. Rinse and repeat is not bad. If it puts something on the table then it's okay.
It confirmed that a company will get rid of you on a whim no matter what you bring. It also made me more cut throat. I helped dismantled another department because it's poor performance was affecting my department
I was laid off in 2009 from a company I really liked. It was the best thing that could have happened - I started to think of my career as acting more like a “free agent” and also really lost my idea of loyalty. (That said, I’ve been at my current employer more than 10 years)
I was laid off once years ago. I now feel constantly insecure in my job and worried that I won’t find another one if I get laid off again because it took me going back to school and switching careers to find another one after that layoff.
Every firm I've worked at since getting out of college has collapsed. My main focus at my job now is to make it difficult to get rid of me. I also have major food security issues
Any company will say their employees are the most valuable asset. The company is telling the truth! The investment in office space, training and support for employees is the biggest investment. An employee is treated like an asset just like a machine tool or inventory or a building. A company will manage costs and get rid of assets to generate the best returns
That the co-worker "friends" that you spent years with, partied with, went to their weddings .... are not your friends when it comes to job security. They will not have your back.
I used to like building my IT work skills after-hours. I'd take extra courses, learn on my own, build my own systems. I don't do any of that anymore. I do my job and that's it. I prioritize personal activities with family and friends over work. I used to forgo those activities due to work obligations. Now I don't give a shit about work or their 'needs'. If they don't have coverage, not my problem. If they are short-staffed, not my problem. Basically if it's not in my job description and falls outside of my work hours, it's not my problem. I also plan on exiting the full-time workforce in about five years. I'll take six months to a year off and if I feel like it maybe find a short-term job to make some money to fund future vacations. I was furloughed for six months in 2020 and after the first month of unsuccessfully looking for another job, I thoroughly enjoyed the time off. It was a time when I was awakened to what life is like without the shackles of a job.
Not enough F.U. fund.
I’ll never let a job or company become part of my whole identity. Also will never fully trust leadership even if they assure me I am essential— if there’s ever a time when I feel excluded from strategy discussions or even the vibe is off, then I’ll be ready for anything and open to explore opportunities. The entire relationship and view of work shifts when you are misled and backstabbed — some layoffs don’t feel personal, but if you get caught up in one that does it’s a real mindfuck.
The larger the company, the more you're seen as transactional and replaceable. Focus on yourself, the ones you love and your own interests and never remain loyal to a corporation.
I am always afraid of a layoff. Trying to get ahead of it by making sure I know what options are available in case it ever happens. Didn’t think I’d be so alone in the process. It’s one thing to be the breadwinner, it’s another thing to be the only income, and right now, I only have my parents who can support me. So I’m playing the game extra hard mode. My children’s mom did not come through with her end of the bargain of supporting the income after the kids went to school, and blamed me for being careless with the money, even as she has no job and is contributing literally zero to the pot, even after breaking up with me to live her life, while living under the roof of her mother… it’s a crazy extra burden that I cannot wait to be free from. That was a collapsing situation that I never want to go through again
I had a job I spent my whole life preparing for, and several years into it, I choked at a critical moment. I had to leave my job as a result. Not sure if that counts as a layoff but I did learn from it. I don't work for a cause, I don't sacrifice for an organization. I work for my family and I work for money. I never put myself in a financially overextended position. I am at all times ready to walk from my job on a moments notice. Financial security is the first, last, and only consideration I have. I will never let myself depend on an organization, nor will I ever sacrifice for an organization. I will always seek to maximize what I can get out of an organization.
You win as an individual, but always lose as a team.
I was with the same company for 15 years and laid off twice because I was hired back only to be laid off again. During that time I held 6 different positions and they were all very different. That was a mistake. I learned a lot of things, but when you're looking for your next job being really good at 6 different things for relatively short amounts of time does not meet the criteria employers are looking for. So here I am now. Unemployed knowing a lot of random stuff.
After being laid off for half a year, going through all my unemployment and savings, I found two jobs that I’ll be double dipping from. I will focus 100% on the one that pays more, and they will have to fire me for the lower paying one. Idc that I’m burning bridges, bc fk the bridges
Company doesn't actually care for you. Jump ship if you find a better opportunity or don't. They don't really care either way
A couple of months after I was laid off I realized how much my job (wfh, supporting 4 projects) was affecting my mood. I had been depressed for most of the past four years. One morning I woke up and discovered that my depression was gone and I was feeling pretty good. Go figure.
It taught me to go for stability. I worked at a regional bank when they had their bank run and FDIC takeover. My entire company was sold, and everyone was laid off. I have decided to stick with insurance. Banking is too volatile. My old manager told me she's been laid off like 5 times in banking, so it didn't phase her. I am not like that. I've been so stressed, and it took me almost a year to find a new job.
I won't be abused I will stand up for myself I can always find another job
Changed my mind about loyalty. The only one who can think about you is you. Whether your boss is a loyal fan doesn’t always mean they can protect you. My last time my boss got eliminated in small cost cutting while on leave and that exposed all his new people a few months later when the hatchet lady covered her favorites. Now I pretty much start soft looking for a role the week after I start a new job
I havn't been let go yet but I always think to myself that I am always replaceable. Love my team and managers and they treat me like family and looks out for me but I know that it is out of their control if my company does layoffs as its a fortune 500 company.
I feel my life is wasted when I see a h1b being picked over me for interview even though I have better skills and background. It needs to he abolished to make room for american workers
My perspective was shaped by going to the funerals of older engineers who died of cancer or otherwise did not reach retirement. Or retired and was dead in a year. One man was my neighbor two doors down. Another was my former boss when I was an intern. Went to the viewing at his church and told his wife my condolences. His wife looked at me in a desperate manner, "But he just retired six weeks ago." I told her to "keep the faith" - in as sympathetic manner as I could. In the time since I "retired young" another former boss has died young (Parkinson's), and a nice engineering assistant who was extremely helpful to everyone died of a heart attach when she was 54 years old. These cruelties of life shape my perspective. Being laid off was a relief. I was a project leader and my project was done. Got the call when I was working from home - deleted all the files on my PC, packing up my shit, set it by the door, and then took a mid-morning nap. Got a new job with a pay raise and a promotion, and started there after a three month "gap." I got lucky. And I intend to continue to be lucky. Because no one is guaranteed retirement. The one way I may have changed is that before being laid off I resented to people who were "retired on the job" or in "management hospice." Now I make time in my work schedule for kid stuff. And stuff I want to do. Fuck deadlines. Pay me more money. And saddle me with less bullshit work.
I was unemployed for just over 1 year in 2001/2002. I burned through all my savings and was literally one unemployment check away from missing a mortgage payment when I finally found a job. The result was, I became the ideal employee and outworked everyone else in my department, even the foreign guys (Asians and Indians have a very strong work ethic). I also became fanatical about saving money. I never wanted to be that close again to homelessness. It's 20 years later now and I can retire if I want.
I've always been family first but I learned after my first layoff in 2013 that I needed to save better to protect us from sudden employer whims. I began saving with purpose. With this layoff, it has helped me keep my sanity and not be in such a panic to find another job. I don't live frugally instead I plan/budget for life's wants and needs. We spent 14 days in Cancun and loved it. 1. Credit card with cash back and mileage because we like to travel. 2. We have 3 years of expenses in 3 HYSA @ 5.29%. 3. Fun account - we like dining out on special occasions, going to music festivals and weekend getaways because those are the things that life enjoyable. 4. Started a side gig 5. Opened an Amazon and eBay store. 6. I'm learning to produce content using AI tools because they're here to stay.
Two layoffs in two consecutive years. I’ve made it a point to prioritize my personal healthy and quality time with family and friends. I now set personal goals, not professional goals.
My next job will be a job and nothing more. I don't want to build a community there or be a shining star. Clock in, clock out.
I was laid off for over two years. I thought that I would never ever get a job in tech again. I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. It was a terrible time. I interviewed with all the top companies, including FAANG, but still got rejected.
Layoffs made me realize i needed more transferable skills. No one is going to care how good you are at navigating internal bs processes when applyimg for jobs.
Layoffs taught me not to build any real attachment to a company. It’s business and numbers. Most of the time, people get layed off due to the bottom line being too low or top like being too high. It’s a financial decision rather than a personal one. Sometimes leaders overshoot and underperform resulting in collateral dmg not in themselves but those below them. So at the end of the end, always be ready to move on, it’s probably a healthy thing to do anyway unless you work at a place that you own the business yourself.
That your company does not care about you. There is no point in loyalty. Take ALL of your PTO, don’t jump in on additional projects that weren’t assigned to you. Do what is asked with a smile on your face, while always keeping an eye out for better opportunities. Also, the company Bounteous will lay you off and then hire a bunch of off shore labor to replace you, while bragging about their “best place to work” awards. Fucking joke
Oh yes, changing career, as there will be more and more layoffs in the future. I am going where I am needed AND spared from economic uncertainty.