So I just got Laid Off Today....

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Mar 18, 2004
Still is sinking in. :\

Apparently the company that I am working for is making some organizational changes. Got into the office today and after my 9am meeting, got a message from my manager saying that my director wanted to have a quick meeting. I thought it was in reference to a new process that we were doing, but as soon as I walked into the office, I got a negative vibe.

She pretty much told me that my position was eliminated because they wanted to reduce their budget for the year. Told me I would get paid till the end of the month and get 10 weeks of severance pay. As soon as the conversation was over, I had to pick up a few of my things from my desk and was escorted out within a few minutes. Felt real grease ball considering I've been working there for the past 2 years and I don't even get a nice send off, but I guess this is the way it works in the corporate world.:smh:

From what my director said, it wasn't due to performance. She couldn't go into details about it, but I think it may be because I wasn't making myself as visible as others (i.e. giving presentations, always talking during meetings,etc). I was always getting my work done and met expectations during my annual reviews, so I know it wasn't that.

Feels terrible, but in some aspect I also feel somewhat liberated. I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I was starting to feel burnt out. Only reason I continued it was because compensation was really good.


NT, any words of wisdom?

Have any of you ever gotten laid off before?


Cliffs
- Got Laid off today
- Company reducing budget
- Feels batman
 
What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger. Good luck OP Everything happens for a reason just keep your head up.
 
Recent college grad and I'm back home with my parents; you're not alone bro just stay focused on your goals.
 
Sorry to hear that.

10 weeks of severance is good for 2 years of employment. I thought 1 week pay/year was standard.
 
 
Glad to see the positive energy despite the circumstances. Look on the bright side, at least your avy is dope.
 
Sorry to hear about that, man. Take the time to refine your résumé and apply like a mad man. When one door closes, another one opens. I wouldn't be surprised if you land a job that's higher in pay. A lot of firms are downsizing.

The scariest ones are the folks with no college degrees who worked their way up the ladder within the corporation. They spent 20 to 30 years to get to 6 figure and once they are laid off, it's more or less a wrap. Not many firms will pay six figure income to an individual with no college degree nowadays.
 
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Sorry to hear about that, man. Take the time to refine your résumé and apply like a mad man. When one door closes, another one opens. I wouldn't be surprised if you land a job that's higher in pay. A lot of firms are downsizing.

The scariest ones are the folks with no college degrees who worked their way up the ladder within the corporation. They spent 20 to 30 years to get to 6 figure and once they are laid off, it's more or less a wrap. Not many firms will pay six figure income to an individual with no college degree nowadays.
dont forget experience counts on so many levels. youll be good op, im sure theyll give you a good letter of recommendation from the 2 years of employment. its a good time to focus on you and see if you'd like to venture into something more inspiring. but we're all realists, dont go start a rap label or anything..jk. take a break gather yourself...
 
I Appreciate the kind words. I've been using most of the day to just reflect. Still semi shocked at the whole situation, since this was the first job I got right outside of college.

I was actually applying to other jobs in the past few months, but that itself was hard to balance when working full time. At least I have all the time in the world now.


Forgot to mention that I originally thought it was just me that was getting the axe, but as I was heading down out of the office, I noticed a Manager that I used to work with coming out with all of her stuff in her hands. We talked briefly, and she said she kinda knew it was coming. Her situation is a bit worse than mine since she has a family and her kids were dependent on the insurance :frown:

It's a good thing i saved up a good amount of money these past 2 years. Was actually thinking about buying a new car, and at one point a house :rolleyes
 
Happened to me before. Best thing to do is hit streets hard and find a better job then u had before. Keep ya head up
 
You just got laid off...go get laid. 

:lol: Def gonna hit a few breezys up on that sympathy steeze


dont forget experience counts on so many levels. youll be good op, im sure theyll give you a good letter of recommendation from the 2 years of employment. its a good time to focus on you and see if you'd like to venture into something more inspiring. but we're all realists, dont go start a rap label or anything..jk. take a break gather yourself...

Yeah, I hope they would, but not sure if they are allowed to give Recs out (Legal reasons). I DEF want to venture into something different. Similiar, but different. I actually planned out a vacay at the end of the month for Toronto/Chicago so I'm def looking forward to that.

I wonder if I should take a few weeks or if I should just start applying right away. Not sure what gaps of employments look like to prospective employers.
 
Yes.....this is happening everywhere. My old company does layoffs all the time and in secret. It's all just business and money. Nothing that would impact your career in searching for another job.

Of you want to capitolize on this, go and try and get a job right away and that way your severence is just extra cash on top. If you don't want to, take it as a paid vacation for a couple of weeks and then get on unemployment and just go search for a job then. You'll rebound from this. Just don't get lazy. My buddy got laid off and road the unemployment checks for 2 years and finally got a job after like last month.
 
dont forget experience counts on so many levels. youll be good op, im sure theyll give you a good letter of recommendation from the 2 years of employment. its a good time to focus on you and see if you'd like to venture into something more inspiring. but we're all realists, dont go start a rap label or anything..jk. take a break gather yourself...
Yes, experience counts. However, if you want an upper management position you need a college degree.
 
it's called seniority. it happened to me. it's cool, you're still getting paid use it as a learning experience. now time to collect that edd
 
NT, any words of wisdom?
Which ever company you were working for isn't the only ball game or ball park in town champ.  Just update your resume, keep active and something will turn up for you.  Just stay positive. 
 
From what my director said, it wasn't due to performance. She couldn't go into details about it, but I think it may be because I wasn't making myself as visible as others (i.e. giving presentations, always talking during meetings,etc). I was always getting my work done and met expectations during my annual reviews, so I know it wasn't that.
 
Take this as a lesson learnt.

If you're employer had to pick someone to lay off, would they pick the employee that showed initiative or the guy that just met expectations?

Keep your head up.
 
It sucks when you get your position eliminated because you know that your work had nothing to do with it. I lost my job for the same reason, but I didn't get the short meeting. I was just locked out of the system and given the rundown. At least you got severance pay to hold you down for a couple of months while you still search for work. Good luck. The job market stinks. Hope you can find something sooner than later.
 
Sorry to hear that fam. But learn from it. Learn what it is about your skill level, personality, initiative, etc. that allowed the company to consider you expendable. Because while you were let go, there were plenty that kept their jobs. Think about what they did differently, and mold yourself into that kind of person for the future. Until we learn from our history, we are forced to repeat the same headaches. In all aspects, become better. Best of luck comrade.
 
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