How did you handle it? Did you get nervous, anxious, upset, angry? Or did you show little emotion, stayed calm, and exit with your dignity in tact. Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
Yes. Twice. The first time they closed our entire office. They gave us a large severance package. And they gave us ample warning of when our last day would be. It was during the dotcom crash so it took me 4 months to find a new job.
The second time I was let go because they said they had no project to put me on. It was totally and completely out of the blue. I cried. They usually escorted a person out, but I had to pack up all of my stuff so they let me take my time. The worse part was that I was closing on my house in two weeks. Luckily I still had a majority of the severance package from the previous incident.
After the initial shock, I just focused on packing for my move. I closed, moved and unpacked. Then I had to get to work finding a new job. It took me about 2-3 months that time.
I can say that each time I was forced out of my comfort zone and it all worked out for the best. The last one in particular, I was not happy there.
After it happens once and you survive, it is not so scary.
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3 replies by KHALED MAHMOUD, Rami Kaibni, and Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 1:00 PM
Rami Kaibni
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Dinah,
There is a huge difference between laid-off and fired. The situations you are referring to fall under Laid-off (I doubt someone with your qualifications would be fired :-)).
This also makes a big difference in Emplyoment Insurance because if you were laid-off, you are entitled for EI but if you were fired, then you are not. Just be careful to never say you were fired if you were laid-off.
Now we know you own a house LOL
Apr 11, 2018 5:33 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Thanks Dinah for being so open about your experience. Back around 2002 I was laid off also, a bunch of people were paid out as a whole department was closed. I'm glad that you see it as less daunting after the first time.
Apr 13, 2018 11:14 AM
KHALED MAHMOUD
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Appreciate , All the best for you
Saving Changes...
Cheikh FAYE Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Expert, CEO and owner| Eurêka TechnologiesDakar, Senegal
I would want to be humble but the truth is that I always took the initiative to go away and my former bosses to run after.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 5:34 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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It's always a bonus to be needed even after you walk Cheikh.
Saving Changes...
John DuncanRetired| RetiredLebanon, Tn, United States
It was a surprise, but worked out well.
The company was consolidating a number of smaller companies, trimming resources each time it absorbed another company. For a year straight, I had been traveling, away from home a week at a time, every other week. After a year, they had what they needed from me...
Within 3 weeks I started another job with a much easier commute, almost no travel, wider variety of projects, more of a leader role, a more positive work environment, and a 12% pay increase. So it was a blessing in the end.
At the time I was surprised, but in a way -- not surprised. I was calm and calculating. They offered a small severance, and pay for vacation for the coming year. I pointed out I had additional vacation days I had been unable to take due to the heavy travel, so they compensated me for those days too.
I knew my next immediate job was to find a job, so I treated it simply as a new assignment and dug right in to that assignment the same day. It took a couple of days for the initial shock to wear off though.
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2 replies by Amir Ali and Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 5:39 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Great John, calm and calculating is pretty much my approach also.
I've had a PM contract end early a long time back due to "irreconcilable differences" between myself and my program director.
Didn't impact me significantly as I had a better option lined up already, and as a contractor you tend to be pretty resilient to such things. It did cause me to do a bit of self-reflection to identify what behaviors I might want to modify in future similar situations.
Kiron
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 5:41 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Kiron, yes the contractor game does create resilience in this area. It can feel like a revolving door sometimes, but then it makes it more dynamic.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Apr 11, 2018 11:26 AM
Replying to Dinah Young
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Yes. Twice. The first time they closed our entire office. They gave us a large severance package. And they gave us ample warning of when our last day would be. It was during the dotcom crash so it took me 4 months to find a new job.
The second time I was let go because they said they had no project to put me on. It was totally and completely out of the blue. I cried. They usually escorted a person out, but I had to pack up all of my stuff so they let me take my time. The worse part was that I was closing on my house in two weeks. Luckily I still had a majority of the severance package from the previous incident.
After the initial shock, I just focused on packing for my move. I closed, moved and unpacked. Then I had to get to work finding a new job. It took me about 2-3 months that time.
I can say that each time I was forced out of my comfort zone and it all worked out for the best. The last one in particular, I was not happy there.
After it happens once and you survive, it is not so scary.
Dinah,
There is a huge difference between laid-off and fired. The situations you are referring to fall under Laid-off (I doubt someone with your qualifications would be fired :-)).
This also makes a big difference in Emplyoment Insurance because if you were laid-off, you are entitled for EI but if you were fired, then you are not. Just be careful to never say you were fired if you were laid-off.
Now we know you own a house LOL
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1 reply by Dinah Young
Apr 11, 2018 1:26 PM
Dinah Young
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If you look at all of the discussions so far, they were all laid off or let go.
The second job was pretty close to a firing. I was on a contract that ended and they were going to put me back on a previous contract. I had issues with the management of that contract. We were always running on little information and no time and no guidance and a lot of favoritism. I was a bit vocal about how poorly the contract was being run. People were being treated poorly and I wanted change. Oops. Guess they didn't want me back and much as I didn't want to go back.
The point is that I, like the others found myself unemployed. For someone who grew up with mantra of you always had to have a job and you can only rely on yourself, that was hard.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
I was never fired before - I normally prefer working with companies where they appreciate and support long term employment. I worked for an international company for around 10 Years then had to leave because I was permanently relocating to Canada and I know for a fact that they would welcome me back anytime.
I worked in Ontario for a while but left due to some differences between me and the owner in the way projects are handled and since then been working with my current employer in Vancouver.
Off the topic, I learned two things from my career path:
1- Always try to make a balance between Salary & Working Environment because sometimes if your work environment is bad, you will be miserable even though you salary is high.
2- Avoid jumping from one company to another. Recruiters do not like to see people with short term employment history if they are looking for long term employees.
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1 reply by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Apr 11, 2018 5:42 PM
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Rami, balance is good. I was in that situation 15 years ago when I decided to get paid a lot less and work on projects overseas.
Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
Apr 11, 2018 1:00 PM
Replying to Rami Kaibni
...
Dinah,
There is a huge difference between laid-off and fired. The situations you are referring to fall under Laid-off (I doubt someone with your qualifications would be fired :-)).
This also makes a big difference in Emplyoment Insurance because if you were laid-off, you are entitled for EI but if you were fired, then you are not. Just be careful to never say you were fired if you were laid-off.
Now we know you own a house LOL
If you look at all of the discussions so far, they were all laid off or let go.
The second job was pretty close to a firing. I was on a contract that ended and they were going to put me back on a previous contract. I had issues with the management of that contract. We were always running on little information and no time and no guidance and a lot of favoritism. I was a bit vocal about how poorly the contract was being run. People were being treated poorly and I wanted change. Oops. Guess they didn't want me back and much as I didn't want to go back.
The point is that I, like the others found myself unemployed. For someone who grew up with mantra of you always had to have a job and you can only rely on yourself, that was hard.
...
1 reply by Rami Kaibni
Apr 11, 2018 5:35 PM
Rami Kaibni
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I totally commend you for being open and honest Dinah. I respect you for that and wish you the best of luck. This shows how much confidence you have in yourself. Cheers !
Yes. Twice. The first time they closed our entire office. They gave us a large severance package. And they gave us ample warning of when our last day would be. It was during the dotcom crash so it took me 4 months to find a new job.
The second time I was let go because they said they had no project to put me on. It was totally and completely out of the blue. I cried. They usually escorted a person out, but I had to pack up all of my stuff so they let me take my time. The worse part was that I was closing on my house in two weeks. Luckily I still had a majority of the severance package from the previous incident.
After the initial shock, I just focused on packing for my move. I closed, moved and unpacked. Then I had to get to work finding a new job. It took me about 2-3 months that time.
I can say that each time I was forced out of my comfort zone and it all worked out for the best. The last one in particular, I was not happy there.
After it happens once and you survive, it is not so scary.
Thanks Dinah for being so open about your experience. Back around 2002 I was laid off also, a bunch of people were paid out as a whole department was closed. I'm glad that you see it as less daunting after the first time. Saving Changes...
I would want to be humble but the truth is that I always took the initiative to go away and my former bosses to run after.
It's always a bonus to be needed even after you walk Cheikh.
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1 reply by Cheikh FAYE
Apr 12, 2018 8:21 AM
Cheikh FAYE
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When a close friend in the same company tries to link you with another more interesting company with a best position and that the actual boss discover the deal and fire him, you can do nothing than go away.
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