Damn. Hate to see this happen to anyone. The uncertainty must be torture. Never been through a layoff, but please share what type of work it is that you do, industry, and amount of experience. I have a small but growing network of other HR professionals, and if I can help... I will.
OP: Worked for a local company that got bought out by a bigger firm. Once they bought the bigger firm, they laid of 75% of the staff effecive 9/1/11. The remaining 25% was kept on through 10/31/11, while the 9/1 folks got paid during those two months and only had to be "on call" (meaning if they got a call from the office, they had to show up and work within a couple of hours or their severance was witheld). I was a 10/31 guy. SO: 1) Yes I was bitter, still am. 2) Those two months working with a bunch of people that had essentially already been fired was horrible. 3) No prospective employers touched me for those two months. On 10/2, my phone was ringing off the hook. 4) I started off as entry-level in 2006 and was midlevel in '11 when this happened. 5) Severance was GENEROUS. If you'd been there for 5 years, you essentially got 2 weeks pay for every year you'd been there. That's 5 paychecks for me, or roughly 2.5 months of pay. 6) SAVE YOUR VACATION: they pay you for unused acrued vacation. It was a sh**ty ordeal that I don't wish on my worst enemy. GOOD LUCK. I got a job offer within 4 days of being let go. Anything is possible. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! YOU'LL COME OUT OF THIS STRONGER THAN YOU WENT IN!
Was laid off once but it was a small company and I only worked 30 hours a week. Took me 3 years to get back on my feet though. Tried to finish my degree but ended up getting ****ed by the financial aid office at UH. Now I'm a director of marketing and web content for a local startup so I'm on top of numbers and figures and have more demonstrative value. These poor bastards didn't even know what Twitter was.
That is what my daughter does - promote companies on social mediums like twitter. No degree required and she has not gone to college yet. It is a sweet gig and easy too - but one that will be overcrowded by incoming generation. My recommendation op, is to look to the lord and use this time as a chance to strengthen your relationship with Jesus. Work will come with the right ethics and values.
Well, he hasn't reply has he? I'm pretty sure the guy is busy right now doing what he needs to do. Get off his jocks!
My job laid me off when I was a temp. Jobless for about a month and they called me back since a guy quit and I've been there since. Company also shuts down for 2 weeks twice a year so that's also considered a layoff. Not much insight to help you with your situation, but Good luck haymitch! Hope you find a good job.
1) Yes, about a year to nine months heads up. Simply reading the newspaper, talking to the folks in accounting, using what I'd learned in school, and talking to various people in the industry made me realize serious problems were over the horizon. 2) Very large company/firm 3) Yes. 6 months salary 4) Less than two years working there 5) Financial/legal 6) Between entry and mid-level 7) Yes, they wrote me recommendation letters and contacted friends and family to help me get back on my feet. 8) Not at all. Since late 2007/2008, layoffs are part of the 'new normal'. To survive, the modern worker must be very adaptable (ready to move, retrain, and retool asap).
Yikes. Layoff practice varies from companies to companies. Pay special attention in the severance meeting. Don't be afraid of asking question, anything. Best of luck.
I was laid off from a job in 2010. Severance was 7ish months salary and I remained on the company insurance for 8-9 months. Not bad considering I was only there two years and the first year I was a contractor. I had a blast while I wasn't working and wish I could get a deal like that every four years or so. I hate my job so much now that I will probably quit out of frustration before mid-summer.
Focus more on headhunters and networking than online applications, unless you're very judicious about the positions. Headhunters can't submit you anywhere you have for the last six months to a year, and interacting with a live voice, even an outsider, is better than the vortex of anonymity. Taleo sites, just based on typical company and applicant pool-size, as well their screening methods, are almost worthless. Now if you've applied to 52 completely different companies altogether and can keep doing that, it's probably not an awful strategy. There also appears to be some weird Indian recruiting scam going around, so track your applications. I imagine it's not a bad idea to start applying for credit cards like crazy, before the quarter's up.
Laid off three times. The first, in 2000, was a computer company that was getting out of its main business. I knew what was going on due to the nature of my job, so I was applying already and since it was a great time in the industry I had three job offers by the time they actually laid me off. Funny story... I was called into the temporary HR office where they gave you your "package" and for some reason they didn't have my paperwork. I was actually worried I wasn't going to be laid off. They had to have someone from HR go get my package. I had worked there for over 5 years, and received a good package. Three weeks later I was starting at my next employer. The second time I was laid off I was working for a small SW company that was acquired by a larger company that let 1/3rd of the marketing group go. Took me 6 months to find my next job. I had only worked there a year and half... so the package was pretty meager (3 months I believe). The last time I was laid off I was working for a larger SW company that had a history of hiring as things swung up and then laying people off when things swung down. And since this was at the start of the economic downturn, a number of people were let go. I was only there two years, and the package was only 4 months. Took me almost 4 years to find my next permanent job; I had a few FT contract positions (one 6 months, the next 18 months, the last 6 months) and even did a few months of 6am-12 noon at OfficeMax, 6pm to 12 midnight at Home Depot to bring money in. This current job involved a significant cut in pay but at least I have benefits and I like my manger and team. It does seem like things are improving a bit... that last company that laid me off contacted me about a position and one of the companies that I did contract work also contacted me (about a contract job). Good luck...
