Laid Off Strut b/w Real World Strut.
Hotsauce84
8,450 Posts
Three weeks ago I got the news countless others have received: "Your position has been eliminated." Myself and three others in our department. I was told the day before my birthday, 20 minutes before I was going on PTO (I spent the next day in Disneyland, which helped ease the stress) and coincidentally my last day in the office (this Friday) lands on my 17th(!!!) anniversary with the company. Fortunately I received what I consider to be a generous severance package: full pay and full benefits 'til next August. Also fortunately (for lack of a better term in this instance) I'm in a different position than most my age in that I have no wife or children that this will affect.
I'm not looking for consolation or sympathy, but rather, any advice or suggestions any of you may have for me. So far the short term plan is to hit the road for at least a month or so with my BFF for his upcoming concert tour, but other than that...not sure. May not even come back to corporate America. I didn't love this job, but I was blessed in the sense that my workload was easy, my benefits were fantastic (kicking myself for not taking full advantage, but I have started steps for Invisalign which insurance will cover $2k of) and my PTO was plentiful (30 days/yr!).
Right now I'm at the point where I'm scared and sad. 17 years is a long time. Everything I've learned about being professional has been right here with this company. I'm not necessarily a company man per se, but this company for the most part has done me well. I'm also fortunate that I was able to avoid the typical bureaucracy and backstabbing that occurs all too often in this type of work environment (not completely, but for the most part). This was strictly a business decision and I take none of it personal. I'm trying to reach the point where the excitement of the next stage in life outweighs the sad and scared feeling, but it's really hard to do at this point.
Anyways, I appreciate any feedback you holmeses may have.
Thanks in advance!
Herm
I'm not looking for consolation or sympathy, but rather, any advice or suggestions any of you may have for me. So far the short term plan is to hit the road for at least a month or so with my BFF for his upcoming concert tour, but other than that...not sure. May not even come back to corporate America. I didn't love this job, but I was blessed in the sense that my workload was easy, my benefits were fantastic (kicking myself for not taking full advantage, but I have started steps for Invisalign which insurance will cover $2k of) and my PTO was plentiful (30 days/yr!).
Right now I'm at the point where I'm scared and sad. 17 years is a long time. Everything I've learned about being professional has been right here with this company. I'm not necessarily a company man per se, but this company for the most part has done me well. I'm also fortunate that I was able to avoid the typical bureaucracy and backstabbing that occurs all too often in this type of work environment (not completely, but for the most part). This was strictly a business decision and I take none of it personal. I'm trying to reach the point where the excitement of the next stage in life outweighs the sad and scared feeling, but it's really hard to do at this point.
Anyways, I appreciate any feedback you holmeses may have.
Thanks in advance!
Herm
Comments
I think I recently read where you company was cutting more jobs. And of course there have been major changes in your industry as of late.
Your industry, and the public sector will rebound soon.
I think the skills you learned would translate well to the public sector and in the past benefits were great there.
Enough of that. I have no doubt you will be fine.
Are you going to be in the NW?
Are you going to be djing/mcing on the road?
Seems like you have a great attitude and not being angry or bitter puts you ahead of most folks in your position. Having 30+ years in at the same company I have often thought about what I would do in the same situation. I've always felt that I have THIS company figured out but anywhere else would be foriegn and scary to me. Personally, I have all those things you don't, like kids, wife, house payment, etc. so my options wouldn't be as varied as yours. But still, I think I would try to start my own business and do something I love. A years severance is decent and if my business didn't look like it was gonna take off in 6-8 months I'd probably start sending out my resume. The great news is you're still young with a lot of experience in your field. The fact that you stayed loyal to one company for 17 years is an anomaly these days and will reflect well with certain potential employers.
Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck,
Rich
i worked in a low level insurance job (here in the UK) for 13 years and i hated every day, then the company decided to move out of town. And i knew there was no way i was willing to commute to a job i hated. So i decided to quit when the move came (about 6 months).
and the unknown was kinda scary
but its the best thing i ever fucking did
I quit one week after my 30th Birthday, and enrolled as a mature student at university. i graduated in Graphic Design last year with first class honours. got a job within 2 months of graduating and now the company i work for is allowing me some time to study a masters degree too!
i love (almost) every day at work now. the money isn't the greatest. but its enough.
in short....
the best is yet to come. you're fucking free dude! do whatever you feel like.
b
Have you traveled much? Do you want to travel? This seems like a great opportunity to get out and see the world while still getting paid. (not talking about road-tripping, although that sounds super fun!)
Even four months of travel / 8 months of job searching when you get back would be amazing.
Good luck!
Edit: Advice-related. I know you probably don't need any reminder but the economy is kinda shitty right now and depending on what you were in, it's going to be tough finding a new job. If your cross country trip ain't gonna cost you much then have fun but I'd be penny pinching like crazy right now.
How many months of living expenses do you have saved up?Didn't read about you being paid til next year. My only advice then would be don't get lazy muthafuckah! Ain't no shame in collecting unemployment btw.Today I said good bye to my supervisor who was "Laid Off" after 20+ years at my work. It was pretty crappy walking the guy out to his car knowing that he wasn't let go because of his work ethics or his position wasn't needed any longer, but probably due to the powers that be not seeing eye to eye with him.
Keep busy and always be moving forward.
It was being laid off that caused me to take the plunge and open my record store. A lot of times, I gripe about the various downsides of my job... but I'm really lucky to be doing something I love in a time period where I almost certainly would've been let go or laid off had I been working elsewhere.
All of which is to say, think about starting a business. It can end up being more stable & dependable than working for Teh Man. That's not the conventional wisdom, but it's true in my case.
Just kidding, dude.
Really sorry to hear about the lay off. But then again, change can be a good thing. Trust me, I know.
ive been on unemployment for a while now and ive taken the opportunity to learn how to work on homes. im no expert yet, but feeling more and more capable. still, being on your own time can have its pitfalls...stay in the discipline of making every day productive. ive had some ups and downs with that, so ive gotten very conscious of not getting unfocused and wasting time.
and definitely travel and have some fun. couch surfing (and probably soulstrut) is a great way to get the most out of your traveling dough without blowing hundreds on hotels.
I'm sorry to hear about your layoff. You are a sharp, focused individual, so I'm confident that you will bounce back into an even better position in life. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers for success, but more importantly, peace of mind and fulfillment.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
All 7 Harry Potter books in one week!
Perfectly worded. I agree with this on every account.
While change is scary, it can be a very exciting, fulfilling door to open.
1) Open up an eclectic clothier business with your tweenage niece (Luna, right?). Put that sewing machine Mama bought you to use. I can send you some great Etsy shop set-up links.
2) Find a good girl, get her knocked up and become a stay at home dad (or SAHD...no pun intended). Get cracking; those little munchkins take 9 months to cook up.
3) Secure the affection (and pocketbook) of a sugarmomma. Who needs a job when you can be picking out accessories at Nordie's for a mature Tucson female?
You are a positive and magnetic individual; people are drawn to you. Have fun, but do not lose your momentum. Employer discrimination against interviewees who have been unemployed for long periods is increasing, unfortunately.
they did your ass a favor. get drunk. read a book. hop on a plane. kiss a girl. stay busy and wake up happy.
just get back to work eventually. using this as an excuse to sit on the bench for too long will work against you indefinitely.
... but you knew all that.
The place I've worked for 10 years (300+ people) is folding at the end of the year, although luckily we've been aware of it for the last year so have had time to see whats coming and make preps.
I have designs on being self employed (freelance web design and SEO). Everyone in my immediate fam have been self employed, so I have plenty of priming and grounding where that's concerned.
I've wanted out of my current job for a while (before we heard about the job cuts), so I kind of see it as life giving me the motivation (and payout) I need to shoot for something I actually want to do and take things to the next level.
Onwards and upwards.
I just finished up a pretty long and complicated job search. I had an interview early in my job search and just missed out so I assumed I would have no problem getting more interviews but it turned ended up taking more than a year of full time job hunting to land a position. Things are a little tight in Biotech right now, and jobs for Ph.D.s can be really competitive, so hopefully things will move a little faster for you.
My only advice is that Networking is king when it comes to job searching. If you're looking to switch fields, try to set up informational interviews with people in that field or a related industry???most people would be willing to give out advice in exchange for a lunch or a cup of coffee and they can potentially become valuable contacts. Plus you'll learn about opportunities that you might not have known existed. Also, if possible, try to meet with people with a strategic level outlook at companies, Vice-President and above. They will not be involved directly in hiring decisions, but they will know where positions are coming up and who will be responsible. Plus if they really like you, they have the power to create a position whereas most hiring managers do not have this flexibility.
I switched from muscle physiology to bioprocess engineering, and it required about four levels of networking: I bumped into a professor I knew who set up a lunch with somebody at a company who introduced me to the CEO of another company who introduced me to the chief science officer at that company who hired me.
Almond: You're hilarious. Feel free to forward my contact info to any rich widows who need a boy toy. I'm 37 but I can pass for much, much younger. She'll get the best of both worlds!
Make sure you get paid upfront and don't drink anything she offers.
Stay unemployed. Yikes.
Herm, a year severance is amazing. You've been given a gift to find something new and exciting. Still sucks, but the one year cushion is amazing. It's actually better that it happened now because you are still young. I bet it'd be a whole different story for you 10 years from now.
There was an article in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago about how office drones are starting businesses and finding it to be more than they bargained for. It made appreciate what an achievement it is for people like Jonny to create a successful business from scratch and that it damn well better be something you like to do because you're going to do it a lot.
Maybe It???s Time for Plan C
By ALEX WILLIAMS
Published: August 12, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/fashion/maybe-its-time-for-plan-c.html?pagewanted=all