Just looking for advice, I just got laid off of my job o two years. Before that I had a series of jobs with the same companies for about ten years. I feel like a failure and am just wondering how other people process something like this.
Think of businesses like a lawnmower. It’ll cut your feet as happily as it cuts grass.
Wear protective shoes and never trust it.
it gets easier after the 5th or 6th time :p
One of my two life mottos:
- How hard can it be?!
- Oh well, it is what is it.
“Well it’ll either kill you, or make you stronger. Sounds like a win-win to me.”
- buddy of mine lol
What possessed you to choose your username, brother?
Remember, if you got fired, you might have fucked up or failed (might, still not guaranteed). If you got laid off, then your boss’ boss or C Suite fucked up. They made bad decisions and the business revenue didn’t show up as they predicted, and you’re just paying the price instead of them. So try not to sweat it, and recognize that unlike the 70s, a lot of companies now plan to grow aggressively and layoff at the first sign of danger.
Hopefully you got a severance large enough to give you a bit of breathing room while you look for another job without too much stress
I can’t tell the difference, they called it a corporate restructuring in the meeting and the document says they are “permanently eliminating” my position.
Realistically I think it’s because I filed an HR report against my manager because after months of being unfathomably difficult she started laughing at me in my 1 on 1 because she didn’t beleive that two other directors told me to do something she disagreed with.
You’d consider that being fired right?
I can say that drinking about it definitely doesn’t help
I got sober almost 7 months ago, I don’t have any desire to throw that away, I hope you’re doing well :)
I’m doing great now, thanks. Finally at the point where I realise drinking, paradoxically, only makes hard life times harder. Never easier.
Glad to hear a layoff didn’t knock you off the wagon.
Take some time, be with friends, and realize that it’s probably not your fault. You have just been taught a valuable lesson about the relationship between employers and employees: They only care about the value you can provide to the company and will cut you loose the minute you cost more than you provide.
You should view them the same way. You trade them your time and knowledge for value (money and benefits). If you can get more value for your time and knowledge, lay them off and go with a higher value employer.This is good advice. I was laid off and took it really hard. A few years later, I ran into a coworker from the same place and learned that we were all laid off and I was just the first so I assumed I was the only one. Two years later, they contacted me to see if I was interested in “coming back” after the company had a failed outsourcing effort. No thank you.
The toughest part is facing the first few interviews. Be prepared to speak to the event. Be honest but kind to yourself. Tell how you learned or grew from it. Don’t dwell on it, either. It will be hard, but gets easier with time and practice.
A failure? What’s that even mean? Do we measure our success by how useful a specific capitalist organization finds us at any given moment? You aren’t a failure. You are just another person trying to make ends meet and getting screwed over by the system. Doing the best you can like anyone else.
Here’s a checklist:
Can you pay your bills for the next 6 months? If no, figure out how to fix that ASAP.
Do you know what you want to do next? If no, start pondering on it.
Have you taken advantage of any support that is out there for you? Unemployment for example. If no, do it.
If all of those are handled then you are good to take a breath and just figure your shit out. Maybe try to do something you didn’t have the time to before. Spend more time with family. Something like that. Whatever it is that would make you happy right now.
Lawyer up.
Quit facebook.
Hit the gym.
But honestly, this is good advice. Consult a lawyer about your layoff to ensure you were given appropriate entitlements and severenace. Apply for EI and make sure your bills and responsibilities are being paid for.
Don’t jump to social media and declare “I’m open to work”, because that will bring the sharks. Reach out to your network instead, and see if anyone has something you’d be a good fit for, and would be excited to pursue.
And keep yourself a good routine. Get a daily workout, or walk or something in, to keep sane.
You got this. You are not your job. Your next job will come along.
I just move on and look for other job.
Don’t take it personally. It’s just a job, the quicker you move on the better. If any mistakes were made take it as a lesson. If not, don’t worry about it, for most companies you are just a number in an excel sheet.
If you can, don’t rush it, and take your time to clear your thoughts before looking for a new job. Then go for it.
Good luck!
I became a communist
Not your fault. Companies only care about money so they get rid of employees as soon as they can. Sorry that happened though. Hopefully you got decent severance, and don’t forget to claim unemployment benefits.
I got laid off when I was 27 and planning a wedding as the primary earner. I was fortunate enough to have savings to get us through till my next job, but that took about 6 months. Its scary, but my advice would be to focus on yourself for a few weeks if you have the financial means to. I dont mean spend a lot of money or go on vacation, but maybe get started on your job profiles and resumes and apply here and there, but also just take time to process and grieve. Go for a walk or a drive and see the world during the day. Play some games or something or work on that fun project you never had time to before.
For me, it was around the time Tears of the Kingdom came out, and zelda is one of my favorite franchises. I would wake up play some Zelda, apply for jobs online for an bour or two, play some Zelda, make dinner for my wife and hang out until she went to bed, then play some Zelda some more.
There’s no “correct” amount of time to be out of a job. I’ve seen people get hired within weeks, but I’ve also seen people go for mo tha or even years. It’s all a process, but like other people said, your job does not define you and you did nothing wrong.
Make art
I went on a road trip to Vancouver Island and found a new job there and the layoff ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me
I chose additional time with friends, and vices in the past. Worked well.
