Author Topic: I'm getting laid off  (Read 24575 times)

Schaefer Light

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #100 on: June 10, 2019, 04:37:57 PM »
I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.
I don't have any great advice, but I wish you the best in your search.  I just went through a 4-month stretch of unemployment, and it was incredibly stressful.  The worst part was the total lack of feedback.  I'd get rejected for a job and wonder why.  Of course, no one bothers to tell you 99% of the time.  I'd wake up every day wondering what I needed to do differently to get a job.

And the interview and hiring process can be very drawn out at some companies.  The job I eventually landed had a process that took about 2 months start to finish.  I went through 3 rounds of interviews and then had to travel to their HQ location to give a presentation, only to have to wait 3 more weeks to finally get the offer.

I'm glad you got a decent severance.

frugalnacho

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #101 on: June 10, 2019, 08:00:27 PM »
I was laid off on May 24th as well. How funny. Apparently Memorial Day weekend 2019 will be about the memories of unemployment for us.

Congrats on landing a new job so quickly. That's impressive. I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.

Bummer, but 6 months severance sounds sweet.  My checking account is looking fat right now.  I had 2 months notice before I was actually laid off, so it took me over 2 months to actually secure a new one.  The place I ended up had a ridiculous hiring process.  Basically wanted to hire me on the spot, but waited until the following business day to give me an offer. Still waiting to hear back from a couple of places though...

Fire2029

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #102 on: June 10, 2019, 08:14:56 PM »
Sorry to see this, I hope it leads to a new/better opportunity for you.

@ megacorp when my old office was shuttered, at the time of the announcement there was a woman who had been hired on from a solid/stable job at a competitor the week before. Nothing like knowingly doing that to someone for the benefit of not upsetting the herd and tipping your hand with some sort of respectable behavior like a hiring freeze.

Unforgivable. She got up in the meeting in front of some really important* senior leadership, said are you people effing kidding me, and walked out.


*Not important, just think they are

I worked for a megacorp on an acquisition spree of smaller companies. Part of my job was to figure out how fast we could replace their IT systems with ours, and align the local IT department to the smaller demand. Part of the job was having to lay off people, typically because their leadership already saw the writing on the wall and jumped.

I had to lay off the same lady twice in 2.5 years. We bought a company, I laid her off since we were replacing their ERP with ours, and then 2.5 years later I got sent to a new acquisition to evaluate their IT and she was my first meeting. I felt worse than usual laying her off. We did count her time at the other company when calculating her severance, so she got paid severance (4 weeks per year) for that job twice.

rantk81

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #103 on: June 11, 2019, 08:25:47 AM »
I had to lay off the same lady twice in 2.5 years. We bought a company, I laid her off since we were replacing their ERP with ours, and then 2.5 years later I got sent to a new acquisition to evaluate their IT and she was my first meeting.

Holy shit!  I don't think I could handle that.

mm1970

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #104 on: June 11, 2019, 11:02:04 AM »
I had to lay off the same lady twice in 2.5 years. We bought a company, I laid her off since we were replacing their ERP with ours, and then 2.5 years later I got sent to a new acquisition to evaluate their IT and she was my first meeting.

Holy shit!  I don't think I could handle that.

We did that to a woman too.  We had a few years of a series of layoffs.  Laid off almost all our junior engineers.  A few months later one of the ones we'd kept quit.  Hired back one of the ones we'd laid off.  6 months or a year later, another round of layoffs.  There she goes again.

pecunia

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #105 on: June 11, 2019, 12:19:29 PM »
Seems like it's always like that with engineers.  Boeing loses a contract and out the door. 

Is it like that with accounting people?  The only mass layoff I ever heard of for accountants was when Enron folded and dragged Arther Anderson down with them.

They talk about this STEM thing and there being a shortage, but I sometimes wonder if that's just to give the guys in charge more cannon fodder.

rantk81

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #106 on: June 11, 2019, 01:32:14 PM »
When companies merge, they look for "synergy savings" -- which is redundant roles that are shared between the two companies that merged.  It doesn't just affect engineers.  It can hit anyone -- HR, IT, accounting, legal, engineering/development, sales... anyone.

If your employer (like mine) is habitually involved in merging with or acquiring other companies -- then layoffs are a pretty regular thing.  Lord only knows how it's possible I've survived 15 years at this place so far!
« Last Edit: June 11, 2019, 01:39:15 PM by rantk81 »

pecunia

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #107 on: June 11, 2019, 03:02:49 PM »
When companies merge, they look for "synergy savings" -- which is redundant roles that are shared between the two companies that merged.  It doesn't just affect engineers.  It can hit anyone -- HR, IT, accounting, legal, engineering/development, sales... anyone.

If your employer (like mine) is habitually involved in merging with or acquiring other companies -- then layoffs are a pretty regular thing.  Lord only knows how it's possible I've survived 15 years at this place so far!

"Synergy Savings" - I guess that takes the sin out of throwing someone out on their keester.

My present employer is rapidly growing.  We had 8 guys just a few years back and now we are up to 40.  I wonder at what point does a small company lose its nimbleness.  It sure does seem like big companies waste a lot of human capital.  I'll bet many of those laid off folks would have been happy to fill another job if the money people in charge would have paid for some training.


highplainsdrifter

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #108 on: June 13, 2019, 07:37:32 PM »
I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.
I don't have any great advice, but I wish you the best in your search.  I just went through a 4-month stretch of unemployment, and it was incredibly stressful.  The worst part was the total lack of feedback.  I'd get rejected for a job and wonder why.  Of course, no one bothers to tell you 99% of the time.  I'd wake up every day wondering what I needed to do differently to get a job.

And the interview and hiring process can be very drawn out at some companies.  The job I eventually landed had a process that took about 2 months start to finish.  I went through 3 rounds of interviews and then had to travel to their HQ location to give a presentation, only to have to wait 3 more weeks to finally get the offer.

I'm glad you got a decent severance.

I heard back from a company today that I had been working with for two months and got feedback. They said I impresses everyone I interviewed with, I'm "above" the position I applied for and I would get "bored" working in that department in a month. They want to hire me in the finance department. Great news, right? Well, they don't yet have a finance department. They are working on creating one and my hire would be contingent of them hiring a director of finance first. Who knows how long it will take to hire a director of finance and then how long it will take for them to hire a team after that...

So the new dilemma is; wait around for this company to spin up a finance department or continue applying for other jobs?

The weird challenges that pop up as a job seeker never cease to amaze me.

~~

P.S. I can't believe that after THREE interviews you had to travel to HQ and do a presentation in order to get hired. WTF did you have to present, your Excel skills?! Why can't companies make up their minds? Anyone here work in HR or management and want to illuminate hiring challenges?

highplainsdrifter

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #109 on: June 13, 2019, 07:42:21 PM »
I was laid off on May 24th as well. How funny. Apparently Memorial Day weekend 2019 will be about the memories of unemployment for us.

Congrats on landing a new job so quickly. That's impressive. I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.

Bummer, but 6 months severance sounds sweet.  My checking account is looking fat right now.  I had 2 months notice before I was actually laid off, so it took me over 2 months to actually secure a new one.  The place I ended up had a ridiculous hiring process.  Basically wanted to hire me on the spot, but waited until the following business day to give me an offer. Still waiting to hear back from a couple of places though...

I guess it's awesome they wanted to hire you right away. No waiting around wondering what is going on. However is that a red flag? Is the company not well staffed? Are they bad at planning for future needs? I hope this company works out well for you and leads you to sweet sweet financial freedom.

It was a nice feeling to see the severance hit the checking account. However I'm worried I'll need it to cover expenses for the next six months. I wish I could use it to buy a new bike, max out the Roth and save up for an investment property.

frugalnacho

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #110 on: June 14, 2019, 08:33:48 AM »
I was laid off on May 24th as well. How funny. Apparently Memorial Day weekend 2019 will be about the memories of unemployment for us.

Congrats on landing a new job so quickly. That's impressive. I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.

Bummer, but 6 months severance sounds sweet.  My checking account is looking fat right now.  I had 2 months notice before I was actually laid off, so it took me over 2 months to actually secure a new one.  The place I ended up had a ridiculous hiring process.  Basically wanted to hire me on the spot, but waited until the following business day to give me an offer. Still waiting to hear back from a couple of places though...

I guess it's awesome they wanted to hire you right away. No waiting around wondering what is going on. However is that a red flag? Is the company not well staffed? Are they bad at planning for future needs? I hope this company works out well for you and leads you to sweet sweet financial freedom.

It was a nice feeling to see the severance hit the checking account. However I'm worried I'll need it to cover expenses for the next six months. I wish I could use it to buy a new bike, max out the Roth and save up for an investment property.

I think the spot I filled was not staffed.  Guy quit very abruptly.  They have some environmental reports due by the end of June, so they basically had a month to find and hire his replacement, and get these environmental reports done. 

Also this is not a large company with well defined roles and job descriptions.  It's more like a small company that has grown to be medium sized.  As far as I can tell they don't have officially policies on a lot of stuff.  I guess it seems to work for them...until someone quits and you gotta figure out wtf that guy was doing and everything he had a hand in.  On the one hand I'm regretting the decision because I don't think I'm ever going to get a clearly defined job description with my responsibilities laid out.  On the other hand that gives me some flexibility to just do whatever I want, and being a smart, motivated, and highly competent person (IMO) I will likely thrive as long as I can keep pace with the regulations and not let something big slip through the cracks.  However there might be some things that slip through the cracks just because I'm not completely aware of everything that needs to be done.  Hopefully I'll have a much better idea after being here for a few months rather than just 4 days.  Also hopefully something doesn't happen outside of my control that gets the finger pointed at me.  Like if our wastewater sampling results come back above permit limits I may get the finger pointed at me even though it's entirely out of my control.  I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I also haven't see my boss yet other than the first day.  He just showed me where my office was, and that was that.  No direction, no instructions.  So I'm just trying to figure stuff out on my own, and trying to comb through my predecessors old emails and files and piece things together.  Also browsing MMM and reddit when I get sick of that, because no one seems to be watching over anything I do.

I'm still leery about how this is going to work out, so I beefed up my savings account.  I may get fired, or may have to quit, or this place might get shut down, I have no idea.  Ideally it will be profitable and I will have a stable job with steady income until retirement, but anything can happen and I definitely didn't enjoy going through this whole process.  Even though it worked out fantastically for me, it was super stressful and I was worried about money and how me and my family were going to come out of it (I knew we weren't going to starve, but the thought of depleting my savings, and then selling my taxable account, and eventually dipping into retirement savings in the 401k/IRAs was a scary thought).  I now have $23k in my savings account, which should be at least 8 months of spending at our current level, and probably more in the even of a layoff/firing where we tighten our belt.  Having a bigger cushion in the savings account makes me sleep a little better, but I also feel like I'm approaching the point of being too conservative and I should be investing that money instead of parking it in a savings account.  Maybe I'll feel more comfortable about it 6 or 12 months down the road.

For now I've put $23k in my savings account, maxed me and my wife's tIRA for the year, and dropped the rest into my taxable vanguard account (sitting around $60k right now). 



frugalnacho

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #111 on: June 14, 2019, 08:54:34 AM »
I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.
I don't have any great advice, but I wish you the best in your search.  I just went through a 4-month stretch of unemployment, and it was incredibly stressful.  The worst part was the total lack of feedback.  I'd get rejected for a job and wonder why.  Of course, no one bothers to tell you 99% of the time.  I'd wake up every day wondering what I needed to do differently to get a job.

And the interview and hiring process can be very drawn out at some companies.  The job I eventually landed had a process that took about 2 months start to finish.  I went through 3 rounds of interviews and then had to travel to their HQ location to give a presentation, only to have to wait 3 more weeks to finally get the offer.

I'm glad you got a decent severance.

I heard back from a company today that I had been working with for two months and got feedback. They said I impresses everyone I interviewed with, I'm "above" the position I applied for and I would get "bored" working in that department in a month. They want to hire me in the finance department. Great news, right? Well, they don't yet have a finance department. They are working on creating one and my hire would be contingent of them hiring a director of finance first. Who knows how long it will take to hire a director of finance and then how long it will take for them to hire a team after that...

So the new dilemma is; wait around for this company to spin up a finance department or continue applying for other jobs?

The weird challenges that pop up as a job seeker never cease to amaze me.

~~

P.S. I can't believe that after THREE interviews you had to travel to HQ and do a presentation in order to get hired. WTF did you have to present, your Excel skills?! Why can't companies make up their minds? Anyone here work in HR or management and want to illuminate hiring challenges?

Definitely keep applying.  Until you have an acceptable offer letter in hand you should keep marching on.  Some of the jobs I thought were in the bag seemed to either drag on, or fizzle out.  Worst case scenario you get an offer that you deem acceptable, and you can bring it back to this company and see if they can hire you in before the finance department is up and running, or if they can expedite that process for you.  If they can't then at least you have an offer to fall back on.  And if they still want to hire you a couple of months down the line, or whenever they get their department up, they can hire you at that time (or you can just stay with the other job if you've already accepted).  There is really no downside to continuing to look other than maybe wasting a few hours of your time, and maybe wasting some minor resources (you'll drive to an interview, maybe do another load of laundry because you sweated through your dress shirts, etc).

As for companies not making up their minds...I think sometimes corporate has an established way of doing things.   If it's official company policy to require 3 interviews AND a final presentation at HQ, then those are the hoops you must jump through.  My first company was a small time (less than 10 employees and the owners worked there) company, and the hiring policy was super lax.  If they liked someone they had full discretion to hire them, sometimes without an interview or with only a super informal 3 minute interview.  Once they sold to a larger company, that company had procedures in place.  We needed to fill a spot, but company policy said we had to post the job on a couple specific websites, and interview a minimum number of candidates, and interview the top candidates a minimum number of times.  Even though we already have a resume in hand for someone they knew they wanted to hire, corporate makes every office strictly follow this procedure, even though it drags on for weeks while the office is short staffed and the desired candidate is twiddling their thumbs wishing they had a job.  Then the last company I went to I had to phone interview, then in person interview twice.  The second in person interview was a waste of time, we simply bullshitted and talked sports and food trucks and other bullshit.  I'm convinced they like me, knew they wanted to hire me, but corporate policy dictated that they bring me in for a third interview (2nd in person interview) before hiring me.  I got my offer letter almost immediately after the interview, so I'm sure they had it all typed up and ready to go and were just ticking a box for corporate so they could say they conducted 3 interviews as per company policy.

This place I'm at now seems to operate similarly to my first company.  There is no corporate, just one dude that owns the whole company and has an office here, so they can just do whatever they want.  They got a referral for me, interviewed me briefly, and wanted to hire me.

Schaefer Light

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #112 on: June 16, 2019, 02:42:37 PM »
I haven't had as much luck. I'm about to start my third week of unemployment tomorrow. I have a couple leads on jobs but man... Interviewing has been ridiculous and recruiters are ridiculous. I've been learning a lot about how companies hiring processes work. I dislike how long some companies hiring processes take. I was talking with a company, where my hire seemed imminent for nearly three months, then I was told that they 'cancelled' the position and won't be hiring...

I was lucky enough to receive six months of severance pay. I imagined this time off would be more relaxing but truly I'm a bit stressed out. I really dislike not being productive. I hope I land a job soon so that I can 'stache a majority of the severance cash.
I don't have any great advice, but I wish you the best in your search.  I just went through a 4-month stretch of unemployment, and it was incredibly stressful.  The worst part was the total lack of feedback.  I'd get rejected for a job and wonder why.  Of course, no one bothers to tell you 99% of the time.  I'd wake up every day wondering what I needed to do differently to get a job.

And the interview and hiring process can be very drawn out at some companies.  The job I eventually landed had a process that took about 2 months start to finish.  I went through 3 rounds of interviews and then had to travel to their HQ location to give a presentation, only to have to wait 3 more weeks to finally get the offer.

I'm glad you got a decent severance.

I heard back from a company today that I had been working with for two months and got feedback. They said I impresses everyone I interviewed with, I'm "above" the position I applied for and I would get "bored" working in that department in a month. They want to hire me in the finance department. Great news, right? Well, they don't yet have a finance department. They are working on creating one and my hire would be contingent of them hiring a director of finance first. Who knows how long it will take to hire a director of finance and then how long it will take for them to hire a team after that...

So the new dilemma is; wait around for this company to spin up a finance department or continue applying for other jobs?

The weird challenges that pop up as a job seeker never cease to amaze me.

~~

P.S. I can't believe that after THREE interviews you had to travel to HQ and do a presentation in order to get hired. WTF did you have to present, your Excel skills?! Why can't companies make up their minds? Anyone here work in HR or management and want to illuminate hiring challenges?
As for companies not making up their minds...I think sometimes corporate has an established way of doing things.   If it's official company policy to require 3 interviews AND a final presentation at HQ, then those are the hoops you must jump through. 
That's it in a nutshell.  It sucks for the candidate they're going to hire and it royally sucks for the candidates they're not going to hire.  Imagine taking the time to put together a 45-minute presentation, traveling to a different state to give the presentation, and then not getting the job.  The whole time I was going through the process I kept telling myself that there was at least a 50% chance they would choose someone else.  I was trying to prepare for the rejection so I wouldn't go off the deep end if someone else got the job.  I'm glad I didn't have to put that preparation to the test.  I was pretty depressed at the time, and that kind of rejection really would have hurt.

pecunia

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #113 on: June 17, 2019, 05:08:01 AM »

- SNIP -

That's it in a nutshell.  It sucks for the candidate they're going to hire and it royally sucks for the candidates they're not going to hire.  Imagine taking the time to put together a 45-minute presentation, traveling to a different state to give the presentation, and then not getting the job.  The whole time I was going through the process I kept telling myself that there was at least a 50% chance they would choose someone else.  I was trying to prepare for the rejection so I wouldn't go off the deep end if someone else got the job.  I'm glad I didn't have to put that preparation to the test.  I was pretty depressed at the time, and that kind of rejection really would have hurt.

This hiring thing is definitely a very strong reason to obtain FU money. 

protostache

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #114 on: June 17, 2019, 08:24:04 AM »

- SNIP -

That's it in a nutshell.  It sucks for the candidate they're going to hire and it royally sucks for the candidates they're not going to hire.  Imagine taking the time to put together a 45-minute presentation, traveling to a different state to give the presentation, and then not getting the job.  The whole time I was going through the process I kept telling myself that there was at least a 50% chance they would choose someone else.  I was trying to prepare for the rejection so I wouldn't go off the deep end if someone else got the job.  I'm glad I didn't have to put that preparation to the test.  I was pretty depressed at the time, and that kind of rejection really would have hurt.

This hiring thing is definitely a very strong reason to obtain FU money.

I landed my dream job after getting laid off back in April. I'm hoping it will carry us to FI in five years (it's a late stage pre-IPO startup) primarily so I don't ever have to deal with the hiring process as a candidate ever again.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #115 on: June 17, 2019, 08:24:59 AM »

- SNIP -

That's it in a nutshell.  It sucks for the candidate they're going to hire and it royally sucks for the candidates they're not going to hire.  Imagine taking the time to put together a 45-minute presentation, traveling to a different state to give the presentation, and then not getting the job.  The whole time I was going through the process I kept telling myself that there was at least a 50% chance they would choose someone else.  I was trying to prepare for the rejection so I wouldn't go off the deep end if someone else got the job.  I'm glad I didn't have to put that preparation to the test.  I was pretty depressed at the time, and that kind of rejection really would have hurt.

This hiring thing is definitely a very strong reason to obtain FU money.
Heh.  Last year, I interviewed with a company in February for an immediate opening...contingent on a contract coming through.  After five months of nothing, DW and I figured it just wasn't going to happen.  Then out of the blue, I got an offer at the end of August, over six months after my on-site interview.

We were still really excited about the job (the offer arrived during dinner, and our kids were wondering why Dad and Mom suddenly started acting weird), but couldn't reach an agreement on salary with the employer, so we had to pass.

jinga nation

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #116 on: June 17, 2019, 12:18:41 PM »

- SNIP -

That's it in a nutshell.  It sucks for the candidate they're going to hire and it royally sucks for the candidates they're not going to hire.  Imagine taking the time to put together a 45-minute presentation, traveling to a different state to give the presentation, and then not getting the job.  The whole time I was going through the process I kept telling myself that there was at least a 50% chance they would choose someone else.  I was trying to prepare for the rejection so I wouldn't go off the deep end if someone else got the job.  I'm glad I didn't have to put that preparation to the test.  I was pretty depressed at the time, and that kind of rejection really would have hurt.

This hiring thing is definitely a very strong reason to obtain FU money.
Heh.  Last year, I interviewed with a company in February for an immediate opening...contingent on a contract coming through.  After five months of nothing, DW and I figured it just wasn't going to happen.  Then out of the blue, I got an offer at the end of August, over six months after my on-site interview.

We were still really excited about the job (the offer arrived during dinner, and our kids were wondering why Dad and Mom suddenly started acting weird), but couldn't reach an agreement on salary with the employer, so we had to pass.
Which is why, during the initial conversation, I give them a salary range that I'm comfortable with*. I tell them I don't want to waste HR and Management's and Engineer's time, let's get to the point. If they think I'm asking too much, I explain to them how I can justify it (e.g. based on the job description, that's wearing 3 diff hats, but I'm asking only 50% more than you're will to pay. So it's a great deal, unless you are willing to hire 2 additional people, in which case, good luck with your search).
*Occupation and experience and a FU stash required to pull this off.

Also, I don't waste time with contingent contracts. Their HR just wants your resume on the bid so they can win; it's no guarantee you'll get the job, at least in the industry I work in. "Tell me you have a real contract that needs to be staffed to deliver the outcome for your customer. If you have a performance or deliverables bonus, I can help you achieve it."

zolotiyeruki

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #117 on: June 17, 2019, 10:20:57 PM »
Heh.  Last year, I interviewed with a company in February for an immediate opening...contingent on a contract coming through.  After five months of nothing, DW and I figured it just wasn't going to happen.  Then out of the blue, I got an offer at the end of August, over six months after my on-site interview.

We were still really excited about the job (the offer arrived during dinner, and our kids were wondering why Dad and Mom suddenly started acting weird), but couldn't reach an agreement on salary with the employer, so we had to pass.
Which is why, during the initial conversation, I give them a salary range that I'm comfortable with*. I tell them I don't want to waste HR and Management's and Engineer's time, let's get to the point. If they think I'm asking too much, I explain to them how I can justify it (e.g. based on the job description, that's wearing 3 diff hats, but I'm asking only 50% more than you're will to pay. So it's a great deal, unless you are willing to hire 2 additional people, in which case, good luck with your search).
*Occupation and experience and a FU stash required to pull this off.

Also, I don't waste time with contingent contracts. Their HR just wants your resume on the bid so they can win; it's no guarantee you'll get the job, at least in the industry I work in. "Tell me you have a real contract that needs to be staffed to deliver the outcome for your customer. If you have a performance or deliverables bonus, I can help you achieve it."
Those are some great points.  In this particular instance, it wasn't a huge deal for me to wait around for 6 months.  Many of the reasons I started looking for a new job (i.e. things that bothered me about my current job) had gone away, and really, I do enjoy my current job.  I had also received a raise (and when I got the offer, my current employer offered to beat it by a few percent).  The offer I received was significantly lower than I had expected--I have a friend who works there, and he was likewise that the offer wasn't higher.

It's all good :)

frugalnacho

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #118 on: June 20, 2019, 05:37:36 AM »
What a thread! Definitely enjoyed reading all replies and Nacho's story. Glad you found a new job--congrats! (Not so glad about your garden, but I think you can take care of that during weekends?)

I got the garden in.  I bought 6 tomato plants, and 4 pepper plants.  Did seed for everything else - cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, and sunflower.  Everything is in, and the watering system is set up.  I need to make some time to tend it and weed it, but at least it's in and growing.

eostache

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #119 on: June 24, 2019, 06:17:21 PM »
My layoff is still pending, for July 12. A couple of my co-workers seem to want to try to convince management not to let me go.

I had a week vacation recently and one of them took over my tasks for the week, and he would be the one to take them over when I am gone. He's overqualified to do my job but he understood, and found out, that my projects are a full time job. Plus, another key employee is leaving the dept and he has a heavy workload that the aforementioned co-worker's job partner will be taking over. So coworker may have to have his, mine, and partner's work to do. Both these guys see that my role is very important.

I'm of two minds. I'm ok with getting laid off and slacking for a few months (life is short, I have a lot of bikes to ride) and it would be nice to keep getting a regular paycheck even though I am super bored there and it feels like it takes up 90% of my life even though I only work 40 hours.

highplainsdrifter

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #120 on: July 10, 2019, 08:10:01 AM »
Well, my month and a half stint of unemployment is soon coming to an end. Also, I accidentally stumbled across a magic phrase to use while negotiating with companies.

I had two final round interviews with companies last week. The first one gave me a somewhat low offer by the end of the week. To which, I'd decided that I wasn't in a hurry to sign immediately. The second one asked for my college transcripts on the following Monday. I let the second company know that I had another offer and asked for an update on their hiring process. The second company then let me know that I shouldn't sign anything until I see both offers and that they would expedite their offer process in order to deliver an offer the following business day. At that point, I asked the first company to extend their acceptance period due to another offer that I had. The first company then told me that they'd change the title in order to raise the salary $11k! This amount was above and beyond their previously stated top end of the salary range for the role.

Thus, when timed properly, the magic words when negotiating employment contracts is, "I have another offer".

I'd never seen companies move quickly to expedite their offer process or give an offer that was above their previously stated top end salary range. Hopefully other Mustachians can find a way to utilize the magic words if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Now I need to figure out which company I'm going to work for. Hmmm. Quite an interesting problem to have.

Thanks to this thread. Going through lay offs can be tough. There were certainly times while combing through job boards that I was questioning my whole education and career choice in finance.


frugalnacho

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #121 on: July 10, 2019, 09:06:07 AM »
Well, my month and a half stint of unemployment is soon coming to an end. Also, I accidentally stumbled across a magic phrase to use while negotiating with companies.

I had two final round interviews with companies last week. The first one gave me a somewhat low offer by the end of the week. To which, I'd decided that I wasn't in a hurry to sign immediately. The second one asked for my college transcripts on the following Monday. I let the second company know that I had another offer and asked for an update on their hiring process. The second company then let me know that I shouldn't sign anything until I see both offers and that they would expedite their offer process in order to deliver an offer the following business day. At that point, I asked the first company to extend their acceptance period due to another offer that I had. The first company then told me that they'd change the title in order to raise the salary $11k! This amount was above and beyond their previously stated top end of the salary range for the role.

Thus, when timed properly, the magic words when negotiating employment contracts is, "I have another offer".

I'd never seen companies move quickly to expedite their offer process or give an offer that was above their previously stated top end salary range. Hopefully other Mustachians can find a way to utilize the magic words if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Now I need to figure out which company I'm going to work for. Hmmm. Quite an interesting problem to have.

Thanks to this thread. Going through lay offs can be tough. There were certainly times while combing through job boards that I was questioning my whole education and career choice in finance.

congrats!

pecunia

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Re: I'm getting laid off
« Reply #122 on: July 10, 2019, 10:37:30 AM »
You guys are certainly right about these potential employers behaving like kids and candy when someone else is looking at their candy.  It was some years back that I was looking for a job.  I had two interview opportunities in another state.  The companies were fairly close to one another so I called both of them to have them split the travel cost.  I was just trying to be nice.  I needed work and was grateful for the interview opportunities. I can't remember how we split the cost, but I did end up getting offers from both.

I picked the wrong one.  They had problems.  I had a good contract offer after a year and left.  A few years later they were bankrupt and their bones have been swallowed by two other companies in the intervening years.  The other is a huge successful company.