Layoffs and what to do

[actonyourown]

So this Monday my department had a round of layoffs. This is normal for larger banks, but not mine. The management team is gone from the CEO to 3 levels above me over the last 6 months. We got a new CEO last year and his new external hires have cleared out our structure. Now everyone is on edge and it isnt a good environment.

I have questioned whether to stay and see what happens or search for a new position. I have posted to jobs as of last week before this internally. Does anyone else have experience with a situation like this? I make decent money for my town but I think I can make more elsewhere but I was working toward a management position. There are buy-out rumors swirling so it is hard to think the situation will be better

[birdiegirl]

The buyout may or may not happen but either way you're probably correct that it won't get better - at least not anytime soon.  My thought would be to continue looking now while you still have your job.  If you get an offer, you can evaluate that and see if it's worth leaving your current role.  You might find something much better or after some interviews/offers you may decide the other options aren't great and it's worth sticking it out where you are. 

You have nothing to lose by looking and you can be selective since you still have a steady income. 

[ejmyrow]

Sorry to hear about the (mis)management. Sometimes higher ups don't have enough in the way of emotional intelligence. Anyhow, it's always good to be on the lookout. I don't know how long you've worked in your spot, however, say, if you've worked there a year or 2, you already have that many more years of experience on your resume, and you can hopefully pull in more income. There are so many ways to go, but I've noticed just anecdotally that credit unions seem to be a little more tuned into the needs of their employees, if there's a credit union job that might please you. Also, now could be a good time to save extra so that you have extra cushion no matter what happens. If you do get laid off, it could have a silver lining b/c it could allow you to vacation and re-think how you want to live and what you'd like to do.

[ChpBstrd]

Start looking, but don't be desperate. Take pot shots at jobs with far higher pay than you currently earn, and perhaps some qualification requirements you don't have. Talk to recruiters and have them shop around for you.

You survived the layoffs, and your company may be for sale. Or it might be the new management team has "right-sized" the bank. Maybe now they are profitable and the few experienced survivors are a valuable asset.

Also, consider this a great time for a skills upgrade. I once joined a company that had a merger announced two weeks later. I promptly signed up for their tuition reimbursement program (HR DGAF at that point) and got a year of grad school paid for before my position was eliminated - with a fat severance bonus on top. In my second year of grad school, I went to a job fair and was recruited for an analyst position that I started a few months before graduation at about a 30% higher salary than I was making. To think, I almost bailed on all that opportunity! My coworker who was as new as me spent 5 years being paid well and increasing his responsibility while helping to wind up the merger.