What to do if you got fired? Better be prepared
Yesterday I thought a lot about this question: What to do when you are laid off?
I work in the IT department of a large financial firm. Technology is a tough domain, you have to be on top of the new developments, along with doing your job properly and being a positive team player.
Not all of my team members are perfect, I'm far from being perfect either. And still, I was shocked and upset yesterday when our team leader gathered 4 out of 6 members of the team and announced that there is about 20% reduction of headcount in our organization and our team lost two people. They were notified in the morning and given 45 days to find an internal transition to another role with the firm. If they don't find a new team, they will be out of job.
Corporations are ruthless, you know. To be profitable they must be effective. These two folks had many flaws - poor communication, inability to deliver on time. Given all this, my feeling still was like I'm on "Chopped" show and just heard the judge saying to them "Your steak was overcooked and the presentation a bit messy, so we had to chop you".
Both guys have kids and spouses to support, one is on a work visa. I couldn't stop thinking about them for the rest of the day.
How horrible it is to come to the office, get this notice and head back home to break the news to the family. How hard it will be for them to come to work again and look for another role under the pressure of ticking clock of 45 days.
The point is - it can happen to ANY employee. Even the top performers can be fired if the firm itself goes into a tough financial period or might be closed for good.
What you can do to soften the hard landing if you are fired?I suggest several things that any employee should think about BEFORE being laid off:
1. Stay calm. It's just a job. Be thankful you still have your family, your health and your skills. Eventually, chances are you'll find another job.
2. As long as you have a job, don't forget to set money aside for the rainy day. The amount of your 6 months income is a good rule of thumb.
3. Create passive income streams. This way you won't have to aggressively cut the expenses if you lose your day job. If you have money, invest in real estate or financial assets that pay dividend / interest. If you don't have the means to do this, invest your time in building an online asset, like money making blog.
Build passive online incomeGrowing an online asset takes time: many months and years.
You'd better start today.
Here is where Wealthy Affiliate comes in. You can start for free, learn at your own pace, along with the full time job and other duties.
Having a money making website will make it easier to survive the hard time between the jobs. You'll know how to use your time to add more value to your website.
Hopefully, at some point you wouldn't need a job at all. There are many Wealthy Affiliate members who had achieved this financial freedom already.
Recent Comments
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Hi Maria, one of my colleagues was in exactly the same position today.
He was asked to quite immediately without any notice period. It happens like that in my country and WA is not free as well. I am still thinking about how to help him. Your first suggestion is definitely going to soothe him.
Thanks for raising the alarm. I will definitely work on it.
Warm Regards,
Gaurav Gaur
Giving 45 days notice is a mild and nicest form of layoff in my firm. Other people were sent home immediately as you describe, but this is when they are fired on performance.
Layoff is reasoned by "saving" and not your specific fault, therefore they allow some adjustment time
Anybody who is on 9-5 would have the concern over job security. The company we work for is not a charity, it has a business to run to keep survived. At least, we are in WA are given the opportunity to start prepare ourselves for the worst if it happens to us.
Exactly. I can understand the reason, but it still feels very cruel to people.
Take care of yourself
Good advice, Mary! Thanks for the post! WA is the perfect start to generating income that will cut the ties to working for someone else. :)
I hope for them. But the first days are very depressive, till you digest it and gather the strength to move on.
It also hurts your self esteem.
Yes...hence my comment
I was sacked many times for being honnest... never regretted that... or giving my job to others more in need... no pain. No time to rust either...
Do not settle in a job...
The hard part are the financial issues you have to coop wIth... makes one very inventive in savings and promoting DIY...
Looking back... no regret. Up and onwards...
I worked 39 years in the oil and gas business and I have seen my share of layoffs due to profits and "efficiency".
Companies are bad about laying off people that are low performers and when it comes to layoffs, sometimes it is just a numbers game.
This is unfortunate because during these times they will loose good people.
Being positive and having confidence in yourself is key.
The old saying, "There is always a silver lining in every cloud".
Yes, sometimes it has nothing to do with performance.
Today I'm hearing who was laid off in other teams. Some of them are really good folks, I'm surprised with the choice..
I hav seen the best people leaving for no mistake of their own. The manager has the authority to write a false review and turn you a low performer. There could br multiple reasons for that. Then you lose your job. It can be as simple as that. You want to go to lawyer and regain the job or you spend that time to open another door for you which is better.
I think opt for later. It it is productive use of ones valuable time.
You speak the truth , I have been laid off before , it hurt all across the board. Fortunately I did find a better job, but a job is a job , and an employee is at risk everyday to be “ chopped “.
Scarlett and I are so thrilled we found WA so we can have safety in our future as well as the ability to determine what we are worth . Great message , we thank you much .
Elaine and Scarlett
Having worked in private industry for a number of years, I learned what companies mean when they say employees are their #1 resource. Employees are the first to go when companies need to reduce cost.
Personally, I hate being called a "resource". They forget we are human beings, not just another office chair / printer..
I think the reality of things is that anybody can be next, Mary, no matter how brilliant you are, or how much you need the job. The top people don't 'see' these things as they only look at figures, and the staff are just numbers to make them more money.
They only care about themselves, and don't give a hoot about others...
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They say be careful what you wish for...but I would love to be laid off!
I have been here a long time and I'm pretty disillusioned with both the company and the industry, a Nice payoff would see me set up for a good few months to drive the website to the next level.
...but you know if it actually happened I would be gutted lol
LOL, i want to be fired so badly. Then i can concentrate on my blogs full time. Would be a dream come true.
I will be leaving in a couple of months time anyway.