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All of a sudden...extremely frustrated and bitter....
A few posts below, I mentioned that I was recently laid off.
I am so frustrated by this. I have no idea why or what happened - I have never been fired or laid off before in my life. I was a highly compensated executive - lay offs at this level, to my knowledge, do not normally happen. Now that I am interviewing, I get a lot of questions about why I was let go and I don't know what to say. I am absolutely mortified that this is a blemish on my resume and I am even more irate at my former boss for not giving me even ONE explanation for why he chose to let me go. I usually give the "budget cuts" response but this is a well known company that appears to have a ton of money so the response is usually "Wow, you would think they are really profitable, how strange." Makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
I wish that my boss would have requested I look for another job so that I could have been EMPLOYED while looking. It would have saved him the massive severance they paid me as well as the increase in their D&O insurance. It was such a sudden decision, I can't wrap my hands around it.
Further, the job I am currently interviewing for recently "laid off" the person in the position I am applying for - he was "laid off" because he was incompetent. I hated telling them yesterday that I was also "laid off." It is just mortifying.
Sigh.
Re: All of a sudden...extremely frustrated and bitter....
Interesting, because in my job experience, layoffs happen for all sorts of reasons. We had layoffs at my first real job because our company was purchased and they laid off 10% of the staff while they reorganized. Another company had layoffs of anyone who was left over from the old company when they were bought by a new one. Purely political, nothing to do with performance or budget issues. My last company had a 5% layoff for those who didn't have enough billable hours. I've never taken it personally. If they specifically stated it wasn't for a performance issue, then it is what it is. In my experience, if you're "laid off" for a performance issue, it's called being fired.
As for a response, I would simply say there was a reorganization and you were part of the layoffs that occurred during X period of time. Surely you weren't the only person laid off.
And as for your boss? He may have had no idea this was coming. He might have had a gut feeling, but you can't really advise your employees based on that. That first company I talked about? We had a group meeting one morning basically saying there would be layoffs that day so stay put. My boss's reports all swarmed around her asking who was going and who was staying, and she had no idea. None. She found out maybe 5 minutes before they laid off 3 of her staff.
Layoffs are always sudden. They suck, but drawing it out is worse.
The previous employee at your current job wasn't laid off. He was fired.
Is your most recent boss able to act as a reference for you to state that your performance was OK?
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
You are right - there is a difference between being laid off and fired. In my interview yesterday, I tried to slyly mention that I got a severance package - usually people who are fired do not get severance (in my experience). I am constantly overcompensating for this - clearly.
This WAS my boss' decision - he is the President. We used to be extremely close - not inappropriately close - but we were close. All of a sudden, two months ago, he started acting really chilly and slowly started taking away some of my projects. I think that is what I am most bitter about - I am not stupid, I KNEW something wasn't right and having to go to work everyday for two months trying to figure out what was going on was extremely stressful. He had clearly been thinking about it for awhile. Given how close we were, he talked to me about it for three minutes, then left my office and I was escorted from the building. I have had to fire (or lay off) people - and that's just not how you do it especially given my tenure there. It was a business decision, not a personal decision, I get that, but...come on. Three minutes?
After it happened, my boss left the room so suddenly, I couldn't ask him any questions. The VP of HR (who was in the room with us) said they would give me a good reference but I have too much pride to use them as a reference (my problem, I know). I guess I could use some of the people I used to work with - and given how hands off my boss was - they would probably provide a better reference anyway.
Thanks for letting me whine around...
If he was the one making decisions, his hands may have been tied in telling you how much of what was going on. There are liability issues at play. And he may have felt that staying close to you personally was going to make it worse, so it was better to start pulling away.
As for the delivery of the news, I will never see it done perfectly. Someone is always upset about some aspect of it. Typically it's the person doing the firing and someone from HR, so that someone neutral is in the room. That first real job I mentioned? A gal in my dept came in on a vacation day to see what was going on and got laid off. Not a cool move, but apparently they'd handled their previous round of layoffs with pink slips on desks. So there's that.
What did you expect from him? Maybe he was as upset about this as you were, and didn't want you to see him upset, so he excused himself so that the neutral person in the room could go over the cold, hard facts of a layoff.
Just trying to give you a different POV. Everyone handles this sort of thing differently.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
I don't think it would be inappropriate for you to "fudge" the truth a little. I think you can easily say, "The company reorganized some leadership roles and departments." And when you're answering the questions, I would be sure to say great things about the company...something like, "It was a terrific place for me to learn and grow, and I'm happy to be able to take the skills I built there to another company."
Good luck! Just remember, a lay off doesn't negate your talent or skills! You never know what the reasons were! They may have had nothing to do with you.
I was laid off last October, my department was restructured and the new boss decided they could higher someone with less experience for my roll.
Fortunately I was given the opportunity to attend an outplacement program and received help with the transition. One thing they taught me, you will go through many of the stage of grief. Its ok to be angry and frustrated some days - it will pass, you have experienced a loss, so give yourself time to grieve and get it out of your system. If you hold on to it, it will come out in your interviews, even subconsciously through body language.
One thing I realize, now coming full circle in my new job, I am still a rockstar. My confidence was shaken by the layoff, I questioned my career path, my life, my abilities - if they did not want me why would anyone else. After some deep self evaluation, I learned to really sell myself, my accomplishments were numerous, so I focused on that and what I could do for my next company. My new job is a perfect fit and after three months here I am still get great praise for what I bring to the team and wowing them with my skills and abilities - and it feels great.
Just know, it will get better - it may seem bad right now, but hang in there and focus on yourself. You will get through this and will be a better person for it. Best of luck!!
Please don't cut off your nose to spike your face - if they are offering you a good reference then use it! You need a job - not revenge...or whatever you think you would get out if letting your pride dictate your actions.
I'm so sorry this happened to you.
I agree with PP - dragging it out can be worse. At my company they told us 3 months in advance that there would be a headcount reduction. THey wanted to tell us before Christmas so employees could decide in advance whether a spending spree was a good idea. Every one was walking around in a state of doom and gloom for 3 months. It was not fun.
Can you say the project load shifted and as a result there was a reorganization and my position was cut? THat makes it more about the workload and less about your performance. Also, don't you have accomplishments to highlight during your interview to mitigate any doubt that you were an exemplary employee?
Wow. If the way I feel after just reading about this is any indication, this has been a sucker punch in the stomach for you. I'm so sorry. I would feel exactly the same as you: wondering wtf happened. Of course, I too would want an explanation, but unfortunately, you will probably NEVER get closure on this. That's SO bizarre.
I agree that you should use this position as a reference. Stay above board, write to your former friend (boss) to thank him for all his leadership and mentoring (even if you don't feel that way) and ask for letters of recommendation from all your former colleagues.
Good luck.
I can't imagine how hurt and frustrated your are feeling right now, but I really do think it is a mistake to not use your former employer as a reference, especially since HR stated they would be happy to provide a positive reference. It just looks like you are trying to hide something, and a person who has laid off, for no fault of thier own, would have no issue using a former employer as a reference.
Good luck on the job hunt!