In most of my past jobs, once I was informed that I was the victim of corporate downsizing, I was led to the door at the conclusion of the announcement. It was as if I had become an alien from the moment the news was delivered to me and I was not to be trusted to remain within the walls of the company for another moment. From what I had been told by more than one person, that was the standard operating procedure for most companies in the United States; once a person was let go, that person was escorted out and that was that.
For the first time, I have been given a two-week advance notice of my termination and am expected to continue functioning as normal right to the very end, which will be on June 30. On the one hand, I find it impressive that the agency at which I work has the confidence in me to allow me to work after I have been given a notice of termination for two weeks. On the other hand, the feeling is sort of weird, to be working in a lame-duck capacity when I have tasks that will require ongoing maintenance that I will not be around to give. I have two policies that were delivered to me in PDF format on Friday afternoon that need to be published in HTML format in the near future; it is somewhat doubtful that I will have them both up and ready for publication in just two days, although the challenge would normally be one that I would face bravely. Knowing that I will be walking out the door for the last time in two days does not give me a great amount of incentive to push these two policies forward, although if I know myself, I will certainly give them my best shot, simply because I prefer to be busy than to be idle.
When I was given my notice, my supervisor said that she would be lenient with me if I had to go out for interviews for jobs. I only wish that I had needed such leniency. The job market is not exactly teeming with offers at present. On June 30, the department will be holding a farewell ceremony for me, which is a nice gesture of sorts, I suppose; I just wish I had to be absent from it because of an interview. I know I've put out applications everywhere I saw an available position, but so far, I've not received even a nibble. It's hard to remain upbeat when that is the case.
There was a time when I worked as a freelancer and did quite well at it. The economy was a lot more robust than it is today, however. My only alternative now is to keep going and to wait it out until something finally breaks for me. I know I'm not alone, but as a Hebrew saying goes, the sorrow of many is the consolation of fools.
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Comments: 23
Good luck Maurice, I hope you are able to find another job soon!
I am so sorry to hear that you are losing your job very shortly......the job market is horrible right now.....it just seems like everybody is downsizing.......which is really scary. The only employers I know that can't get enough people is the trucking industry. My husband is a driver (for almost 32 years)........many of the good, dependable drivers have retired, and his company just cannot find new/dependable replacements (preferably with experience). Good luck....I sure hope you can find something else soon.
I hope you find some thing Maurice. I got laid off in 74. It is never easy. Jobs were hard to find then too. Good luck.
The economy was bad in 1974, too; I was then newly graduated from college, and I went a year without finding a job in my chosen profession. When I did find a job, it was out of the country, and I found myself living abroad for the next 22 years! The thought of going through that again chills my bones; I'm hoping that I'm never put in that situation again.
That does sound bad. I fell on black ice on the 30th of December. I was in a cast from the right knee down, my doctor would not release me to return to work for over two months, so the State Archives of WA laid me off. Old old story. I wound up medically retire on SSI from then on.
I hope you find something soon. At least you are maintaining the positive outlook and I think that's important. Good luck to you.
You will find something. One thing will lead to another. Try not to worry. It will only make you sick!
I honestly believe that with all the experience you have you will find the very position that you want~your outlook will ascertain that~ =)
Been there. Done that. T-shirt for sale on E-Bay.
Good luck on finding something good soon!
I hope you find something, times are so hard.
I heard some interesting advice for looking for work. Apply and send you resume to places that AREN'T actively or openly recruiting. Right now places that do put out ads are being "spammed" with resumes. I hope this tidbit helps you out a little bit.
I hope you find something. I went through a similar experience of searching about a year ago, and found a great job. I hope you find something simlar.
very sorry
So sorry you are having to go back out in the world, and start over some place else, and that these, other places are few and far between in this economy. Best wishes in your efforts!
At least this time they seemed to have given you some sort of respect. And, I do think that if you accomplish the tasks they set forth for you before you leave, that they will give you a great recomendation. Which is great for a new job.
Just keep up the faith and pray, if you're so inclined.
Maurice, I wish you the best of luck finding a new job.
The economy scares me to death right now, never once did I fear of not having enought money to pay the mortgage or eat, those days are gone.
thanks
Must be strange, like going to school till the end of the year even after final exams are done!
Maurice, I'm sorry you were let go. I understand totally. My previous employer downsized 5 years ago. They gave me a year's notice they were cutting my job. I had a whole year of being the invisible employee while I looked for a job within and outside the university. That was the last I've seen of fulltime work.
I understand the lack of desire to continue to push through at that company, but it comes down to having pride and respect for yourself and the job that reflects on you.
On to better things now. My parttime job is much more rewarding than the fulltime one. Better people and more challenging work. There are drawbacks, like no health insurance, but at least I am in good health.
I know exactly how you feel.. Last March I was informed they were merging our two Massachusetts offices and we could go with the merge. If we chose not to go and stayed for til the end we would get a 1500.00 bonus.. I didnt care about the bonus, I wanted a job, this was the start of the "economic emergency". I didnt take the job in the other office because it was a 71 mile commute, ONE WAY!! and gas was still at 4 bucks a gallon... Sometimes I regret not taking the job in the new office.. I went on interview after interview, nothing! I got sick in July and lost a month of Job Hunting because I could not drive, per doctors orders... so I went back to work for a month, my last day was September 5. I did get the stay on bonus and was fortunate that our short term disability payed 100%.. I still have not landed a new job, there are so many of us out of work that there is 1 job per 100 people...... Hang in there...
I hope you get a job that pays you more then you were and that the time between that job and now is a vacation of enjoyment!
Have you thought of trying a head hunter? We've a friend that landed a great job, using one. Just a thought.