Comments on: Surviving Being Laid Off

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:24:53 +0000

Thanks for the post. I actually Googled this when trying to feel better about getting laid off last week. I was told 7 months ago that my performance was horrible. I was working until 8pm at night and coming in every other Sunday trying to work hard and do my best. It really has taken a toll on me…especially since I feel a little helpless that I might not find a job until after New Years due to people being out of the office for the holidays.

This really helped me feel a lot better! Considering you wrote this in September, I hope you have found a new and BETTER job by now! Best wishes!

By: Rhett Soveran

Rhett Soveran — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:07:13 +0000

Thanks Stacy. Brilliant comment and I am sorry to hear that you and I are in similar boats. I totally agree that there is so much room to be angry about it (and I have been), but ultimately I just feel sorry for them and how they decided to handle the situation/market.

And with pastries in mind, I am aware that I have an apple pie in the freezer. I might need to warm that up!

By: Stacy Smith

Stacy Smith — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:38:31 +0000

Yeah man…I just got laid off last Friday. I worked for a huge internet telecomm provider for 7 years. I never had any performance issues the entire time I worked there…then out of the blue my boss created a false story about my “suddenly poor performance” and I felt manipulated into taking a severance package. I wasn’t terribly shocked that she would be so unethical, but I wasn’t expecting the lengths she took to make things look so grim for me. Really unnecessry. I spent many days angry at that fact, but today I have started to forgive since I know it wasn’t really my fault. I heard this tactic was also used on others so I just felt like one of many.

Soooooo I have a job interview lined up for next week and in addition to that I was contacted immediately by my previous boss who immediately offered to give me a job at his company once their hiring freeze is lifted. See? There is hope for me.

I like what you had to say….yes times are tough out there but it doesn’t help to wallow too long.

I’ve been struggling with trying to relax..(really relax)…so I’m just doing what is necessary and important first things first…organizing my office, buying storage bins at Target, talking myself out of spending unnecessary funds on things to make myself feel better and taking calls from all of my really nice friends who I know think highly of me. I could use a day to chill and do something fun, but so far the panic hasn’t allowed me to do that completely. I bet this weekend I’ll relax a little. Hey, this is only one week old exactly, as of today.

Yeah, my ego is bruised, but I know I put my best effort there and that I’ll land on my feet again soon. Funny how we let our egos get bruised for really no reason. We don’t hold the purse strings on these companies. We’ve just been cogs in the wheel. Layoffs are inevitable. It’s how we handle ourselves through the process that matters. Retain our dignity. Try not to bad mouth the previous employer. Forge ahead into the future. Eat some cake. Whatever it takes.

Stacy

By: Rhett Soveran

Rhett Soveran — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:16:22 +0000

That’s from Sentinel Pass, in Banff. It was actually a few weeks ago that I hiked it, but it seemed like a decent picture. And I absolutely agree with you.

By: Adam Kahtava

Adam Kahtava — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:24:14 +0000

Sorry to hear about this. I’m sure it won’t be long until you find something new of interest. With every experience we grow.

So what trail did you hike?