The Work Thread..

[boozeman]

I found out today I am getting laid off from the job I have held for the last ten years. I will get paid to do nothing for the next four weeks, but after that, sorry.

I have never been unemployed and I have no idea how to handle it.

Feels gay as shit even posting this on a forum, but I sure as shit am not putting it on Facebook where errbody can see.

I am in a pretty big state of shock.

Just looking for some tips, pointers and feedback if anyone else has been there. I never have.

 

[BipolarFuk]

First of all, that sucks. Sorry to hear it.

Second, you only get four weeks unemployment or is that severance?

If it is severance pay then I'd look into filing for unemployment ASAP.

 

[boozeman]

First of all, that sucks. Sorry to hear it.

Second, you only get four weeks unemployment or is that severance?

If it is severance pay then I'd look into filing for unemployment ASAP.

Nah, nah.

That is severance.

I am so new to it, I have no idea when I can actually file.

I am hopeful I won't have to, but realistically I will eventually.

Like I said, never been through that process.

 

[midswat]

That sucks and I hate to hear that.

I've not ever been laid off, but I was a Realtor from 2005 to up when the market crashed in late 2008, and in a market like that if you have no sales, you have zero income. Add to it, it was near impossible to find a job for me because my technical experience gained in the Navy was useless without a security clearance (which had expired a year prior). I had no direct work experience in my bachelors field of study (Computer Info Systems), and despite whoring my resume out there, the only people contacting me for interviews were other commission only sales jobs, which I wanted to avoid.

Long story short, I can empathize. How I dealt with it was I had to swallow my pride big time. An old navy friend had a brother who owned a small construction company. Only paid $11 an hour but I could work as many hours a week as I wanted. I did that and still worked with a few remaining clients on small home purchases to get by as much as I could. Eventually he ran out of projects and I gave up on the real estate thing. I contacted a temp agency, and landed an office job. Busted my ass and made a good impression, and after a few months was given full time job supervising a small department. That job sent me to a retarded leadership conference where by pure luck I networked with a guy who ultimately helped me get my start in my current position where I make way more money than I should considering my disjointed work history.

So my advice is simply to:

• Swallow your pride - you might have to work jobs you think are below you. I didn't mind the construction job but for whatever reason I thought the temp agency was 'below me.'
• Network
• When given opportunities, bust your ass

 

[boozeman]

So my advice is simply to:

• Swallow your pride - you might have to work jobs you think are below you. I didn't mind the construction job but for whatever reason I thought the temp agency was 'below me.'
• Network
• When given opportunities, bust your ass

Yeah, I get what you are saying and I appreciate the tips.

What is bad about what I have done for what is a small privately owned company for the past ten years is not all that transferable.

I did a lot of things for them and got compensated very well.

Now I do my research and I see people carrying titles I had before getting paid dirt for basically the same thing.

 

[1bigfan13]

Sorry to hear about that. I'll be transitioning from the military in roughly 7 months, so I'll have the arduous task of looking for a "real" job myself in the not so distant future.

This week I've been attending a week long transition course that's required for all transitioning military members. The best advice that I can offer you comes from a couple of the course instructors who happen to have past experience working in the Department of Labor. If you haven't done so already, get your Linked In account up to date as quickly as possible and make connections to put feelers out there. Spring for the premium access as well. Apparently 93% of talent acquisition specialists use Linked In for hiring purposes. They made it sound as if that's the biggest thing to do when searching for jobs, followed by conducting thorough research of the company and position that you're interested in.

Also, I seem to remember you mentioning that you worked HR in some capacity. I'd use whatever tips and tricks that you can glean from the talent acquisition personnel at your current office to get a leg up and make yourself stand out during your future job search.

 

[boozeman]

I appreciate the tips [MENTION=6]1bigfan13[/MENTION] and [MENTION=15]pdom[/MENTION]

 

[boozeman]

And goddamn, I feel so gay for posting this.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Best advise I can give you is to put yourself in the hands of a good “headhunter” company and let them run interference for you. You may have to work a few temp positions until you land with a company that wants to take you on a trial to hire status. You will have to be willing to be flexible about a few areas but the best jobs usually come from firms that work closely with the headhunter.

 

[boozeman]

You said you’ve been there for ten years. Thats gotta count for something. Get as high as you can - owner, Dept head or President - and ask them for a personal favor for at least one referral to one of their peers. Don’t take no for an answer. Ten years a s a good employee and all you’re asking for is to put you in touch with one of their powerful buddies that might have a job.

That is the thing with this company. They are very isolated. They have been almost parasitic for nearly 20 years, based a lot off one of the two principle owners being drinking and cabin by the lake buddies with the VP of the Supply Chain.

What pisses me off the most is that I have been on a first name basis with the owners and COO for years and they left it up to what is a peer of mine in the VP of HR to tell me the deal

I am way too angry at the moment to even talk to any of them.

 

[Genghis Khan]

That sucks booze. Sorry to hear it.

I agree with Bipo, get on unemployment ASAP. Hopefully that can buy you some time.

Best of luck.

 

[midswat]

Now I'm gonna feel especially bad when I end your season in fantasy football this weekend.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

First of all, that sucks. Sorry to hear it.

Second, you only get four weeks unemployment or is that severance?

If it is severance pay then I'd look into filing for unemployment ASAP.

Yeah he should get at least like 26 weeks unemployment. But an unemployment check isn't going to be nearly as much as he was making.

 

[Cotton]

I am sorry to hear that, man. I don't really have any good advice for you. Just keep your chin up. It'll work itself out.

 

[bbgun]

Best advice my father gave me was to avoid the HR/personnel departments of companies you're interested in. Your résumé is just one of hundreds they receive, and a lot of the hens who work there have a vested interest in keeping people (i.e. competition) out. Much better to go above their heads and schedule an informational interview or coffee with someone higher up on the company's food chain. Even if they have nothing currently available, they might know someone who does. Also, if you're fortunate enough to get a job offer, don't submit a low salary demand. When you do that, you subtly tell them that you don't have confidence in your abilities. Dad said he once lost a job that way. :-(

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I contacted a temp agency, and landed an office job. Busted my ass and made a good impression

Anyone else not buying this?

 

[midswat]

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Seriously, sorry about that booze. And I get the feeling weird about posting this, but like you said, better here than Facebook.

What sucks is, it doesn't get any easier at this age. But I'm sure something will work out. There are too many people out there who are lazy and don't offer anything.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Anyone else not buying this?

That’s a pretty good way to go. The agency has all the job leads, the employing company pays the expenses and employment fees. You get an opportunity make a good impression and the agency does the salary and benefits package negotiations. A headhunter agency does a lot of the same things. Again they take all the job searches in their bailiwick and get a lot more done than you can as an individual.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Best advice my father gave me was to avoid the HR/personnel departments of companies you're interested in. Your résumé is just one of hundreds they receive, and a lot of the hens who work there have a vested interest in keeping people (i.e. competition) out. Much better to go above their heads and schedule an informational interview or coffee with someone higher up on the company's food chain. Even if they have nothing currently available, they might know someone who does. Also, if you're fortunate enough to get a job offer, don't submit a low salary demand. When you do that, you subtly tell them that you don't have confidence in your abilities. Dad said he once lost a job that way. :-(

That only works if you have contacts with the company you are wanting to interview with. The companies Human Resources Office works closely with the agencies and they trust their screening process to keep unqualified personnel out of the loop. It wastes their time by taking cold interviews.