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canyonwalkerWhew. This story about my first experience with a corporate layoff has grown to 6 entries. Well, that's really not surprising as it was an eventful and formative time for me. Really the biggest surprise is that I didn't set down in writing, except for a few emails to friends at the time, my thoughts about it until now, so many years later!
At the end of The Day of Truth, after The Aftermath, my colleagues and I went our separate ways. We did plan a lunch date to get back together a week or two later.
Our spirits were still high when we met back up for lunch. As I cast my memory back upon that time from my perspective today I still marvel at how optimistic we all were, at how optimistic I was. Of course, it wasn't just optimism. The job market was good, and our particular sector was hot. I'd interviewed with at least 5 companies and had verbal or written offers from two already.
Why no? For me it was a stonewalling answer from the VP Engineering I'd be working under. "How do you manage a project that falls behind schedule?" I asked during our interview. He gave a blanket denial that projects ever run late. "That doesn't happen," he repeated as he refused to answer the question. That struck me as a) gross incompetence, b) outright dishonesty, or c) both.
My colleagues had observed an interaction between the CEO and his executive assistant... she flinched when he seemed upset, like she expected him to scream at her... or worse. FWIW I saw that interaction, too. I didn't realize, "OMG, she's afraid he's going to hit her!" until my colleagues challenged me to think about it again.
"Bert", the manager in our department who quit in protest on The Day of Truth, already had a job offer from a company in Chicago. They Fed-Exed him a deep dish pizza packed in dry ice with his offer letter to say, "Welcome to the team."
Bert also had one of our former colleagues practically sitting on his lap at lunch. They were dating. They had actually been dating several months but keeping it quiet since he was her manager and it was against company policy. Now they were "out" publicly and moving in together. She was still working at the company but planning to quit. The new department was in chaos.
Most of us took a bit of time to ourselves between jobs... except Bert, whose new employer wanted him to start right away. That was just as well for him, as he didn't get a severance package. Those of us laid off were given reasonably generous severance. I'd worked there less than a year, and my payout totaled to nearly 4 months salary.
I used that money to take two weeks to choose the right job offer (I chose wrong anyway— but that's another story!) and then relax two weeks before starting my new position. The rest I used, with a bit of existing savings once I got situated in my new job, to buy a new car.
At the end of The Day of Truth, after The Aftermath, my colleagues and I went our separate ways. We did plan a lunch date to get back together a week or two later.
Our spirits were still high when we met back up for lunch. As I cast my memory back upon that time from my perspective today I still marvel at how optimistic we all were, at how optimistic I was. Of course, it wasn't just optimism. The job market was good, and our particular sector was hot. I'd interviewed with at least 5 companies and had verbal or written offers from two already.
Where to Go Next— or Not
My former manager, a former colleagues, and I all had written offers from the same company. It's another major, name-brand tech company you'd recognize the name of today... though back then it was not yet a household name. The three of us met to discuss the prospect of working there. We agreed, "No."Why no? For me it was a stonewalling answer from the VP Engineering I'd be working under. "How do you manage a project that falls behind schedule?" I asked during our interview. He gave a blanket denial that projects ever run late. "That doesn't happen," he repeated as he refused to answer the question. That struck me as a) gross incompetence, b) outright dishonesty, or c) both.
My colleagues had observed an interaction between the CEO and his executive assistant... she flinched when he seemed upset, like she expected him to scream at her... or worse. FWIW I saw that interaction, too. I didn't realize, "OMG, she's afraid he's going to hit her!" until my colleagues challenged me to think about it again.
"Bert", the manager in our department who quit in protest on The Day of Truth, already had a job offer from a company in Chicago. They Fed-Exed him a deep dish pizza packed in dry ice with his offer letter to say, "Welcome to the team."
Bert also had one of our former colleagues practically sitting on his lap at lunch. They were dating. They had actually been dating several months but keeping it quiet since he was her manager and it was against company policy. Now they were "out" publicly and moving in together. She was still working at the company but planning to quit. The new department was in chaos.
Most of us took a bit of time to ourselves between jobs... except Bert, whose new employer wanted him to start right away. That was just as well for him, as he didn't get a severance package. Those of us laid off were given reasonably generous severance. I'd worked there less than a year, and my payout totaled to nearly 4 months salary.
I used that money to take two weeks to choose the right job offer (I chose wrong anyway— but that's another story!) and then relax two weeks before starting my new position. The rest I used, with a bit of existing savings once I got situated in my new job, to buy a new car.
