Have You Been Close To a Layoff?

NetworkingStudent

I took a help desk job, because my level 2 support contract was ending soon.  I have been here a month.
The job is full time and close to home. 
Small company and everyone is super nice.  We have lost a few customers roughly 2 weeks ago.

My boss was forced to cut our IT budget twice.  Now we are at the point that are budget is so tight that we have just enough money to keep us employed.

There are 4 of us in the IT department, and I just found that all of our jobs are being examined very closely.
Our boss has said he wants to keep all of us.

My impression is what we do each day and our interactions with everyone will be reviewed daily by others outside of IT.   This wasn't said, but this is the impression I'm getting.

To be honest I'm a little scared.

Has anyone been here before?  Any advice? 

ITPadawan21

Things can happen at any time and no one knows but if you feel like a layoff is on the way then ensure you have savings and prepare your resume

Tekn0logy

Learn what you can in what time you have left. Get certified in the direction that you want your career to move in and also get certified in what you know like the back of your hand and are qualified to do. Set up learning accounts with 3rd parties that only allow "work email" registrations and then add your personal email to the account. Document any on-the-job training, awards and accomplishments. Get your resume together, get a list of references (boss, coworkers and clients) and start looking now. First order of business the next time you are at work. I never saw anyone walked out the door before lunch unless they were in cuffs.

jeremywatts2005

Well I probably won't get laid off this yr but you never know. My company has been laying off like crazy and no one seems to be safe. When you hear words like we don't have funding for and then you put in whatever you may want. Including training, pay raises and so on. Yet somehow they manage to spend millions and millions buying other companies and taking on their debt and rehabbing overpriced and difficult to access facilities where hardly anyone wants to commute to as a publicity stunt. You know it is coming eventually been through three layoffs over the years none of them were pretty. 

jumblerr

I've been laid off. 10 years ago, and it lasted close to a year (right around the 2009 economic crisis). I've been in my current job for 9 years and have been promoted twice (now at CIO/CISO), not to mention its a job that's changed my life for the better in more ways than 1. 

Bottom line, if a layoff happens, in most cases its the best thing long term, and I would argue it was meant to be. I've heard this time and time again, and I've experienced it personally. When one door closes...

E Double U

I recommend doing these things well before a potential layoff. These are all regular activities for me.

Tekn0logy said:

Learn what you can in what time you have left. Get certified in the direction that you want your career to move in and also get certified in what you know like the back of your hand and are qualified to do. Document any on-the-job training, awards and accomplishments. Get your resume together, get a list of references (boss, coworkers and clients) and start looking now.  

EANx

It's very possible that your boss is telling the truth, that he's doing everything he can to keep everyone. But you need to categorize everyone in your dept as either a cost-center, a revenue-generator or a bit-of-both. People who are cost-centers are more likely to get the ax and two-weeks in, if your firm has a probationary period, you're at risk.

I've been laid off twice, once during a recession and that time took 18 months before I found a perm role. From your perspective, there are two parts to a layoff, preparation for and the job search after.

Ideally, you'll know it's coming before it hits. Things like, when someone leaves, replacing them with another person in finance and loss of major customers without replacements about to be signed. As they say, follow the money. If the money is drying up or something is changing about the way the money is being treated, keep your ears open.

Financial preparation for the layoff is simple, always keep a good emergency fund available and keep your skills up to date. The rule of thumb is that you should be able to survive six months without work but that's going to be harder for someone new to the industry than someone with 20 years of experience. Most, if not all, US states offer 20-26 weeks of unemployment so you only need to be able to make up the difference. I'm also a fan of rolling over as much vacation time as the company will allow you to so you get that time paid out if you're laid off as well.

Another part of preparation is ensuring you have a good network of people to fall back on. If you live outside of a small town, there are probably various IT user groups in the area as well as groups related to project management. Find these and go and meet people. I strongly recommend finding the local PMI chapter and meeting project management folks. These are often entry-level to mid-level business people who will provide a much different set of eyes regarding job openings.

The tech prep here is easy and you're either ding it or you aren't. There's nothing wrong with taking a break from studies, but sometimes as people get comfortable in their job, they get complacent about keeping their skills up. Don't be that guy! Always have a plan for how you'll interview. My opinion is that once you're invited to an interview, the things that matter most are passion and cultural fit. The firm liked what they saw on paper, now they want to see your personality. I've seen more people lose a position due to personality than anything else. They're arrogant, impolite, etc.

What should you be doing TODAY? Take a skills inventory, see where your weak points are and come up with a plan to address. Find where local user groups are and start going. As was mentioned, sign up for those things that require a non-free email and switch them over. If your firm offers any sort of company-paid of learning through 3rd-party companies, sign up for them while you still can.

EANx

Oh, assuming you're in the US, you might also consider going and changing the number of exemptions you're claiming for income tax purposes. If it were me, I'd claim as many as I could, that way less money is taken from the paycheck. If you do get laid off, you will probably want as much of your check as you can get. Ask HR how often you can change exemptions and then you can always plan to change it back once things settle down.

JDMurray

Always assume that you may be looking for a new job--in another department or in another company--in the coming year. Determine what you will need in the areas of education, certification, and experience to get your next job and plan your career development activities accordingly.

Fear and denial often leads people into not participating in any career development activities at all. You need to find career development as invigorating for both succeeding in your present job and preparing you for your next.

MontagueVandervort

In this circumstance I would have already been looking for a job, especially considering that the prior move you made was a downward step.

To be honest, I would have been looking for a job even before all of this possible lay off information came my way because of that downward step (which I would have only taken because of some type of emergency).

I'm not sure why you're sitting there in a position that is lower than where you came from, and you're hesitant to make any moves. You may wish to examine the reasons more deeply. Doing that will probably serve you very well.

scaredoftests

Start sending out resumes.  I have been laid off a few times, 2 times, I(and the rest of the lab that was laid off) were allowed to stay for 4 months.  That is nice and a curse at the same time.  I have also been laid off where it was sudden and had to be gone that day(but, I had an inkling something was up, because my boss kept mentioning that the contract was going to change).  Look out for yourself and move on.

AvgITGeek

Oh yeah. Been laid off twice and it always happened right before new year and once on my birthday! Happy Birthday and xmas and the new year dude!

Keep your resume up to date. Start getting certifications that validate or compliment your on the job experience.

Even if you aren't looking at being laid off, you should always have your resume up to date.

Excuse me while I update my resume.

Good luck!

NetworkingStudent

ITPadawan21 said:

Things can happen at any time and no one knows but if you feel like a layoff is on the way then ensure you have savings and prepare your resume

I do have some saving set aside.  I need to update my resume

NetworkingStudent

Tekn0logy said:

Learn what you can in what time you have left. Get certified in the direction that you want your career to move in and also get certified in what you know like the back of your hand and are qualified to do. Set up learning accounts with 3rd parties that only allow "work email" registrations and then add your personal email to the account. Document any on-the-job training, awards and accomplishments. Get your resume together, get a list of references (boss, coworkers and clients) and start looking now. First order of business the next time you are at work. I never saw anyone walked out the door before lunch unless they were in cuffs.

I need to start getting certified again.  I have been becoming complacent.  I need to work on my resume.

scaredoftests

Do it..

NavyMooseCCNA

I've been laid off six times in twenty years. I was just laid off at New Year's. The most recent layoff came out of left field and was completely unexpected. Keeping a normal work like routine is one of the keys. Get up at the time you normally get up for work, stuff like that. I try to go out a couple of times each week to job hunt or work on my PenTest VMs. It sucks and I've actually had hiring managers mention that I've been laid off a lot. I'd love to stay at a good employer for more than three years and I've only done it twice.

Jon_Cisco

I was laid off years ago. At the time it was expected so I handled it pretty well. My current company is in a very unstable industry but I have been here for 14 years and like the work. Since we are always looking over our shoulder I have spent the last 6 years preparing for an eventual layoff. When it happens I will make my career jump if I don't do it sooner. I keep my eye out for decent opportunities and have a good relationship with my company so they are aware of my activities.

I worked with people in the past and some currently that are not preparing much. They will have a much harder time. All you can do is be accepting and have a plan.

If you  boss is talking to you openly keep that communication going. I have had to lay people off and it is a lot harder on the boss then you might realize. I consider my coworkers friends but you can't always tell 100% of what you know. It just comes with the job. Most importantly let him know you want the job. Being the new guy you might be first out or you might be spared for being lower paid. If they don't think you like the job your an easy cut.

NetworkingStudent

I'm laid off
Well, I thought we lost 16% of our business, and it was actually 20%. 

I saw the writing on the wall. 

We lost the staffing company and all the temps.

I saw the termination tickets come through.  The tickets were titled "work force reduction".  I talked to other people in the company, and some people moved across states to one of other facilities.

I helped moved the sectary's computer equipment, and I later learned that they let the sectary go and someone else will be doing her job.  

My boss said it wasn't due to performance, he said I did a great job!  It  felt good to hear that.  Also, he said he's going to help me try to find work. 

MeanDrunkR2D2

Hopefully you already had your resume updated and ready or already sent out.  If not, do so today and get back on that horse and find a good job with more security.  The further in your career you are, the easier it is to rebound from these types of layoffs.  When I was laid off a decade ago, I was fairly early in my career, and adding in the recession and those struggles it was difficult and took me a little over a year to find a comparable new role that paid me well.  You definitely saw the writing on the wall and honestly it's probably not the last round of cuts if revenue continues to dive like it is.  Have your ex boss write up a good referral for you and ask him if he would be a reference in your job search.  

Anytime you feel like you are seeing a potential for layoffs and see other departments being downsized pay close attention like you did.  I always update my resume quarterly at my current job just in case I need to get it ready to send out quickly to find a new job.  Also that helps because I can better document exactly what I did in that role.   I list all projects and tasks that I did in that role and have a "master" resume that has every bit of tech that I worked with and it is a much longer resume because of that.  But it's not the resume that I send out to employers.  I will create resumes for each job listed and cut out the junk that isn't important for the role I'm applying to and will keep the resume down to 2 pages. 

Blackout

I have been laid off twice, not a fun experience but it sharpened me, taught me that I cannot rely on others for job security and had to make my own. The two things to me that have worked to provide job security is work ethic and availability. I focused on both of these for years and it paid off dramatically for me. 

DatabaseHead

@Blackout I couldn't agree more about your point about not being able to rely on others.  This has been the case for me as well.  While I haven't been laid off unless you count a part time job in college 20 years ago....   But with the others who have who I have known; the ones who bounced back were focusing on something related to career advancement prior to the layoff.  Whether it was a certification or just skills in general.  A lot of times they ended up in better positions.