Just Laid Off

silentc1015

I just got laid off from my job. It was a startup company, and I worked there about eight months. They just ran out of work and money. The owner laid me off and wrote me a letter of recommendation, telling me that although my performance was great he just couldn't keep me on. So, it looks like I'm back on the search again.

I'll probably take a month or two to relax and spend time with friends and family, and then I'll start looking hard for another job again. I just started the thread not too long ago about how to find 6 and 8 month contract jobs. I think when I'm ready I'll take some of that advice and try to find an interesting contract job somewhere I've never been beore, just for fun and experience. I'll let you guys know how the job search goes, what works, and what doesn't. So, hopefully someone will get something valuable out of the experience I'm about to go through soon.

I guess one valuable lesson is, startup companies can be very unstable. Everything seemed to be going great, then suddenly I'm unemployed.

BeaverC32

Sorry to hear this

From what I've seen, you shouldn't have any problem finding another job once you decide to go looking. Best of luck!

silentc1015

BeaverC32 wrote:

Sorry to hear this

From what I've seen, you shouldn't have any problem finding another job once you decide to go looking. Best of luck!

Thanks! I hope you're right. I'm from South/Central Pennsylvania, right along the Maryland border. So, I'm going to be looking for something in Richmond, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, or Philadelphia. That's a pretty big job market, so, I'm hoping I can find something good

mrhaun03

silentc1015 wrote:

BeaverC32 wrote:

Sorry to hear this

From what I've seen, you shouldn't have any problem finding another job once you decide to go looking. Best of luck!

Thanks! I hope you're right. I'm from South/Central Pennsylvania, right along the Maryland border. So, I'm going to be looking for something in Richmond, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, or Philadelphia. That's a pretty big job market, so, I'm hoping I can find something good

So you like the big city life, huh. I'm from Pittsburgh myself. I get lots of calls for HelpDesk type position, though I doubt that's what you're looking for. I don't know your experience level, but judging by those certs you're not entry level.

That's the bad thing about small, start-up companies...you can be laid off at anytime. On the other hand, I think you can get a lot more experience with different technologies and things. I'm in a HelpDesk position, but I get to work with Active Directory, Firewalls, get to travel, etc...whereas in a bigger company I would probably be on the phones all day, not getting to do anything else.

Good luck in the job search!

silentc1015

mrhaun03 wrote:

silentc1015 wrote:

BeaverC32 wrote:

Sorry to hear this

From what I've seen, you shouldn't have any problem finding another job once you decide to go looking. Best of luck!

Thanks! I hope you're right. I'm from South/Central Pennsylvania, right along the Maryland border. So, I'm going to be looking for something in Richmond, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, or Philadelphia. That's a pretty big job market, so, I'm hoping I can find something good

So you like the big city life, huh. I'm from Pittsburgh myself. I get lots of calls for HelpDesk type position, though I doubt that's what you're looking for. I don't know your experience level, but judging by those certs you're not entry level.

That's the bad thing about small, start-up companies...you can be laid off at anytime. On the other hand, I think you can get a lot more experience with different technologies and things. I'm in a HelpDesk position, but I get to work with Active Directory, Firewalls, get to travel, etc...whereas in a bigger company I would probably be on the phones all day, not getting to do anything else.

Good luck in the job search!

I do like the big city. I'm originally from that area of Pennsylvania, actually just about 100 or so miles east of Pittsburgh. I have a lot of friends and family there, so, I'm mainly looking for a job that's just a short drive back on the weekends. I'm sticking to the city because I prefer it, I like the money, and I train in mixed martial arts. It's hard to find a place to train outside the city, and I just love the sport! I'm hoping to find a job as a security analyst, but I'd take a sysadmin job. I'm really trying to break into security, and hopefully eventually management so I prefer a larger company as well.

ajs1976

silentc1015 wrote:

I'm hoping to find a job as a security analyst, but I'd take a sysadmin job. I'm really trying to break into security, and hopefully eventually management so I prefer a larger company as well.

Just curious. If you are trying to break into the security field, how did you meet the experience requirements for the CISSP?

silentc1015

ajs1976 wrote:

silentc1015 wrote:

I'm hoping to find a job as a security analyst, but I'd take a sysadmin job. I'm really trying to break into security, and hopefully eventually management so I prefer a larger company as well.

Just curious. If you are trying to break into the security field, how did you meet the experience requirements for the CISSP?

I worked for a regional ISP for five years and was responsible for the storing of user credentials, database security, server security, and all authentication services.

JDMurray

silentc1015 wrote:

I just got laid off from my job. It was a startup company, and I worked there about eight months. They just ran out of work and money.

Yep, been there many times myself. Sometimes a company will prematurely hire based on the hope they'll be awarded a contract, and sometimes the venture capitalists just get tired of writing the checks. I've been let go from a startup because of cash flow issues after working on a project for over two years and after only one week. Those really short stays I don't even put on my resume.

I like the small, exciting entrepreneurial startups, but they sure are volatile, and not recommended for people who like regular hours and long-term employment. Something to consider when job hunting. Good luck.

ajs1976

silentc1015 wrote:

ajs1976 wrote:

silentc1015 wrote:

I'm hoping to find a job as a security analyst, but I'd take a sysadmin job. I'm really trying to break into security, and hopefully eventually management so I prefer a larger company as well.

Just curious. If you are trying to break into the security field, how did you meet the experience requirements for the CISSP?

I worked for a regional ISP for five years and was responsible for the storing of user credentials, database security, server security, and all authentication services.

thanks, that helps.