Friday, January 16, 2009
Advance Notice Challenge #1: Keeping up Your Work Performance
During the ensuing weeks before my severance package was delivered to me, I tried to maintain the same level of commitment and energy for the projects I was trying to wrap up. I will not mislead you -- this was not easy. It's pretty natural for you to find it harder and harder to complete your work as the date of your actual severance package draws near. Do the best you can if you find yourself in this situation. Know this is a pretty normal reaction even if you have always given things 100% of your focus. You need to maintain your conduct, attendance as well, since a mistake or outburst could lead (though I've rarely seen it happen) to your severance package being taken away and you just plain getting fired. Do the best you can with your remaining tasks. One thing that helped me was the "legacy" aspect. Since I knew I was leaving, I asked myself what positive things did I still have to get in place that would outlast me and leave a positive legacy? That question drove my behavior in those last couple of weeks more than anything else.
Advance Notice: It Has Happened to Me
This has happened to me once in my career. I believe if you are going to be laid off, an advance notice it is the best way of finding out because it gives you time to go through the emotional news, tell your family and prepare yourself financially, while still keeping up the rhythm of work for a few weeks (or months).
This can also allow you to develop your job search plan as well (which can be a blessing and a curse). Because you can start looking for work right away, by the time the severance package is delivered, you can have some confidence you may already have a job offer. My advice to you is understand the rules surrounding your eligibility for severance before you accept a position someplace else.
In some cases accepting too early can invalidate your severance package. I had about one month of early notice (sometimes called "pre-notice" in the biz). Since I have given this exact same message to many people before, the news was easier to digest for me, athough it's never fun-- a point I always try to keep in mind when telling other people, even if they will be receiving a financial windfall from it.
The first person I talked to afterwards was my current boss (who I love working for). She was let go as well and had received the same news. It was actually helpful that she was being laid off as well, because we could sort of commiserate together and use each other for sounding boards on our job search strategy. After my boss, I called my wife who was devastated when I told her. I think for her it was more shocking because while I had prepared her for this possibility, it had not happened before so she may have thought my warnings to be somewhat apocalyptic.
In any case, after her I told my Mom and Dad and then later on in evening, I told the kids. At around 10 years of age, the kids were old enough to understand the essence of the message -- we are all okay, we don't have to move or sell our house, we may need to tighten our belts a little and eat out less. Christmas may be a little less spectacular (I was told in August that I would be laid off in September). So they were fine.
That night was surreal though. I remember there was a big storm that blew-in. Storms in my part of the country always have a big lightening show to accompany them. As I watched the storm, I felt a gnawing in my stomach. It was not the feeling I hear many long-term employees describe when they are laid off, "Justin, I feel like I've just been kicked in the stomach," but it was a close cousin to it. I managed through it.
What I reassured myself with was the following:
a) I've done a good job. I knew from past experience I had to resist the natural inclination that everyone has to blame themselves or look for fault in one's own actions. It just usually isn't the case -- if you find yourself being laid off, do not label yourself. Applying a label is the most damaging thing you can do to your own self-worth and self-confidence. In my case, I had to replay my "good deeds" in my mind to innoculate me against the other part of my head that was telling me I was deficient somehow.
b) I have an advanced degree and 14 years of experience in a specialized profession -- I would be able to find another job before my severance package runs out (and I did!).
c) the final thought was I had 6 months of severance. The 6 months of severance was in addition to the one-month of advance notice which had started that day (August 4th for me). It was this final thought that kept me calm for those first few days. I know that 6 months is a rarity having worked at three large corporations, this was the biggest package I had ever seen offered (and I had only been there 18 months). The average amount of severance is far-far less for most Americans (two weeks is pretty standard).
This can also allow you to develop your job search plan as well (which can be a blessing and a curse). Because you can start looking for work right away, by the time the severance package is delivered, you can have some confidence you may already have a job offer. My advice to you is understand the rules surrounding your eligibility for severance before you accept a position someplace else.
In some cases accepting too early can invalidate your severance package. I had about one month of early notice (sometimes called "pre-notice" in the biz). Since I have given this exact same message to many people before, the news was easier to digest for me, athough it's never fun-- a point I always try to keep in mind when telling other people, even if they will be receiving a financial windfall from it.
The first person I talked to afterwards was my current boss (who I love working for). She was let go as well and had received the same news. It was actually helpful that she was being laid off as well, because we could sort of commiserate together and use each other for sounding boards on our job search strategy. After my boss, I called my wife who was devastated when I told her. I think for her it was more shocking because while I had prepared her for this possibility, it had not happened before so she may have thought my warnings to be somewhat apocalyptic.
In any case, after her I told my Mom and Dad and then later on in evening, I told the kids. At around 10 years of age, the kids were old enough to understand the essence of the message -- we are all okay, we don't have to move or sell our house, we may need to tighten our belts a little and eat out less. Christmas may be a little less spectacular (I was told in August that I would be laid off in September). So they were fine.
That night was surreal though. I remember there was a big storm that blew-in. Storms in my part of the country always have a big lightening show to accompany them. As I watched the storm, I felt a gnawing in my stomach. It was not the feeling I hear many long-term employees describe when they are laid off, "Justin, I feel like I've just been kicked in the stomach," but it was a close cousin to it. I managed through it.
What I reassured myself with was the following:
a) I've done a good job. I knew from past experience I had to resist the natural inclination that everyone has to blame themselves or look for fault in one's own actions. It just usually isn't the case -- if you find yourself being laid off, do not label yourself. Applying a label is the most damaging thing you can do to your own self-worth and self-confidence. In my case, I had to replay my "good deeds" in my mind to innoculate me against the other part of my head that was telling me I was deficient somehow.
b) I have an advanced degree and 14 years of experience in a specialized profession -- I would be able to find another job before my severance package runs out (and I did!).
c) the final thought was I had 6 months of severance. The 6 months of severance was in addition to the one-month of advance notice which had started that day (August 4th for me). It was this final thought that kept me calm for those first few days. I know that 6 months is a rarity having worked at three large corporations, this was the biggest package I had ever seen offered (and I had only been there 18 months). The average amount of severance is far-far less for most Americans (two weeks is pretty standard).
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Advance Notice of a Layoff
When you find out early that your job is going to be eliminated, it will still be difficult news, but knowing ahead of time can actually help you by giving you more time to prepare for the transition.
Some employers and some managers are allowed and comfortable with this type of notification and are not concerned that you will pose any type of risk to them, so they will often go out of their way to give the news as soon as they possibly can. The manager and the HR person will bring you into a room and tell you the news.
"Because of business conditions, your job is will be eliminated at some point in the future..."
They may give you a specific date or they may not. I will talk about how to handle receiving the news in another post, but I can tell you when it happens, you will probably be somewhat in shock. Everyone reacts differently, but don't count on remembering much of what you do or say right afterwards. You will, on the other hand, remember vividly everything the manager and the HR person says.
Most managers will recognize that you may need to take the rest of the day off to collect your thoughts and will be okay with you coming back tomorrow (or at least I hope they are). In either case, don't count on getting a whole lot more done for that day.
There is an upside to knowing ahead of time. You can not only look for a job within the company (usually with full endorsement from your manager), but also look outside without worrying about repercussions -- your manager will want you to land on your feet, especially if they are going to tell you early. Take full advantage of this.
Some employers and some managers are allowed and comfortable with this type of notification and are not concerned that you will pose any type of risk to them, so they will often go out of their way to give the news as soon as they possibly can. The manager and the HR person will bring you into a room and tell you the news.
"Because of business conditions, your job is will be eliminated at some point in the future..."
They may give you a specific date or they may not. I will talk about how to handle receiving the news in another post, but I can tell you when it happens, you will probably be somewhat in shock. Everyone reacts differently, but don't count on remembering much of what you do or say right afterwards. You will, on the other hand, remember vividly everything the manager and the HR person says.
Most managers will recognize that you may need to take the rest of the day off to collect your thoughts and will be okay with you coming back tomorrow (or at least I hope they are). In either case, don't count on getting a whole lot more done for that day.
There is an upside to knowing ahead of time. You can not only look for a job within the company (usually with full endorsement from your manager), but also look outside without worrying about repercussions -- your manager will want you to land on your feet, especially if they are going to tell you early. Take full advantage of this.
How to handle your last day...
Well folks, today was my last day in the office at my current employer. I've been offered a severance package that started 2 days ago and would last 6 months.
In the meantime I have 6 serious job opportunities I'm looking at. 2 are at my current employer, 2 are with another employer (and I'm interviewing for both of those roles on the same day), and 2 more are each separate companies. It does make me wonder, if the job market stinks right now, what does smokin-hot look like.
So here's how I handled the last day. I had everything packed up the day before and taken home, so nothing else to clean out, although I obsessively checked my empty drawers over and over again today. So the only thing left to worry about was saying goodbyes, either in person or by email, or by phone. I ended up doing all three.
In the meantime I have 6 serious job opportunities I'm looking at. 2 are at my current employer, 2 are with another employer (and I'm interviewing for both of those roles on the same day), and 2 more are each separate companies. It does make me wonder, if the job market stinks right now, what does smokin-hot look like.
So here's how I handled the last day. I had everything packed up the day before and taken home, so nothing else to clean out, although I obsessively checked my empty drawers over and over again today. So the only thing left to worry about was saying goodbyes, either in person or by email, or by phone. I ended up doing all three.
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