Layoff experiences
just curious. how many times have tou been laid off in your career? ive been working for 20+ years and been laid off about two dozen times. mostly around the dot com crash and after the recession ive not heen able to find a job to last more than two years. Last year i went through 3 jobs. the current place seems better but i deal with anxiety and stress about the possibility of being let go at any time. i have not been able to grow my career since the recession and have been at the same title/role for the past 10 years. Ive just about given up
Where are you working so I can avoid? Been working 10 years no layoffs
This is needlessly insensitive. If you don't have anything useful to add, just scroll on.
☝️This
I feel for you. I've been laid off/let go like 5 times (I'm 49). I think it's a cascade - after the first layoff, it (naturally) makes you stress about money/career/etc. You then jump at the first position that comes your way, even if it's clearly a bad fit. You're then miserable again, and the first to be let go the moment there's trouble (either at the company level, or personally). The stress and, yes, trauma, of losing jobs snowballs, causing you to feel ever more anxious. This makes it harder to do your best work, and you're at a place that's a bad fit anyway, and boom, you're out again. My best advice is to not let the turkeys get you down. You've been though this; you know you can survive it. And there's something positive to be said for not being a natural at corporate America. Be proud and forge ahead. You got this.
Thank you for this. I’m about the sAme age and what you said is absolutely true. I’m just exhausted from this.
I found 'Startup of You' very valuable with actionable tips.
Two dozen?!? I used to work in the game industry which is known for its frequent layoffs and I’ve only been laid off half a dozen times. 15 yoe
I was also in the games industry but had to leave because I couldn’t handle the constant layoffs anymore.
That seems like a high number of layoffs but it may be your TC more than anything. If you are one of the highest earners in what you do you will be more of a target.
True. I had that target once on my back in a mediocre F100. I moved to a division which made more money. That saved my skin in that phase.
From my experience if you are related to a Product that generates revenue and if you are a decent performer, it is harder to lay you off. I was laid off once. Was working in a group that didn’t directly manage revenue but was a support function. I was the lowest paid but was also a bad fit for the team.
I would say to young guys (30-45) life is different after that. You are old. And layoffs happen mostly for them and hard to find a job.
Thank god you said 30-45 is young.
Did you consider changing career paths? there is more to life than working 9-6pm in corporate America. I’ve been thru a layoff once in 17 years working, I can only imagine what you must be going thru. If I were you, I’d take some time off to reset and re-direct life on a new path.
True
@bramage : You may be in the wrong industry my friend. In 2008-9, a public policy decision was made to screw the banks/FSI. That led to a decade of rolling layoffs.
Hasn’t happened to me yet, but always a possibility and perhaps likely at Uber in the not too distant future. Reminder to live below your means.
What's the issue at Uber? Regretted hires pre-IPO?
More so a need to please the street