Update: Should I volunteer for layoff/saverance?

Disney / Product
go0f1e

Go to company page Disney Product

PRE
Warner Bros. Entertainment
BIO
HelpIng Mickey spread happiness, now want to help common people like me 😉
go0f1e
Jan 30, 2020 99 Comments

Update: So layoff did happen but I wasn’t laidoff even after volubteering to my manager. turned out my manager was already on exit route (seems like as an exec he got advanced notice and time before layoff).
I did secure a FANG PM job and starting soon. Now a lot of Disney employees are furloughed as of end of next week.
Sounds like a thriller story but my timing turned out to be equisite and I feel lucky unlike manybof my colleagues who got furloughed 😢

So there is layoff coming at Disney here as result of Fox synergy... obviously i heard from other colleagues.

I have made up my mind to find a new job and have been preparing sincey last few months for the upcoming interviews at FANG and similar companies... should i volunteer for layoff and get some free time for prep and cushion for the job hunt process? does anyone know how and who to have this conversation with? i dont know much about saverance yet, whats the standard?

what should i be careful about?

YoE: 13 (4 at D)
TC:280k
PS: i have a family: working spouse and a 3yr old. not bad on savings to survive 6 months.
TIA

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TOP 99 Comments
  • Apple
    ct. Thanos

    Go to company page Apple

    ct. Thanos
    Get offer before layoff, get laid off, enjoy severance and go to a cruise in Bahamas.. when you come back you will have a job to look forward too
    Jan 30, 2020 9
  • Disney / Product
    go0f1e

    Go to company page Disney Product

    PRE
    Warner Bros. Entertainment
    BIO
    HelpIng Mickey spread happiness, now want to help common people like me 😉
    go0f1e
    OP
    Trying for an offer before lay-off but don’t want to rush for interviews and don’t get any.. layoffs are more likely to be by mid to end of Feb and I am sure I won’t have any offer without miracle by then 🤦🏽‍♂️🙇
    Jan 30, 2020 10
    • Adobe
      aeVJ16

      Go to company page Adobe

      aeVJ16
      You are in good hands if you have a child with special needs. My co-workers daughter had life long health issues and MS took amazing care of them. Again best wishes!
      Feb 3, 2020
    • New
      purrfect1

      New

      purrfect1
      Although the suggestion of doing non faang to prep for faang makes sense, interviewing at uber, stripe etc are no joke either. In some ways I'd say that they are more rigorous and harder to get in depending on team
      Feb 3, 2020
  • Uber
    CrQE65

    Go to company page Uber

    CrQE65
    How about getting an offer and starting late? You get your time off, severance and peace of mind during your time off knowing you have an offer!
    Jan 30, 2020 0
  • Google
    hWIC66

    Go to company page Google

    hWIC66
    It's harder to find a job when you don't have one. No one will believe you that you quit job to prep for interview and will think you were fired. Those who do believe you will hire someone else cause he can manage both job and job hunt vs you.
    Feb 2, 2020 2
    • Microsoft / Eng
      Har mar

      Go to company page Microsoft Eng

      Har mar
      I’m not advocating lying, but there are a lot of ways you can be less than forthcoming with your quit date.

      Heck, with 10+ years of experience, you can just list years of employment, not months or exact dates. There’s a lot of 2020 left.
      Feb 2, 2020
    • Adobe
      aeVJ16

      Go to company page Adobe

      aeVJ16
      Totally agree with this. I own a small business on the side totally unrelated to security that I listed for employment to cover my gap after a couple months per my old managers advice. Got a lot more calls + it was a great way to break the ice at interviews talking about how I translated my skills in enterprise to the small business world.
      Feb 2, 2020
  • eBay
    KenBlockk

    Go to company page eBay

    KenBlockk
    How does volunteering for layoff work? You tell ur manager you want to be laid off but he says your role is critical so they can’t eliminate it and your performance is good so they can’t even fire you, then why would the company lay you off voluntarily and give you severance? I see the OPs goal is to get the severance check but I’m just wondering how a company can lay-off someone and pay severance who wants to quit?
    Feb 2, 2020 8
    • Disney / Product
      go0f1e

      Go to company page Disney Product

      PRE
      Warner Bros. Entertainment
      BIO
      HelpIng Mickey spread happiness, now want to help common people like me 😉
      go0f1e
      OP
      Do you even know what WhatsApp is trying to monetize? And it was the first digital identity millions ever had?
      Feb 2, 2020
    • Slack / Eng
      🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

      Go to company page Slack Eng

      🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
      👋 I've done a volunteer lay-off at a previous company, and I laid myself off. Basically they announce at the company volunteer layoffs, and which levels get how many months severance. You tell your manager if you want to volunteer.

      I got 3 months severance, took a month off and then had double pay for two months. Not bad!
      Feb 7, 2020