What Getting Laid Off Taught Me About Work and Life
As I walked into the conference room with my manager, I noticed a woman in there already. She had a stack of papers in front of her, and I caught the word ‘Severance’ on the top page. My heart started pounding very fast and I felt my throat becoming dry. I knew what was coming and I couldn’t believe it was happening. Against all instincts I sat down and started to exhale very slowly. My manager started reading from a script. Her voice was echoing as if far away and I struggled to pay attention to it, distracted by thoughts of terrible outcomes here on forth.
‘Can you repeat that last part?’ I asked urgently, not wanting to miss out on what could be critical information.
‘Er, okay. We have been cutting the workforce due to …’ her voice trailed off again. As if the reason was important, I didn’t care. I drank the water and started thinking of how I would tell my parents that this happened. What would I tell my friends?
Truth be told, I had an inkling that this might happen. Things hadn’t looked great for me, I was in between projects and wasn’t exactly the hardest worker or the most brilliant one. And yet, when I entered that conference room two years ago, I felt as if the carpet under my feet had been yanked right out without warning. For the first time, I didn’t know what the immediate future would hold. In spite of that, I was determined to handle this well treating it like an exam of sorts. At no point during the entire proceeding did I burst into tears and I was proud of that. The little victories counted on this wretched day.
I’ve come a long way since then, but this experience was a critical part in shaping the kind of employee and the kind of person I am today. I did find a job, a better one than the one I started off with! But I learnt some lessons along the way. Some of them are a little obvious but I think are important enough to highlight.
You Are Almost Exclusively Working for Your Manager
Other people within your company may value you a lot, other teams may ask for you regularly, you might be the one who volunteers at events but in the end, you are only as good as your manager thinks you are. You have to provide value for this person and within your company, only they know what you do. Your main job is to make his/her life easier and they will fight for you in return. If your manager is not fighting for you then either you are a bad employee or they are a bad manager. Either way, you need to change that situation. Clearly my previous manager did not think that my contribution to the team was worth fighting for and the onus was on me to show that to them.
Don’t Get Caught Napping
Never leave an email request unanswered. Or any task pending before you go on vacation. You never know when something will be held against you and its best to follow Professor Moody’s mantra of Constant Vigilance! People remember when you screw up even in the smallest of ways and the only way to not do that is to be thorough. This seems obvious but it’s easy to mess up in small ways, its better to form a habit of dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s in every situation.
Never Get Stagnant
Keep working on projects where you learn new things. If that’s not the case, ask to join the project you want. At my previous job, I was on a project that was slowly becoming obsolete. It made me more and more disposable as time went on and I was becoming more comfortable in it. I had stopped learning new things and providing value that was unique. I saw my father embody this by learning new skills for his job after being in the same company for 25 years and being 4 years away from retirement. Its critical to staying fresh and relevant.
Your Interpersonal Relationships Will Not Save You
I had a great relationship with my team lead. And he was the first to be laid off in my team. He wasn’t able to communicate with anyone else about what I was or was not capable of doing. I don’t mean this as a knock against getting along with people at work but it mostly does not matter in the final outcome whether you had great relationships with your teammates. The reverse is definitely true though, if you do not get along with others it will be counted against you.
Update Your Resume Every 6 Months and Respond to all Recruiters Even When You Aren’t Actively Looking
This one I kind of followed, but not to the extent I should have. I reached out to the recruiters who had messaged me in the last year to check if they had openings. Some of the messages I hadn’t even responded to. I know other friends who didn’t even open LinkedIn while they were at their current job and after being laid off had to start from scratch. I had three interviews lined up within two weeks of restarting the process of job applications.
Even if the Inevitable Happens Know That You Will Get Through It With Your Support System In Tow
Sometimes, even after taking all precautions, you might still be out of a job. It’s probably not personal, its just a matter of being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a business decision. I went through a phase where I was angry at the company that laid me off, but that anger didn’t help much. I had to stay positive or else I was going to let it get the better of me. I was proud of how I handled myself in this situation and I know that if faced by something similar all over again, I am ready for it. I relied a lot on my support system of family and friends who listened to long angry rants about the company! They were extremely supportive and kept my spirits up during this time when I needed it the most. I struggled to not be bitter but to be remain calm and positive and I couldn’t have done it without my support system.
It Changes You
I am a different person than I was before this happened. I have a much stronger work ethic. I communicate with my manager about his/her expectations from me and try to make sure I keep striving to meet them. I don’t take my job for granted and make sure I upgrade my skills to boost what I bring to the table. I have strangely become a more confident person since I realized I could face this adverse situation at my job and emerge relatively unscathed. In the end it depends on your attitude how you emerge from tough situations.
I had one month of unemployment and that time off made a huge difference in how I was able to asses my mistakes. It was admittedly tough not to over analyze every single move I made as an employee of my previous company. However it was imperative that I introspect so as to not repeat the mistakes that got me into this situation. In the end I think its important to keep growing and learning no matter what life throws at you.
