I've noticed that one of the biggest complaints about XOM these days is lack of job security and that's solvable. If you make sure you are easily employable than you've created your own job security and you can stop stressing over something you have very little control over (layoffs.) It might not be fun to do, but if you invest in expanding your skillset right now, it can mean a world of difference for you in the future.
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Fully agree with financial security. I see so many people living at the edge of their means.
I hear what you’re saying, but the issue (pre-COVID) has always been logistics as well as job skills. Sure you could find a new job with the right skills but that could mean doubling or tripling your commute time, and in Houston that means having to navigate packed freeways with horrible drivers. Add in a horrendously overpriced housing market, and it means there is a definite cost to switching jobs. One can only hope the remote work revolution actually pans out, as this would make switching jobs so much easier. Time will tell...
Not sure what the OP is talking about. Most of our geologists have plenty of education and skills and got laid off. What type of additional "skills" do you recommend they get? Brown nosing skills?
@azs+1a5vE71E
You are exactly correct. That’s why the “ExxonMobil fit” was so outsized versus performance in their selection process. It opened the door to getting rid of decent performers in the age/experience range you identified. The thing that didn’t “fit” was our salaries and pension liability. Good luck to them when they have kids talking to the SEC in the next few months.
Guys and gals, I hope you havent forgotten that this is the same company and HR team led by Tracy G. that up with a silver bullet formula to decide who will be kept and let go during involuntary layoffs. The formula was based on a score weight given to each employee and that weight was allocated with 40% based on whether a person has critical skills the company would need in future, 30% was based on whether the person is a "good fit" for the company or not, and remaining 30% of that was allocated based on ones last 3 years of performance.
So based on the above employees only knew of there last 3 years of performance and can assume their possible score (or may be not since HR didnt shared how many score given based on which buckets employees were rank each of the last 3 years). The same HR gang completely forgot or purposely left out telling employees what critical skills (40%l were identified to as a future need for the company and what "good fit" (30%l meant. So 70% of the decision making criteria was subjective to allow team mgmt to pick and choose employees they liked. All of you know XOM let go a lot of good tankers, talented, smart, and hardworking folks go during involuntary layoff last year. STOP telling us that those employees didnt have skills and were not fit for a company when neither criteria was shared with employees. Also, this is the same company that promotes and takes pride at moving people from assignments to assignments every few years, which means people have to quickly learn their new roles and people were successful in doing that, now dont tell me all let go didnt have skills for jobs they had to continuously gain and learn from assignments to assignments and dont b—s— that they were not a got fit either. DARREN, TRACY, and MGMT COMMITTE, enough of you koolaid. People are sick and tired of your LIES and you cant no longer hide it.
@OP: looks like the HR trolls have started working overtime. Any normal employee is aware that people are not being thrown out because of lack of skills but because they’re “expensive”. Pretty much all technical employees with over 20 years service under 52 were laid off; those over 55 (REs) are targeted by the PIPs (last year and this year), and those between 52-55 (NREs) will be targeted in future PIPs.
Of course, they can’t put more than about 30% of all these people in the total that’s laid off or PIPed off any one time, so they have to mix and match with younger people in order to dodge the age discrimination lawsuits (not so successfully last year, rumor has it).
Bottom line: more skills mean more experience, higher salary and therefore very low job security within the new EM, aka the Hunger Games Company. The only “job security” is provided by skills that are also highly marketable outside the company.
Yeah, similar to what the last person said. I would also encourage working towards financial security as early as possible. The idea of being laid off really doesn’t effect you if you have years of savings in your back pocket or another stream of income. And this is much easier to achieve if you start early in your career (day 1) before you have extra expenses like children.
Combine that with developing additional skill sets mentioned by OP and layoffs don’t give you almost any anxiety. In fact, the idea of being laid off actually sounds like an exciting opportunity at times.
You can also start a side hustle. Buy some rentals etc to get income coming in.