This uncertainty is the worst. I'm very nervous. I don't feel at all secure about my job prospects. In this period of the year, it is not easy to get a new offer.
I am preparing for the worst, although I would like to be able to somehow put my mind at ease.
If only there were some more or less reliable subtle signs that one may be facing a layoff...
4 replies (most recent on top)
It was cruel and poorly executed.
Are you new to Cisco? The previous LR's were usually announced in Aug at the year-end earnings call and employees were notified the next morning. They were terminated at the end of Sept & given severance that got them through Nov. Try looking for a job in Nov-Jan with no advanced notice that it's coming. That's cruel. I had a non-elective, but not emergency surgery scheduled for Nov when I was impacted using the prior process and I was lucky to find new employment before the surgery, but my new insurance plan deductible reset. The cost of COBRA to stay on Cisco's plan through the surgery was more than my deductible, so I switched insurances and had to pay my deductible for that year twice. You get no sympathy from me.
In this period of the year, it is not easy to get a new offer.
First, you're not getting laid-off at this period of the year. You're getting notified that you're going to be laid off. There is a difference. You will be terminated in Feb or Mar, and you get to choose which option you want.
That's far better than those who've gone before you and were notified in early/mid-Aug whose end date plus severance ended in Oct/Nov and they had to hit the job market in Nov - Jan when most companies are not actively hiring and have hard time scheduling interviews and getting offer approvals signed due to HR, hiring managers, and directors all taking time off for the holidays.
This uncertainty is the worst. I'm very nervous. I don't feel at all secure about my job prospects.
Relax. The decision is totally out of your control. What you do now is. Work on your resume now if you want. Grab any "best practices" info or other cool stuff you've worked on and may need at future jobs. (NOTE: I'm not talking about taking proprietary intellectual property. There's a huge difference. I've learned a lot about coding from a co-worker, so I keep a lot of his examples abstracted from company specifics to use elsewhere, sort of like finding code on Stack Overflow.) Connect w/ people you can use as references on LinkedIn. Offer to make "recommendations" on people's profiles if they'd like you to. That's how you get people to offer to make recommendations for yours.
Start looking at job boards to see what's available now, but you're not going to have to actively look until Feb/Mar and you'll have severance that takes you into Apr/May, so while the economy sux and it's not a great time, it could be much worse. Stay positive as it will come across in your interviews. People want to hire confident people, not insecure people.
Everyone should stop work in protest of how this was done. It was cruel and poorly executed.
Even if one is not on the list, the damage is there.
Hang in there, friend. All we have is each other against the ELT. We’re in this together.