Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Contract market is good! You will just get less money. Less responsibility too. Yes gig=job (I know too many musicians). I'm glad I did it now, it gave me a chance to see another company without making a big commitment, and it ended up not being a great fit anyway. Working keeps you from being so worried and keeps you occupied while you're looking.

@3zkv: it looks like you did some contract work (you mentioned "gig"); how is the contract work market up there? Thx.

Sorry I should have said red badge not blue (it's been a while). I also forgot to mention that I'm making more here here than I was there, and the benefits are comparable if not better. There is life after Cisco, you'd better believe it.

Hi, I got LR'd in 2015 - got my notice right before the Chambers shindig at Levi Stadium. I'm 54 and in a technical field (tech writing) that Cisco has decided they can fill with blue badges. If I might share my experience:

After my LR, I went to LHH (the outplacement service) near the airport right away. I didn't take any vacation. I took the classes, I took the practice interviews. I updated my resume based on the classes I took and the personal help from my mentor there (IIRC your personal contact there is called a mentor).

I took the CCNA training classes and practice tests they offered virtually. Although I didn't get my CCNA, it was good to brush up on my skills.

I got on LinkedIn and contacted a few ex-managers who had gone elsewhere - we are EVERYWHERE, and Cisco is still a good thing to have on your resume.

I interviewed for a few jobs I probably wasn't going to take, for the practice. I passed on one medical products gig I was offered (pay too low, people too depressed), which my wife disagreed with, but which ended up being a great choice. If you want to stay in high-tech, take a high-tech job.

I finally got a job 1 1/2 months after the LR date. However, I found out in my last round of interviews there that it was a contact gig that paid 20% less than what I was being paid, and offered pretty meager benefits (a small stipend for a cheap Kaiser plan). But it was close to home, off of First street and 237, and I knew a lot of the people there, and liked my manager.

I decided to take the gig, which wasn't very difficult or challenging, and continue to interview.

9 months later, I was offered, and accepted, a job at a growing company in Sunnyvale. The CEO and many of the upper management here are in their mid- to late 50s, and ageism isn't really an issue here.

My advice is to take whatever you can get, short-term, and continue interviewing for the job you really want. It's hard to see the good side of it now - I remember my September 2015, it was really bad. I'm still trying to work through some bitterness. But there is hope, and good things can happen, if you stay positive and keep working.

Cisco is not a good place to work anymore and you'll see later that it might just be the kick in the pants you needed to get moving.

Good luck to everybody there, and everybody who is not.

Actually you don't understand how capitalism works, maybe you should move to a socialistic country... when government intervenes and manipulates a limited class of assets, professionals, etc., artificially increasing the supply, it leads to problems, bubbles, etc. Same thing happens when it decreases or keeps the supply low due to pressures of certain lobbies, for example physicians. A poster described a situation that several others also experienced, it has been exacerbated during the last few years and politicians should know about. If you are happy with the current situation, good for you.

@2bfo: you just defined "capitalism". USA has prospered on Capitalism.

you cant find a solution for your Question by meeting senators. Maybe moving to socialist country might give different perspective.

In other words, one spends a fortune and time to get a degree, maybe even an M.S. or higher, and it's ok to just work 10-15 years before switching to a "franchise" business....to what other profession this short shelf life occurs, does it happen in medicine, law, accounting, teaching, police, government? These are the very things senators and representatives should be aware of before anything else....

However, I doubt if this is just ageism...the endless supply of temp workers are causing skill sets to be like a commodity; a company hires someone just for a particular skill, not for experience or even education; in 3-4 years if things change no need to retrain him/her, just hire another one saving 30-50% of salaries in the mean time.....

@2hab : i hear ya.

even if you gain a few yrs on ageism, you will face it again at 55, 60 , 65 etc.

Maybe take up a role that doesnt care about ageism.. small-business or medicine, pharmacy franchise.

Lots of options .. if the time-loss is inevitable, why spend that time with senators- when you can build your own alternate career ?

I posted on another thread. I should've posted here...

It's been 10 months unemployed for me this week. I'm not a developer, but I'm in another functional area. The market s---s if you're over 40 (maybe even younger?).

Generally I'm told I'm overqualified. I really like the companies where I meet with 7-10 (I interviewed with 13 people at one company! It took them that long to figure out that I had too much experience?) people at a company and then they tell me they're looking for someone with more of this or that experience. Waste of time. I'm very distraught at this point. Meeting with our local and state politicians to see what's they're doing to fight ageism.

I've really just started mine last week. It took me some time to get my resume together to the point I was willing to share it with people.

I started leveraging my network in earnest last week. That's lead to my first interview tomorrow. Not a perfect fit but pretty damn good.

Of my team impacted:

3 found jobs internally.

1 Starts his new job at a start up today.

1 has an extra month because he's on an H1B.

1 I'm not sure but was interviewing internally

1 haven't heard from.

The market is out there. Work with the LHH folks. Get your resume together. Build out your network on LinkedIn. Make the contacts.

Guys don't loose hope.

Shine your cv with trending techs... You say it's called lying? But who cares? Everyone lies a bit in the resume... Just stay competitive, and try to learn while you'rz doing your job search.... You're smart folks.. Go go go

Tomorrow is my last day at crisco! Started looking for a month and the whole industry is so different... My loyalty to this POS company has f-up my career... It's going to be very hard for me to land on my feet again in tech. Friends from IBM and HP that got LO are feeling the same effects... They have not landed anything in 1 year! I would say their tech career is over! I'm telling my friends at cisco that they better start looking now while they have a job and forget about thinking of the LO pkg. It won't last long... Good luck to everyone!

"One word: Bad. After so many years at Cisco just fixing bugs"

I hear you on that one. That's why I left my previous job. I knew that my marketability would rapidly tank doing that kind of work.

Now after 11 yrs with sico and layoff now when I have start my search, I see the whole industry has moved drastically. sico is far behind. All wants linux/c++/python/application/cloud etc and no one wants networking folks. All wants application stuff no one asks for TCP/IP/L2/L3 stuff. Its all legacy. like mainframes systems has been in the past

Dont lose hope. An opportunity will always open up. Just be well-prepared to grab it when it opens up. Be sure to hone up skills in the area that will make you happy, not just get you a job.

One word: Bad. After so many years at Cisco just fixing bugs, my resume and interview skills s---.