When applying at another company will they consider my work at GM as a sign of credibility or have other employer gained insight into the story what this company has become? It would be nice if someone posted their personal experiences regarding this.
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Hmm, Raters- the best, most useful posts on this thread are the ones with a lot of accuracy and a dash of encouragement, not the other way around.
Adjust your GM message based on who you are talking to.
I was told once by a supplier that GM managers have a unique odor
Do you work in tech? Then no.
Did you do good work? Then it’s good.
The good news is that GM still has a good "reputation" as hiring good workers. Unlike other "terminations", it is national news that GM is letting go of good, skilled, workers, so it is not a "negative". Your experience working for GM will be a plus (or, at minimum, not a negative). Many other workers at smaller companies are assumed to have been let go due to lack of competence or attitude (it is harder to find a job when you do not already have one). This will not be the case for GM workers let go at this time. Indeed, it is national news that GM is letting go some of its best people. This is not unlike the Oracle debacle a year or so ago. Your skills and competence will get you in the door; GM name will not keep you out. Good luck!
don't worry about the company you worked for. focus on the skills gained, lessons learned and accomplishments that you can apply to your future job. potential employers don't give a hoot where you worked but what you actually did. also, it's all about a positive attitude when seeking employment and what you can contribute.
Not the best thing to put down, no.
Depends on what your area of work is. We're laid off supposedly in large pat to make room for high-tech people; I'm as high-tech as it gets. Just got off the phone with a real tech firm in Seattle. Was not helpful to be from GM.
HOWEVER, the damage is limited, I agree with those comments here. Best is to get your personal message to the new guys as quickly in the process as possible before they can jump to conclusions.
The more irritating damage is in GM keeping your 401K match. Must look great in Excel. We saw how great that thinking worked last time.
You can definitely turn it into a positive with respect to other companies. And given that the downsizing is somewhat arbitrary (no rhyme or reason), other companies will view it as you were one of the unlucky ones. The job market is tight right now, so a good time to be looking. Just put it behind you and move on as quickly as possible. After one of my friends was downsized in the chemical industry, he curled up in bed for 30 days and couldn't do anything... That put him 30 days behind others like me who had interviews lined up within three days of getting the axe.
a lot of suppliers look down at people with OEM experience and you have to convince them you can carry a weight, be accountable, etc.....
No GM won't be negative, because companies hire based on your attitude, qualifications, and achievements. Attitude is more the most important aspect. Never talk bad about a previous employer or manager. There are a very few companies in the country which follow process oriented bureaucracy like GM. You should be able to shed that skill otherwise you will feel out of place in a small company.
They're not hiring GM, they're hiring you. Separate your identity from the company and focus on what you know, your work ethic, your problem solving skills. Don't badmouth GM, but be clear you've "moved on".
When I retired from Ford, I found Big 3 auto experience was highly coveted outside SE Michigan at non automotive and / or small companies. You have things in your experience / training skill set the smaller companies cannot afford to give their employees. Things like big budget projects, advanced training courses, international assignments etc. I was well respected, recruited and paid outside Michigan for a number of years. Don't be afraid to show off whatever you did at GM. Good luck.
GM has a reputation for being a very bureaucratic company with technology 10 years behind the times and poor processes.
You'll have to convince a hiring manager you're good in spite of working at GM.
That's rich!!
Generally GM is viewed highly by employers due to the complexity of our business, organization, data and systems. If you can do it here you can do it anywhere. It’s so much harder due to our vast bureaucracy
Ok, I hate to tell you this, but I know of a Hiring Manager who will not hire anyone who has worked for GM. She throws the resume in the trash (metaphorically speaking) as she feels that GM employees (new and old) are lazy, entitled, and unskilled compared to their competition.
That said, I am sure there are a multitude of other companies out there who give GMers a fair shot. And really, I'd rather not be considered for a job by someone with misconceived notion of what I can and cannot do. You'd be losing out of the gate.
The only negative I experienced after being laid off was a complete jerk at Foresee asking me if I was going to take a job there and then dump it to go back to automotive.
So it was more the industry, not the company....and that was only one jerk. Many more didn't view it as a negative.
It's not the company, it's what you did while at the company.