[NacMacFeegle]

In honour of sduibek's thread about his new job, thought I'd let people know that yesterday I got "downsized"...Feels weird at the moment as I've worked since I was 17 and never lost my job before. However a lot of the research we were doing was outsourced overseas so we became surplus to requirements.
What to do now?
Well one things for sure my music collection will become better organized, and the yard will take on that 'just mowed' look fairly often...Back to school? Maybe, but I worry that I'm too old for college even though we get a 5 grand 'retraining' allowance...
Oh well, just thought I'd rant a bit and see if anyone else has been in this situation and how you coped.

 

[Pars]

That sucks! Best of luck to you. I would examine my education, etc. and use that to determine whether you need more education. Sounds like you are in a tech field? You might want to look around and see what other less volatile fields there are that use people with similar education/skill sets to yours and see if some additional education might be beneficial in switching fields?

 

[G-man]

If you do not mind me asking, how old are you and what field do you want to study? It is never too late to study, and to update your education, plus you will most certainly recoup the money later on.
Still, its sad what happened, and good luck for you future, whatever you want to do.

 

[Coop47]

Sorry to hear it Nac. I've been unexpectedly out of work twice - once right after 9/11 and once due to state budget cuts. You're right - it's awful and it probably feels the worst right now.

My best advice is to take a little time to lick your wounds and then put as much structure into your days as possible. I tried to look at the downtime as an opportunity to find something better, so I spent my mornings looking for leads, making phone calls and sending resumes. If I didn't have anything to do in the afternoon (like an interview or waiting for a call back), I tried to do projects like you alluded to (lawn, organization, etc.) or I tried to do something cost neutral like going to the library or taking a walk. Take advantage of the retraining allowance - at the very least you'll be able to say in interviews that you've been doing something with your time off.

In both cases, my former employer offered me computer access and printer access, so a lot of times I even went into the office just to have something to do and someplace to go - it also helped me focus on job searching to be out of the house.

In both cases my next job was at a higher salary and somewhat better benefits - and neither was anything I would've come across if I wasn't actively looking.

It sounds like you were part of a group that got downsized - it might be a good idea to get in touch with them to see if they're generating any leads that might not be of interest to them, but might look good to you. Along those lines, network. Get the word out amongst your friends and family that you're looking. You never know what might turn up.

Hope this helps somewhat. Good luck and hang in there.

 

[flashnolan]

Ouch. Try careerbuilder.com as that site worked great for me.

 

[vcoheda]

Being out of work is definitely not fun. Good luck.

 

[warrior05]

Been there... and after 14 years. I finally landed a lucrative position and now moving on. Don't let yourself get lazy or depressed. There will be hard days but just keep moving forward. Sit still and life can just pass you by before you know it.

Hang in there. I feel your pain and know exactly what you are going through!

 

[MoonShine]

A whole bunch of people got laid off where I work yesterday.
Tough times to be looking for work.
The Rep at the Paint Store that I managed for 10 years said that people with degrees in economics are coming in to apply for grunt jobs.
Scary.

 

[Audio-Omega]

I hope you have some money to keep you going while you look for another job. There are plenty of jobs in the security industry.

 

[oicdn]

I bought a MTB with my severance...probably not the most responsible thing, but it made me feel better, lol.

 

[will75]

Good luck. Sorry to hear about it.

 

[Geoff Rymer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought a MTB with my severance...probably not the most responsible thing, but it made me feel better, lol.

Brooklyn Machine Works?

 

[Edwood]

Been there, done that.

Always keep back up funds in case wherever you are in your career. And never be complacent, keep that resume up to date once a year, bare minimum. The days of working your way up a single company are looooooong gone. You have to jump from one company to another to truly advance, well at least in my line of work. Or you can freelance.

You need to quit before you are downsized, but make sure you have a place to land before you leap.

Or at least have a pile of money to help cushion the fall.

-Ed

 

[NacMacFeegle]

Guys,
Many thanks for the replies and good wishes...This truly is the best site going!
Yes I was part of a big group downsizing (take a guess where I worked from my location..think big yellow box) and there is a bunch of us in the same swamp. I really don't feel like continuing my career there (turning 50 this year) so am looking elsewhere...
College beckons and I feel the need to teach the world (or the local airwaves at least) the beauty of world beat. If Antiant was still around he would understand..maybe FalconP too, so am bugging the hell out of my local radio station...My own show? who knows..but people need to listen to good music and I'd love to play it...on my terms of course. John Peel was the man!
Best and thanks to all again.

 

[Podtweaker]

Sorry to hear that , but I hope you get a chuckle out of this. When you wrote that you got the axe & it s*^ks I thought you went out & bought a guitar you had your eye on. Curiousity got the better of me & I wondered what "axe" you had gotten. I know, as Bugs would say "What a maroon", but we all know what he was really saying! Good luck w/ what ever you decide to do.