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Everyone is an independent contractor or consultant. You should have a set of skills that is good for a wide variety of organizations, not just the place you are currently working.
Absolutely bang on and thats where continuous education plays a very important role. Keep on learning and acquiring new skills, you can not only give more value to your employer but also can start of as independent contractor, if things go bad.
Today my company did another lay off. Probably they laid of 50-100 people today. They have been having regular lay off almost every 3-4 months for last 2 years it seems. I think so far they have laid off 500-1000 people total.
They are having announcement from management tomorrow to keep people reassured. But I don't know what to think, I have feeling in another 3-4 months there will be another round.
To say truth, I am young guy at work they usually tend target older workers who cost more. I probably have less worry than other people at work. However, I am almost 100% convinced hanging around the same company till retirement will be impossible. I talked with one guy who has been with company for 30 years who was let go today
I am trying to figure out what sort of backup plan I need to come up with. I am already trying to increase my emergency funds to last 6 months. Any other suggestions?
First, you should read this article that I wrote for people in your shoes.
[url=http://joepfeiff.com/2012/02/03/6-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-your-job/]6 Things You Need To Know About Losing Your Job « Joe Pfeiff[/url]
It doesn't have to be a long road of unemployment if you plan for things like this in advance.
Your current job should never be the last stop in your career, think of it as another way point in the journey.
Today my company did another lay off. Probably they laid of 50-100 people today. They have been having regular lay off almost every 3-4 months for last 2 years it seems. I think so far they have laid off 500-1000 people total.
They are having announcement from management tomorrow to keep people reassured. But I don't know what to think, I have feeling in another 3-4 months there will be another round.
To say truth, I am young guy at work they usually tend target older workers who cost more. I probably have less worry than other people at work. However, I am almost 100% convinced hanging around the same company till retirement will be impossible. I talked with one guy who has been with company for 30 years who was let go today
I am trying to figure out what sort of backup plan I need to come up with. I am already trying to increase my emergency funds to last 6 months. Any other suggestions?
Layoffs are inevitable for companies to continue growing or moving along. Quite frankly there are times when it may make no more sense in pursuing a product line, a service, and sometimes it may even make sense for the company to outsource certain aspects of labor (aka payroll, logistics, etc).
Look at American Airlines-- their labor costs are out of this world. GM was very similar my accounting professor said the other day that GM is NOT a car manufacturers-- they are in the business of pensions. He had a valid point.
So with that said-- what I ALWAYS do-- is try to stay a few steps ahead. I knew a layoff was coming in my project. I didn't have to have anyone alert me or tell me, I could see the writing on the wall as much as I did not want to see it. I knew there were really only a few options and if I were a member of the executive board I would have voted to cease the work on this product. It WAS the correct business decision. (Remember companies are NOT charities).
So--- I started looking WAY before anything happened. I began networking more diligently, etc. I found a job fast.
Now I had been through MANY layoffs before-- although never personally impacted. What it always did for me was to be more cognizant of the signs. I recognized that my company was otherwise very healthy- in fact we were extremely profitable. So I knew if I chose to find another position within my company that I would be very careful about what departments, what products, etc. I also knew that there was no risk of the company shutting its doors.
So if your company is not in that same boat and you really have no insight as to whether or not you are a profitable enterprise with enough cash flows (and this is key... you can be "profitable" with regards to income versus liabilities--- but if you have no cash coming in-- then you are bankrupt. You can also have an exorbitant amount of cash with no profitability aka American Airlines) and if these layoffs are because your company is floundering I would HEAVILY advise broadening your network, increasing your savings, and looking outside.
I worked at Hewlett Packard from 1988-2005. In the later years of that time, I was a Process Technician in product testing. They laid some people off before I left. I started thinking about how my skills wouldn't be all that applicable to other jobs in my home area, and that worried me.
They offered a buyout to almost everyone a few months before I left, and said that people who left would have the option of retraining paid by the government, as we would be classified as displaced workers. I took that option, left with a decent severance package, and went to school for heating and air conditioning service.
After I got my certificate in HVAC, I did that work for 2 and a half years. That field was hit pretty hard with the recession and I was laid off. I'm now working as a contract employee with Hewlett Packard, but with experience in HVAC as well, which opens up more future job possibilities for me. Now I see any job as another step in my journey, not anything permanent, and that's fine with me. Continuous learning, yup, that's what it's about.
Good story! That is what saved me. I had diverse experience that can transfer to different industries - that is key. Because if one industry is hit hard, you can go to another.
I guess job-hopping is either acceptable or taboo depending on what you're involved in.
I guess it also depends on the length of time you remain at any one place.
I am already trying to increase my emergency funds to last 6 months. Any other suggestions?
Yes.
1. Increase those funds to 12 to 18 months. Yes, seriously. Yes, it does take a long time but it's a good and important goal to have. You'll never be sorry you have a nice cushion. My personal suggestion is to have 2 years cushion (full expenses) in a fund, but that's pretty aggressive. However, it can be done.
2. Keep improving your skills and credentials. Classes, certifications, etc.
3. Getting jobs is all about who knows you and who you know. Network in your industry consistently. I didn't do this during my career, I also job hopped a lot. It has come back to bite me 100 different ways. You don't have to be looking for a job to network, btw.
4. Treat everyone you work with, at all times, with kindness and respect. And that means from the lowliest janitor or management and every client. The world is a small place. People remember who treated them well and who didn't. You never know when someone will remember you and recommend you to someone else. It's free to do, it's easy, and it's good karma.
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