About a month ago at AskMetafilter, a user wrote looking for advice on what do after losing his job:
TERROR! After 25 years in the IT industry in Ireland I feel like the 21st century equivalent of an expendable 19th century coal miner. I’m about to be made redundant (again) this afternoon and am gripped by terror. I don’t even know now what I want. Any career counseling advice?
The advice in the Ask Metafilter thread seems very practical:
- Don’t take it personally. Many commenters noted that employees can lose their jobs for any number of reasons unrelated to performance and ability. Try not to let your job loss eat at your self-esteem.
- Don’t panic. Any sudden life change can seem like the end of the world. It’s not. Take time to breathe. Gather your wits and move forward.
- Maintain network connections. Reach out to your professional and social networks for support. You may not find a job through them, but you may be able to derive other benefits.
- Buckle down financially. When you lose your job, it’s especially important to practice sound personal finance. Cut any unnecessary recurring expenses. Watch the discretionary spending. Make a budget.
- Job hunt methodically. Take your time. Don’t just take the first job you’re offered. Look for a situation that will draw upon your strengths, a job that will make you happy.
- Be open to change. If you live in a rural area, you may need to move closer to a city to find work. If you were working in a career that is disappearing (videotape duplicator?) then explore new lines of work.
- Consider becoming a consultant. Depending on your career, freelance consulting work may be a viable option. It could at least provide some temporary income while you look for long-term employment.
One commenter recommended the venerable What Color is Your Parachute?, the bible of job-hunting. This book notes that there are three primary themes to job-hunters’ success stories:
- No one owes you a job. If you want a job, you’re going to have to work hard to get it.
- Job-hunting success is in direct proportion to job-hunting effort.
- Successful job-hunting requires a willingness to change tactics. If what you’re doing doesn’t work, then try something else.
This isn’t something I’ve ever experienced, but I watched my father lose a couple of jobs during the late seventies and early eighties. Those were tense times for us. We struggled to get by. Dad made it through by drawing support from faith and family. And when times got tough, he turned entrepreneurial.
Have you ever been fired or laid off? How did you handle it? What advice would you have for somebody in a similar situation?
Addendum: Here’s a related link I just found in my inbox: How to recession-proof your job search.
[Ask Metafilter: Made redundant in IT at 45y.o. Career change advice?]
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Parhaps this is a wake-up call that your job is NOT secure … therefore, you life is NOT secure.
Once you realize that you are taking a financial risk every day at work, it becomes much easier to think about ways to break free. Two ways (or both at the same time):
1. Put as much behind you as quickly as possible, in case the ‘worst’ happens
2. Start a part time business – or find another way to increase your income, with the eventual aim of ‘firing your boss before he fires you’!
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JD, actually i had my position “removed”. I guess that’s the same but since I wasn’t full time I guess that’s what they call it. So now i’m a few weeks from graduating college and instead of thinking my employer would offer me a full time position I find I have no position.
In the few weeks since I’ve really tried to utilize my skills as an Information Systems major to try to do a bit of freelance work and make a few dollars.
Keep on, keeping on. That’s all I can do.
Great post!
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After 25 years you should retire. Not sure it is even worth looking.
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The ability to fall back on an emergency fund with a few months of living expenses would be a great help in the event of a layoff. Be prepared!
Of course, it takes discipline and time to build up that fund. I’ve only got about two paychecks worth saved up (and I’m paid bi-weekly!), but I’m working to have more (plus, the stimulus rebate too when it arrives).
I’d say the ability to reduce expenses would be an important survival skill in a layoff. Be willing to cull the bills down to what is truly needed to get by. Get rid of cable (but keep the internet for job searching), satellite radio, and Netflix. Be willing to sell a car (hopefully you don’t owe more than it is worth) and switch to WalMart for all of your shopping. Cut out meat and other expensive grocery items. If you cut your expenses 50% it will be that much longer your savings will last.
You should also immediately file for any unemployment, food stamps, debt forbearance etc that you qualify for. Don’t wait to claim the benefits you paid taxes to support while you were working. I have a few friends and family that have forgone these benefits out of pride. People who normally work hard and pay taxes have earned their benefits when things get tough.
These are just a few of my suggestions. I’m sure there will be many more. I wish those who have hit some bad luck the best.
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I just wrote a post on how to prepare for a potential job layoff which includes:
1. Get your finances in order
2. Update Resume and Network
3. Family Support
4. Know your rights.
These are in line with your points above and I’ll be linking to your post for further
steps…
Andy.
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Changing jobs for me was the most gut wrenching experience I’ve had in adult life. And I wasn’t even laid off, but I had a time line where I *had* to move from one city to another city by a particular date. I was astonished/indignant/humbled on how long it took me to find a new job. I’ll just say that the entire experience was a kick in the ass that I desperately needed. Looking back, I’m *glad* I went through it and I learned a lot from the struggle, about myself, about what I needed to improve, about life, about people.
My last day at work on the old job stands out as one of the most memorable days in my professional life.
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Retirement is not very realistic for a lot of people. If someone spent 25 years in the same industry and started after graduating from college, they would be in their late 40s. Lots of people in their late 40s have kids that are in elementary/middle school and have to be in their highest earning years to raise their families.
Yes, no job, esp. in corporate America is ever really secure. It is a tough lesson to learn but every single worker is completely expendable.
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we went through a job loss recently. fortunately, we were just coming off a stint of paying very hard on some major expenses so we were already spending pretty minimally for living expenses.
since my husband owned most of the minor equipment he needed to do his job, he went out as an independent for a while, but it got very tiring. without business liability insurance, you’re forced to cut prices pretty low. it wasn’t really paying off in the end, with all the time he was spending for not enough money.
in the end he decided to get out of that field and go back to school, for health reasons. and that is a whole other story.
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Depends on your situation, of course, but don’t just automatically reject the first job that’s offered if it’s not in your expertise. Give any job offer serious thought.
Having quit my job as an IT professional and moved to a small town with not much to offer for IT work, I took a job in a grocery store. Even though it was the first thing offered to me it was a great experience and I’m glad I went there. I met new people and from them I learned some tricks of the grocery trade and new skills. And you know what? Not having to worry about someone’s email not working was fantastic and a welcome stress relief for a change. Instead I got to worry about stocking counters and it felt great to do some manual labor again lifting boxes of food around the store.
Instead of sitting in my chair for 8 hours a day and then spending another hour or so of exercising afterwards, I got 8 hours a day of continuous walking and heavy lifting and got paid to do it. Not too bad if you ask me.
Who knows, could be the best thing you ever do. Learning new skills makes you a more valuable employee and more versatile if you wind up out of work again.
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Lots of good advice in this thread, so I’ll just mention one more:
Once I got laid off in a town that had terrible unemployment – I knew I wouldn’t be able to find another job, even in retail! I asked my boss if he could transfer me to a branch in another city (which had a GOOD job market) instead of flat-out laying me off. He did that for me. I had to take a lesser job to make the move, but once I was in the city with the good job market, I was able to find a good job, so it all ended well.
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How interesting this post is because I am living this right now and what has been ‘theraputic’ for me is to create a blog all about it and it helps a LOT. Our lives are not centered around our jobs and we need to get used to the fact that companies don’t care about their employees anymore. Love of money has replaced love of employees. You have to have a Plan B always on the backburner! Check out my blog and you’ll get to read all what I’m going through right now.
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@ Adfecto, not everyone is eligible for food stamps/gov’t help. My husband lost his job recently. I work, but make less than 1/3 of our total income. We applied for assistance and just found out that a family of three in our area is expected to be able to support themselves on an income of $2000 a month!!! Our mortgage on a 1100 sq ft house is just over half of that. Sheesh.
I agree with Mike — ANY job is better than no job. My husband took a job at a bowling alley while he continues to look for a career — it’s ALWAYS easier to get a job when you have a job, even if the job you currently have is unrelated to your field of expertise. It tells future employers that you really are willing to work. Not to mention that it helps pay the bills in the meantime.
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When my dad lost his software engineering position after about 25 years (this was 10 years back during some massive layoffs) he:
1) Found a gig to consult on while job-hunting.
2) Started working with a placement agency which found him a 1-year contractor position at a large bank/credit card company.
3) Leveraged the banking industry software skills he’d gotten over than 1 year to get an excellent job with the bank’s rival.
So after 2 years he was in higher-paying position which he’s been in for the last 8 years.
He was 52 when laid off, so it was pretty dramatic and seemed like it could be a permanent issue…but he kept at it and did quite well. I think it’s amazing in retrospect that someone over 50 could find a good computer job, but he had been working with computers basically since software became important.
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Three weeks ago my friend’s mother was laid off (worked in the mortgage division of a major bank…oops).
This woman is in her late 50′s. I am 24. When I ran into her in town and asked her how she was doing, she said, “Well, actually, I’m looking for a job, so if you know of anything out there, let me know.” She didn’t harp on how tough it was to be jobless, she didn’t seem depressed or anxious or ashamed, she was just very direct and matter-of-fact.
I certainly don’t have a job to give her, but now I know to be on the lookout for her. I’m definitely not prime networking material, and the chances of her getting a job via me are slim. But I was impressed by her frankness, and she’s casting her nets wide, which can’t hurt!
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I got “laid off” in Jan of 2006 as a graphic designer for a printing company that had just been bought out. I ended up starting my own business and have had success in doing so. Best thing that ever happened to me.
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An excellent tool for searching many job posting websites is indeed.com.
Don’t make the mistake I made for 4 months – putting your resume on 3-4 job boards is not going to have people beating a path to your door unless you have an odd set of skills. You need to initiate your contacts with companies.
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The latest issue of U.S.News & World Report has a cover story about how to save your job. Also their 2008 Career Guide is full of some good advice -> http://www.usnews.com/features/business/best-careers/best-careers-2008.html
Hey J.D. I just noticed you were interviewed by one of their bloggers -> http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2008/3/17/blogger-shares-debt-riddance-secrets.html Congrats!
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I’m with Mike and Damsel–get another job, even a crappy part-time one. That’s what I didn’t do 15 years ago. I kept looking for a full-time job that would pay all my bills during the worst of the last Bush Recession. And unless you did something very bad to get yourself fired, as opposed to laid off, you’ll collect unemployment. Even a part-time job will stretch those benefits far past the current allotted 6 months. It took me 10 months to use up the year’s unemployment they gave you in 1992; a friend who always had a craptastic p-t job managed to make his last a year and a half. Me, I got another job after 18 months, with only a month’s worth of money left before I started living out of my car.
And who knows? That p-t job could work out to a full-time one.
And if like me, you’re fired illegally (because I wouldn’t transfer across state, when I told them on my original application and interviews that I couldn’t. If it was a reason to fire me, why did they hire me knowing it?), again, don’t do what I did and meekly accept it. Go to the labor board and sue to get it back. If they side with you and you get your job back, you’d pretty much have to be caught stealing before they’d fire you again.
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@Jen:
what an excellent idea that I should have pursued with my last major employer. Before getting laid off, I could have offered the solution of transferring.
As the guy in question is in Ireland, I am sure that he can get another job relatively easily at any of the telemarketing and IT companies over there. If not, he should be able to relocate to anywhere in the UK, right?
I *just* got a PT job today and stoked. I wrote about it on my blog, but never mentioned this: GET UP EACH DAY! Do at least one thing that will help your job search every day.
Best advice I can say is that your reader needs to leverage the power of their connections. My last *stable* job worked exclusively on networking with the Executive community and you would not believe the successes I had. During my time of unemployment (which is partly ending as of April 1st), I went to a job fair and happened upon somebody that I knew from high school who now works as an HR hiring manager.
1) Maximize your chances of leveraging your connections.
2) Make new connections.
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I got fired in May 2006. Before that, I was always looking for a job, so my resume was out there. I contacted everyone I knew to find out if their company was hiring, and ended up getting a job through a former coworker. Never burn your bridges, and always keep contact information for as many people as you can. You never know when you’ll need them.
I had money saved, so that wasn’t a big deal. It was summer, I rode my motorcycle and watched the World Cup all summer (without a job), and when the riding season ended, I had a new job (I was going on interviews between moto. parties). I was lucky, but I had things in order before I got canned.
Everyone at my old job felt bad for me, but I actually had a great summer. I told them that I had money saved, and they should do the same. That emergency fund can come in handy.
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Its scary to think of it if I am laid off , but your boss don’t you , your article give me a thought of to do next it is happen ,
Excellent post ,
Tracy ho
wisdomgettingloaded
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I’ve been laid off, and it sucks. And I work in my current job, always expecting another layoff to happen at any time.
It’s great to talk about not freaking out, but you do panic. And then you hunker down and figure out that things like cable and steak dinners really aren’t necessary.
Ultimately what worked for me was talking to a friend, who knew somebody who was looking to hire somebody with my skills. It led to a job that I wasn’t thrilled about taking, but I’ve been doing it for nearly 6 years now.
I only hope that before I’m laid off again, I have enough socked away that I can work on getting my own business off the ground. My plan next time around will be to divest myself of a bunch of possessions and move home to my parents to give me a chance a getting a freelance writing career off the ground.
It would suck living with my parents again in my 40s, but I’ve already toughed out months of unemployment while pridefully keeping my own life. Next time around I’d like to take a stab at changing my life for the better, even if it means sacrificing pride.
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I was laid off in 2004 and it took me about seven months to find a job (which I still have, and love). Definitely apply for unemployment right away. Make sure you understand the health insurance implications and work that into your budget (COBRA is outrageously expensive but there are other options too). Look for work and send resumes out every single day. Send resumes and letters to companies that you would really like to work for, whether or not they have an ad posted. You never know!
For everyone reading this who is currently employed…take a few minutes today and send an email out to some ex-coworkers that you haven’t talked to/seen in awhile. Update email addresses. Add a few more contacts via LinkedIn. Keep those contacts fresh! You never know when you might need them. And of course, don’t keep all of that contact info on your work machine…:)
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I got laid off in 2003 — saw it coming because I had been through 5 previous rounds of layoffs at this company in the prior two years.
I came to a realization during that period that “job security” is a thing of the past. Doing a good job, doing what you are asked to do, finding a good boss/job/company, are insufficient to provide income security (at least here in the U.S. which is where I am located).
Instead, I think of “career security” which is what I know how to do, what I have done, who I know, etc… Doing the same thing over and over again for 20 years does not enhance career security. Working in different functions, different divisions of your company, taking advantage of whatever educational assistance is offered — those enhance career security.
Now, after almost 5 great years with a new employer, my current company was acquired by an industrial conglomerate with a less than stellar reputation for how it treats its employees. However, I am in so much better shape today than I was 5 years ago. I have broadened my functional expertise, am almost done with a MBA, and am financially more stable than I have ever been.
Good luck to you. Actually, for me, getting laid off was a major positive turning point in my career. Hope it works out well for you.
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I was laid off once a few years ago, so I know what you are going through. For me, there was NO severance package, and at the time I had only $433 in the bank. Although I found a (low-paying) stop-gap job quite easily, times were very hard for the next year or so. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life. But in hindsight, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
Three things I’ve learned to do since then:
1. Save money! Squirrel away as much as you can while the going is good. Don’t even ask why, just do it.
2. DON’T GET SOFT. Accept that in any life, there are going to be lean times and prosperous times, and prepare for it by living like a pauper even through the prosperous times. Naturally this means not taking on any unnecessary debt, and living as simply as you can. Simple is good! You’ll be all the happier – and possibly healthier – for it, too.
3. Never burn your bridges. Keep as well-connected as you can with as many people as you can, even if sporadically. Two of my subsequent jobs came from people on my Christmas card list, the last people in the world I expected to come through for me!
I know that you are going to be just fine. But when you get on an even keel again, please consider the best way of living your life … simply.
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it sounds like the common theme here is:
1) build wealth through savings
2) network with relationships you’ve already made
score another one for community-building!
something even more proactive that I am currently trying to do is consulting. I’m haven’t fleshed out the details for myself, but having something that you’re very good at, and can make money from at your own pace can work wonders for your savings account.
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Get all your dental and medical work done (while you are on severance and still covered).
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About seven years ago, I relocated to another city for a job, and then a year and a half later, I was laid off from the job. I was in my mid-20s at the time and was terrified. I remember that being the lowest point in my life. I took all of the advice in the article, though, and I found my current job through an acquaintance who referred me to someone who worked here. I’m not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t established connections. Beware of taking a job at a lower salary just to take a job, though. I took a 4-5K pay cut, and it has been a struggle to get where I would have been salary-wise had I not been laid off from my previous employer. Being laid off does a number on your self-esteem, and I think that the best advice is that it’s not personal, just as the first point in the article states.
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Something similar just happened to me – AND my boyfriend and I just closed on a house. We haven’t even made our first payment yet! YIKES!!! But since we have been aggressively saving/paying down debt in the past year, I think we will be okay. Especially if I get unemployment (although I am a little worried that my company will try to deny it). I am also searching for a part-time job and already have a 6-week online scoring assignment lined up. The thing I am most worried about is the COBRA being too expensive, and I HAVE TO have insurance… We are also considering renting out a bedroom for the summer. I am trying to look at this as a blessing-in-disguise and stay positive and keep my name/resume out there. While also taking this opportunity to hopefully find more meaningful work!
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I got laid off twice, two years in a row, almost to the day! This was in June 2000 and 2001. The first time it happened, I was totally blindsided. Fortunately, I kept my living expenses low, so I was able to live comfortably on unemployment. I took the time to really *think* about what I’d liked/disliked about previous jobs, and that got me started on the path to a master’s degree.
That first time I was laid off, I was unemployed from the end of June to the middle of October 2000… I don’t recall being too stressed but I was happy to get a call from someone in my network to come work for them.
Of course, I got laid off again the following June, but that time the writing was completely on the wall. I’d cut my living expenses in half by moving into shared housing, so again, unemployment was enough to see me through. I was unemployed until November, but I started grad school in the fall (Sept 2001… not the best time to be looking for work!) and in the end I took a radically big pay cut to start working in a job relevant to my studies.
That job set me squarely on the path to a range of adventures, none of which I’d have anticipated lo those many years ago!
So, keep your expenses down, work your network, don’t be afraid to take a whopping pay cut, and good luck!
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When job hunting (methodically), use the tools that are available to you. Use the RSS feeds that job sites provide through a reader (Craigslist and Indeed.com both have these). Use the star’ing (Google) to mark jobs to go back and apply for later.
Also, if you’re out of a job, make job-searching your job. Yes, I’m saying that you MUST commit the time lost to finding a new job, whether that means scouring and applying to adds, interviewing in person or on the phone, or bettering your education and certifications to make yourself more marketable. You must live and breathe your job search. Be passionate.
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[...] If you ended up losing your job anyway, here’s a good article What to Do If You’re Laid Off? [...]
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I was laid off two months ago. 18 years of service and sign your name here and its over. I was devastated. I’ve taken to task many of the ideas that I’ve read on this site. No luck posting resumes to job sites. Most of my little side jobs are comming from friends. I’d like to stay in my career field if possible. Thanks for all the wisdom.
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[...] brings me to a recent post on Get Rich Slowly that asked “What To Do If You’re Laid Off?” … I’ll let you read the post and the comments, but I can’t help thinking [...]
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I’ve got one for you. I moved from one state to another, started working for a company and was quite happy. Got promoted into a position working with particular clients which I stayed in for over a year until the day came when I hear the doors are closing because they are being bought out.
I was mortified. The corporation which I came to adore decided they were going to sell out. I had nowhere to go and very little friends. The only benefit I had on my side was the amount of severance received as it allowed me to pay months ahead in bills.
Being as this was a position that I really enjoyed I actually got depressed. At any rate, after thinking it over it wasn’t just my company that was being effected. There were a few others. Secondly, something that was against me was lack of education. So, I did some research and took the road of academics towards a degree.
Here’s what’s interesting, I had every intention to go back to work after I was graduated being as I went to school full time and it was 15 credit hours which I was taking. I was given the opportunity to take my MBA in Business Administration full time since I graduated early and I couldn’t pass it up.
So, here it is I have a BS in MIS and within a week later I was accepted for the MBA in Business Administration program full time which was 14 hours at a time. During all of this, I was a web freelancer for small businesses. Things got a little hectic at times with study hours but I pulled off a 3.5 GPA.
Now, I am browsing job listings as I want to go back to corporate. I’ve stayed home being a bookworm long enough.
At any rate, that’s my little bit of history.
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Someone said, “Know your rights.” How do I find out what my rights are regarding the severance agreement I’m supposed to sign, if I can’t afford a lawyer??? Can anyone suggest any resources?
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Along the networking front, I’ve found that unemployment social networks, like http://www.freeagentnet.com are pretty good for figuring out what to do from here. Since not everyone is going to start looking for the same job in the same field immediately, sites like Free Agents are good for figuring out whats next by talking to people and keeping your finger on the buzz…
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Just got laid off today. Have five weeks until my last day. I was the executive admin. for an engineering & planning company. I am the sole provider for my son and elderly mother who both live with me in my home.
Now what do I do? I will definitely file for unemployment, but don’t know where to start to look for another job. I have told all my friends, but they are concerned about their own job security. Do I send my resume to all the company clients while I am still at the job?
Please give me some advice.
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I was laid off today, for the second time in a about seven months. Detroit might be missing me soon.
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I just wanted to thank get rich slowly. Your advice helped prepare me before the eventual layoff that happened at my institution due to fiscal exigency. From reading your column I began a nest egg over a year ahead of my eventual layoff and was also able to prepare myself mentally for what lay ahead. I will continue to be a long time reader. Thanks again,
Miles
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For the second time this year, I was laid off this morning. I had just moved into a place closer to work, I did so much to do well in 6 months and BOOM I was the first to go. I felt something was wrong for about two weeks now with the executive director suddenly quitting and budget always being in crisis, but I just can’t believe that after all my skills and training, all the money I saved and increased, they choose me, over the high school part timers who sit around half the day with nothing to do. And on my birthday too. I didn’t get any notice, just told to get my things and leave and thanks for a great job but there’s some ‘restructuring’.
I am trying to keep this short and concise, but sometimes it seems like if I am going down, I am also taking the real greedy selfish bastards who couldn’t do their job so they took mine instead.
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