<p>If any one here has been laid off, how do you cope in this present situation?</p>
<p>Do you try to find another job quickly or apply quickly to grad school? </p>
<p>Share your thoughts.</p>
<p>I’ve worked for 35 years and have never been laid off but this is the scariest job environment that I’ve ever seen including the late 80s/early 90s. The scariest part is looking at the economic numbers while wondering how long our large corporations can hold onto their employees and continue to feed business to smaller companies.</p>
<p>I went into to chat with my manager (I haven’t seen him in person for several weeks) and he gave me the impression that all was fine. Our stock price is in good shape and we seem to be doing well with profits. But I look at the rumors of large layoffs at Microsoft and IBM and worry a little.</p>
<p>There are jobs out there. I’ve done some scouting for our son for internships and do see real jobs out there too.</p>
<p>I would beat the bushes for jobs - online jobs, career center at BC and BU, contact coworkers, friends, etc. Contact folks that I’ve done volunteer work for before. And maybe just take some time off. I’ve been working for a long time without a break and maybe a year off would be nice.</p>
<p>If there are jobs in your field, apply.</p>
<p>But I think a great place to be in a recession is in school. During the late 80s recession, I was practicing law in ground zero of the S&L debacle (Arizona). I got laid off (law firms were dying; lawyers were being laid off all over town . . .) I was “lucky” and got another job but it turned out to be a nightmare of a job. So, I returned to school and got a Ph.D. as I had always dreamed of doing. Although I took a vow of poverty to do so, it was a great move and I’ve never regretted my decision.</p>
<p>In some ways, being laid off is an opportunity (although it’s terribly painful going through it.) If there’s a degree you’ve been wanting, now’s the time to do it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>What type of job did you have and what type of grad school are we talking? I’mm seeing laid off kids in business running for second class MBAs which I think is a mistake.</p>
<p>Age is a factor. I already had my Masters the first time I was laid off. Since I was 6 months pregnant it was not a good time to job hunt. It was the start of my consulting career and the best thing that ever happened to me. </p>
<p>Younger, I would regroup and use every contact you have to let them know you are looking. Most jobs are found through relationships. Start a list of everyone you know and every connection you can think of in every group you touch. Treat the search like a job. Make sure you are getting up in the morning and getting out. It is easy to slide into a withdrawn depression. Have your “elevator pitch” ready. The 30-60 second statement of what you are looking for and what you can contribute. </p>
<p>If you are not laid off yet, brush up the resume, make sure skills are current (go back to some training if needed) and start to make sure your network is good. Continue to make sure you are contributing to sales, profitability, cost reductions, or mission accomplishment, depending on where you work. Start to conserve cash. It can take 6 months or more to replace your job. </p>
<p>In any case, subscribe to professional information sources and pass the information on to colleagues. Invite people to lunch to catch up and let them know what you have been doing recently. Look at your job and focus on accomplishments and not activity. Let folks, including current work, know what you have accomplished that has helped the organization you belong to achieve it’s objectives. </p>
<p>If you can afford it, it may be a great item to get the additional degree and improve your chances later. </p>
<p>Keep an open mind. There are many paths to a satisfying life. Good luck.</p>
<p>I graduated from college in the late 70s and was laid off twice in the early 80s. Once from a job in the Chicago area that I’d held for over three years, and then from a job on the East Coast that I’d only been at for 6 months. The first time, the manufacturing company where I worked in marketing was sold and the marketing operations folded into the new parent company with no room for me. The second company went bankrupt and laid off 100 out of 140 employees in one swoop. The 40 that were left had a few months notice that they’d be out of work soon. They got to work to liquidate the company assets. (N.B. when they come in to the main office to repossess the corporate helicopter, that’s a pretty good sign you should be looking for another job!)</p>
<p>I was young and single in both go rounds and took the opportunity to re-invent my life and make some location and lifestyle changes. My advice to anyone in my sort of situation, if you see it coming down the pike, is to cut your expenses, sock away a hefty emergency fund, renegotiate your apartment lease (I asked for a month-to-month on a place I’d been in for two years – landlord was happy to oblige), work on your resume, make some good contacts, and figure out where you want to go and what you want to do. </p>
<p>From the vantage point of 27 -26 years later – the decisions I made during that time period changed my life. If I did it again, I might make different decisions and my life would be very different today. Think it through and make careful choices!</p>
<p>my 1 and only layoff was 2 weeks after my son was born. I got no severance (had only been there 2 years). Got 8 weeks disability pay since I had a c-section. Spent the next 18 months out of work (really hard to look for a job when you have a baby and no family support). I was a single parent who never got a nickle from son’s dad. Got to the point that I was collecting welfare, food stamps, and WIC. </p>
<p>Got a job with the government making less than 1/2 of pre-layoff job. Took 8 years to get back to pre-layoff salary. I think my job is secure (dept of defense) unless they do another BRAC and close our base. But we are a pretty integral agency and have been passed over by Brac before. I have no college at all and consider myself to be very very fortunate to have made it to where I am today, solidly middle class. I could never earn the same salary in private industry because of my lack of formal education.</p>
<p>From everyone’s responses, do you recommend someone like me (early 20s) to pursue grad school now or continue to seek other employment? I’m not laid off by any means, but I’m wondering if I should continue to postpone an advanced degree. I decided to go back to school for now to get a certificate. Employable skills. Doesn’t cost me a lot of money. I don’t want to end up in a situation where all I have is a “glorified bachelor’s degree” (master’s degree) and my employment situation doesn’t improve.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could tell us what field you’re in as then posters in the same industry could provide more targeted information on the school vs job hunting decision.</p>
<p>So far only one in our extended family has been laid off. A nephew (3 years out of an ivy fwiw) was let go from his investment bank a couple months ago, with a 3 month severance package. He is, in fact, studying for the GMAT and applying for MBA. He doesn’t want to return to banking though.</p>
<p>Policy Evaluation/Nonprofit Management</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go back to school now. Wait until you are actually laid off. You will have opportunities for graduate school. This is one of the time to hold on to your job.</p>
<p>Both of my parents were laid off a few months ago. They have been looking for jobs, but as neither of them went to college, and we live in a somewhat rural area, they really cannot find jobs that pay enough for our family. They’ve been taking classes on the side, but but with no savings and just loans they are seriously considering just flipping burgers.</p>
<p>tenisghs, if you are still employed, don’t quit to start grad school. At your age every month of experience will help with future job hunts.
Keep up with all your networks and take any training you can - maybe a night class in management or policy if there’s a good cheap state school nearby.
Who knows, the economy may turn around to the point where your employer will help fund grad school.</p>
<p>Go ahead and apply, then get back to us when you have some real choices. The economy and your current job situation can change over time. The decision to attend grad school will be influenced by the quality of the programs you get accepted into and the cost.</p>
<p>Do not apply to grad school if it means adding more debt. In this environment, adding debt is definitely bad. </p>
<p>I think it is better to take any job tangentially related to your field, rather than take out loans.</p>
<p>*Do not apply to grad school if it means adding more debt. In this environment, adding debt is definitely bad. </p>
<p>I think it is better to take any job tangentially related to your field, rather than take out loans.*</p>
<p>Definitely.</p>
<p>I don’t remember how large your final loan amount was- I remember that when you were first deciding on schools, Northwestern offered you an aid package of $37,000 but $28,000 was a loan.
If that was for one year- I shudder to think how large your loans are for your BA, but I faint to consider how large the total would be if you put them off in order to amass greater debt.</p>
<p>tenisghs, aren’t you currently employed by the University of Michigan? If so, why not go for a part-time graduate degree at the Ford School of Public Policy? As an employee of the University, I am fairly certain you would get a great deal.</p>
<p>Yes, Alexandre. I’m just weighing my options. I’m not in a hurry to start grad school now. I’m currently in a position related to my field. I was just wondering how did other CC parents weigh their choices if they have been laid-off or downsized in a bad economy.</p>
<p>During the three months that my H was unemployed, he was able to latch on to a few consulting projects to help out on using his contacts, problem is, by the time it was ready for payment the recession had hit big time, he has almost $20K of work time billed but nothing has come in yet…</p>