Job Loss (The Official Post)

The Bottom Line
It seems that there are more and more people I know who have not yet heard the big news: I was part of a workforce reduction last week (i.e. I was laid off). There were over 30 of us that were let go from different departments. I was told that it was not performance related and was welcome to and even encouraged to apply for applicable positions within the company. I feel that networking is the key to finding a job, especially in this market. That being said, I decided to do this post to give everyone the lowdown on what took place and to ask for your help. (If you don't want to read the nitty gritty, feel free to skip to the end for the plea part.)

The Story
The whole experience was sort of surreal. I knew what was going on the moment that I walked in to my SVP's office...and he had an HR representative in there with him. Unfortunately, my wife had to play the HR role the previous week at her company so I knew the anguish that poor woman was going through. Thankfully, my SVP was quick to the point and did not try and pad the news too much. It was one of those things I just wanted to know quickly, so I was very thankful for how it was done. I was also thankful that my director had requested that they do it first thing in the morning so I didn't have to work a full day and THEN get the news. (That would have really sucked!)

Even as I was hearing the sentence that I was getting laid off, I really felt like God just told me to be at peace. I think my first response was to say, "My wife was in your shoes last week; I'm not going to give you any trouble. Let's make this as painless as possible." I was calm the whole way through as I made it my goal to leave with integrity and dignity.

As I walked back to my desk with my cardboard box (very weird, by the way), I remember thinking "I have a lot of stuff at my desk!" Five years' worth of pictures and folders and notebook. Because my termination was not performance based, I did not have to have security stand over me as I left. I did have a number of people help me move my stuff though; not out of security concerns but from genuine friendship. I was very blessed for their help. They even walked me out and loaded everything in my car for me. That was nice since I had run 3 miles the night before (just started running) and my legs felt like Jello! After the 4 guys who walked me out hugged me and shook my hands, I left the parking garage for the last time.

Obviously I called my wife Kaylane immediately to let her know. Her work was kind in letting her leave right then so we went to a very early lunch to talk about things. I'm thankful that we were able to go to lunch as she has been such an encouragement to me during all of this. Thank you, Baby! She was mad for me (as I would have been for her), but I still just felt a peace about the whole thing and had no negative feelings towards my, now previous, company or employers. It had been a blessing and an honor to work with such great people and I did not pity them for having to let go someone that they called friend. I did, however, pity me for being that person. LOL

Your Help
So, I'm now in the job market. I've updated my resume, LinkedIn, my accounts on numerous job hunting sites, and posted to my social network sites to let them know I'm looking (I'll include links to appropriate sites at the end of this entry). As I said at the beginning of this post, I really feel that the big key to finding a job in this market is to be connected to the people who know the jobs are there. NETWORKING! That being said, I would be blessed by your prayers. Also, anyone who forwards my information on within their networks will be my new best friend. :)

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this! I appreciate your support!!!!

Links
Online Resume
Online Presentation
LinkedIn (Contains recommendations from previous management)
Professional Blog (Just started last week)

4 comments:

  1. You ought to put your resume on http://www.emurse.com/ - it's a much better format than Google Docs, and will let you see stats on who's looking at it.

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  2. Good call, Jordan. Just made the change over. Like it much better!

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  3. I can't do much but pray for it, so that's what I'll do.

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  4. I prayed for you and your family immediately after finishing your post. Be patient for God's timing. He will indeed provide for you. It just might not be exactly when or how you hope. But it will be for your good because He loves you. You are His child, and He knows everything that happens with you and will watch and intervene in His high and wonderful ways (I know you know this stuff already!)

    There was a time a while ago I was pretty dissatisfied with my job... wanted to find something better. Then the economy took a huge spill. Now I feel blessed to even have a job. So many people are losing theirs. I'm sorry one of those someones is you.

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