[Nitin]

Congrats, Sir. Its definitely a wonderful feeling to be employed again. I had the opportunity to sit at home for 4 months, before I found a job.
One thing is a given- you really have to open you mind up and blend in the circumstances around you, and being able to that is what finally counts.

A bit of advice to those who fear they may be laid-off, or who are currently without a job; please give yourself some time to sit back & relax, and then reassess your goals. It won't be long before things start to improve.

[null]

Nice to hear such encouraging words Nitin.

[mmmjgm]

Originally Posted by kpbhatt

Update from my end: was laid of on 27th March 09. Hunted for a job for 2 months and landed with a similar position as my previous job in a startup firm. Took a 10% cut in salary and a good amount of facilities that were defacto in a bigger organization -- on the plus side -- i have a job and i can pay off my home loan and support my family.

Hey Kpbhatt, congratulations, great to know something worked out for you, wishing you all the best for your future.

congratulations.

M

[kpbhatt]

Originally Posted by mmmjgm

Hey Kpbhatt, congratulations, great to know something worked out for you, wishing you all the best for your future.

congratulations.

M

thanks sir

and thanks for your help in the job hunt.

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by null

Nice to hear such encouraging words Nitin.

Thanks, Null. I know exactly what the whole feelings like- lost, lonely, and trying to shoot in the dark.

Everyone around me was afraid that I'd stay depressed, and lose it.Surprisingly,I decided to take the time off and do stuff I'd been waiting to do. Watch movies all day long, ride my bike as often as possible, play with my dogs and above all, cook. Cook to my heart's content!

Thats why I'd like to tell everyone, hang in there, and the window of opportunity will open. As the saying goes, when one door closes another one opens.

In these tough times, its best for each & everyone of us to talk things out,either here on TBHP, or to someone else who'd be able to help. Never bottle things up. This is the last thing one needs to go into depression, and do something stupid.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

One of my close relatives is likely to be fired tomorrow. During our conversation we discussed something, which, I would like to ask here as well.

He is getting fired coz he has been on bench since one month now, yes just one month. He is a star employee and got accolades and gift vouchers and, well various things.

Come last Thursday his teammates all of a sudden started getting calls to the HR cabin and were asked to pack up.

My question is, can he ask for a prolonged vacation, w/o pay,say, 3 months and then come back when there are client openings, which are currently on hold?
What are the changes of that? Are there any overheads for the company in this case as well?

Amazingly companies will not call up thier laid off employees, if at all there is an opening, rather they will search for fresh people. Why ? Is there any logic here which i'm not getting? Of course if the laid off employee has got a position elsewhere then the HR need not bother. But I feel the first call should go to the sacked ones, then the other alternatives whould be approached. What says guys?

Update:
Did not get fired. Took an interview for another project in the same organization. Cleared it and is on his was way to US this weekend.
Howwwzzat? World of IT. Never seizes to amaze.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Update:
Did not get fired. Took an interview for another project in the same organization. Cleared it and is on his was way to US this weekend.
Howwwzzat? World of IT. Never seizes to amaze.

Good to hear that. But technically its not "fired" its "lay off"

Whats the difference?

Fired is when you do some unwanted things, breaching the confidentiality etc and company asks you to push off. It may also mean that you not competent for the job or lack knowledge etc etc. Basically, due to YOUR fault.

Laid off, on the other hand, is no fault of yours. Its just a action from company to reduce cost, expense, etc. So, there are some companies which actually re-call their laid-off employees, when opportunity comes.

[PatienceWins]

Thanks Nitin and kpbhatt, it is good to hear good things in these trying times. My hearty congrats to both of you!!

[Rocky_Balboa]

It has become increasingly scary at my workplace.
A project that has run successfully for 4 years with another 2 yrs of commitment bombed yesterday leaving 9 on the bench. I was in that project six months ago and just when I thought I would go back, this happens.

Only just last friday, 9 colleagues were sent home. If this repeats, I guess in a month or so, no one would remain!!! :(

[Rahulk76]

My company needs 1 good guy/gal in Tech Support & Remote Support with 4-6 years of experience who is Proficient in windows troubleshooting, Hardware Problem TroubleShooting & Network Troubleshooting. He/ She can be Any Graduate with good communication skills in Pune. If you know some one, please PM me across with details

In these times its has to be a good reference

[kalpeshc]

^ Please post the above in the Jobs Available In My Organization thread. It'd be more appropriate and helpful there.

[jassi]

Anyone here in need of job in infosec industry? This is for pre-sales or post-sales role (varying levels of seniority) in one of the leading security vendors (a/v, ips, etc). Feel free to PM me and I will get you in touch with the agent in aussie. The openings are in bombay and delhi, i believe.

[amya]

This is an email fwd I recieved today. Let's not get into whether its real or not; however it could ease you up a bit if you are going through "oh-my-god-I-am-scared" phase. This too shall pass, best of luck to all of us.
--------------------
Thank you boss for the lay-off.

Dear boss ,
While this could easily be a private letter between you and me, current economics are hinting to me that perhaps my condition is wider-spread than just my house. As a result, I've elected to make this a public letter. I hope you don't mind.
I'm writing today to thank you for my layoff. When you hired me to work in your firm two years ago, we both knew we were taking a chance on each other. Thank you for treating me well. Thanks for the raises, the benefits and the annual company picnic. I thank you and my family thanks you. I will cherish the knowledge and friendships that built during my time with the company, but most of all, I'm thankful for my layoff.
In these days of extreme economic hardship, you should know that I haven't gone crazy since we last spoke. In fact, I think I may have gone sane. All joking aside, this layoff may be one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Let me explain.
I did what every good pink-slip recipient should do. I spruced up my resume and filed for unemployment. I even bought a paper to search jobs in the classifieds. However, it seems that unless you're looking for a used dishwasher or a '93 Civic, there isn't much in the ads these days. Still, required by the local unemployment office, I had to try to get three jobs a week. I found myself scouring for jobs that I knew I would hate. I gave up. After one week, I stopped claiming unemployment. (And if the state of Washington wants its $453 back, they can have it).
You see, the pre-Christmas layoff timing was perfect. It saved me a fortune on child care and the kids will forever remember it as the year we spent three days building the best gingerbread house ever. (It looked just like Snoopy's doghouse.)
We thought this layoff would be a crushing financial blow and opted to hand-make all of our Christmas gifts. They were a huge hit with our family and friends and we spent several wonderful days together as a family creating them. We didn't at all miss the experience of circling the mall for hours looking for a parking spot. The kids didn't sit on Santa's lap at Macy's but we did run into him at a neighborhood ice hockey game and snapped a photo. I'll mail you one.
John, while severance would have been really nice, the gift that you gave me was an abundance of quiet, contemplative time to decide what to do with my life. Not a career, not my time, but my life. I hired a career coach (a tax-deductible job search expense, I thought to myself). I started a workout routine, and I wrote my day-to-day experiences down for myself as a way to order my thoughts. I had ambition. A special breed of ambition that comes from wondering how I'll pay that career coach, or for that matter, even pay my next student loan bill.
We wrote out our household budget for the first time ever, and we stuck to it. I wrote a business plan to start my business, and my husband encouraged me to restart the freelance writing career that I'd put on hold six years ago when I got married. Now I work only part-time for myself and I write part time. I never commute. My wonderful kids are thriving. And as for that student loan payment I wasn't sure I could make in December? I paid the balance of the loan off in full in February, three years ahead of schedule.
With the time afforded to me by my layoff, I was able to focus on my family and household. We kept waiting for the loss of income to hit us with that anticipated financial blow, but it didn't come. I started a blog to inspire others to living "laid off" and making do without a "real job" through smarter spending and finding efficiencies.
Throughout my career, I'd never taken the time to live. I'd never shopped for banks or health insurance. I'd never second-guessed my 401k and never taken the time to design a budget for the family. I'd never volunteered in the kids' classrooms or created a plan more than six months in duration because things might have changed at work.
With no last-minute time crunches at the office, my kids don't think that food comes from a box in the freezer. We cook food that looks like the way it naturally grew. I have more peace of mind than I can ever remember. I'm reading books for fun; I'm indulging in hobbies and spending time with friends and family. I've reconnected with old friends and I volunteer with causes that are important to me.
This is the most rewarding period of my life, ever.
Just wanted to let you know, in case you're wondering, I'm OK. And thank you again for all you taught me. Most of all, for my layoff. I'm living my dream, and it's all thanks to you, I might never have found with it means to live otherwise.

Sincerely,

[LastActionHero]

A real letter published in BusinessWeek. Here's the original article. It has been syndicated and forwarded many times since then.

Dear John, Thanks for the Layoff - BusinessWeek

[MileCruncher]

With the performance announced by companies in various core sectors, I think the Job Market is slowly improving barring the IT and Realty Sector.