I originally posted this post on my blog a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Do you have a minute?
That was the last message you got from your boss' boss.
Earlier that day, you logged in to work as usual. And you had a couple of "Are you still around?" messages. You knew it was happening. Again.
Then came a quick goodbye message from another colleague. He shared his email and contact details.
You went through the daily meeting knowing something was in the air. Some team members didn't show up. Everybody pretended nothing was happening. But everyone knew it. It was the most awkward and useless daily meeting of all.
This "Do you have a minute?" conversation was different.
You felt the disturbance in the Force right from the start. Your boss' boss looked downwards, his voice is trembling. A small speech of how bad the economy was going. Your only thought was, "It's my turn?"
Then the bomb: "We have to let you go this time."
Definitely, it was your turn.
You left that last meeting relieved and worried at the same time. "What am I going to do now?"
And just like that, you got disconnected from the VPN and the company chat.
It was nice while it lasted.
That's how being laid off feels. I know. I've been there. More than once.
Layoffs are always around the corner. High interest rates. A recession. AI...Today it's a large U.S. company. Tomorrow who knows?
We're better off rolling our own insurance policy:
- Building a brand
- Starting a side hustle
- Creating an emergency fund
- Growing a professional network
- Having multiple sources of income
- Learning different skills to monetize
Winter is always coming. Make yourself layoff-proof.
Join my email list and get a 2-minute email with curated resources about programming and software engineering every Friday. Don't miss out next Friday email.
Top comments (2)
I've never been in this situation yet and, cross fingers, never wanna be. But I think your writing shows a very standard situation. I realized two years ago I was in someway stuck, and wanted to show myself to the world. So, I started writing and increase my network. It was one of the decisions I'm most proud of.
Great article!!!
Thanks, Jaime. It was a post I wrote as a form of public therapy for my past self some time ago...with hopefully a lesson at the end, not just a "life is unfair" rant.
Agree. I wish I had started taking my writing and my brand seriously way earlier. It has opened unexpected doors here and there for me.
Happy coding!