Am I the only one in Austin terrified at the thought of local layoffs this month? (Round Rock: mortgage, unemployment)

[llkltk]

Gloom and doom on this board. Come on people be optimistic, the US has and always will REBOUND. Don't waste your time worrying. If you want to listen to who you elected, stop panicking.

And remember, if he fails, he can always be recalled.

[mimimomx3]

I agree a lot of the news is doom and gloom, and I don't watch much anymore. I do support the [people though, on this board who are worried. That's natural.

[love roses]

Doom and Gloom is what sells the news I guess. My stepdad is a CPA and he told me the worst thing I could do is panic and pull all my money out and stuff it in my mattress

[thesonofgray]

Having a job and being nervous about layoffs is one thing, but imagine trying to FIND a job in this climate as a recent graduate! And in architecture of all fields!

That's exactly the situation my spouse is in. I can picture these principals spitting their coffee out in laughter when they see the cover letter and portfolio thinking "are you kidding me? Hire?? I'm hoping I don't have to FIRE!"

Luckily, I have a pretty stable job in civil engineering, and my firm is plenty busy with municipal work. (Thank you stimulus bill!)

It looks like that 5-year BArch won't be paying itself off for a while. But we're just thankful we aren't completely incomeless, unlike many.

Good luck everyone!

(And if anyone has any advice for a soon-to-be recent Arch grad, please share and I will definitely pass it on. Thanks!)

[AGA]

Well finding a job WITH a degree is certainly easier than finding one WITHOUT! I am a non degree person with a little background in alot of things and a lot of background in a few things...and having a very difficult time after being a victim of "workforce reduction".
At least with a degree you can find work but maybe not in your field of choice, but in my situation the job pool is SOOOOO limited.
We also can survive without my income, but it is getting tighter by the day...
Let's just say I am learning the ins and outs of the unemployment process at a breakneck speed!!!

I willsay, reading the article in the Statesman the other day about the effect on the people that have to do the terminations, I have a new respect for them...I had never really thought about it before as I had never had to fire someone personally. It has to be hard!

[texastrigirl]

One particular layoff that my husband had to do was quite heartbreaking for him (tears and all when he got home poor guy...worried about his co-workers) and then two days later, the CEO laid him off! She just didn't have the guts to do it and he was the only one below her for the most part so he got to. In another story, he was the Director of his dept. and he had to give them the big speech about layoffs coming, etc. They then went to a big all hands meeting and when he came back, he was the only one with a packet on his desk which meant he was laid off. They had cut all 7 Director/VP roles. So then they people who worked for him felt horrible because they loved working with him. It works all ways and most people are just in general, sad and stressed, no matter what side of it they are on. I have to say, in each of the 4 cases he got laid off (mostly all start-ups that shut down) he found something much better for him. Hope that is the case for each of you!!

[atxcio]

First time I ever had to let someone go, I took another more experienced manager up on his offer to help me do it... it was very difficult, and I felt somewhat depressed and embarrassed (although that's nothing compared to actually being let go) afterward. Since then, it was easier to do. And a couple of years later, when it was my turn on the chopping block (word had gotten to me from other VPs)... I came in early and resigned. Not that I'm recommending that -- just that I did not want to face the stress of getting canned, and I understand how bad it can be.

However, I've had a good relationship (I think) with all the employees who worked for me, whether I had to let them go or not... and, I'm still giving references for some of them many years later.

What I learned was this: The fear and stress of expecting to be laid off or fired is MUCH worse than the actual outcome when all is said and done. No matter when it happens, it always feels like the worst time... just bought a car, a house, don't have enough savings, skill set out of date, bad job market, etc. It's just a bad, bad feeling that makes you literally sick to your stomach... But in reality, you have little to no control over your situation; the worry you feel is not productive in any way and simply causing yourself pain. Just remember that everything can turn into an opportunity; that tough situations bring out the best in good people. A life without some adversity is not a life truly lived. And who knows, maybe it won't happen... but if it does, it's just a chance to test yourself and be thankful for everything you do have (family, education, health... whatever, there is always something to be positive about).

And I'm not suggesting anyone quit, I'm just suggesting that worrying excessively is not necessary or productive. Do your best but don't be afraid of failure or trouble ahead. Many of the really successful people I know have failed at some endeavors or have been fired repeatedly; it's how you "get up" when life knocks you down that will truly determine how happy and successful you end up. Remember that whatever you have lost, people have lost much more. You all probably know that without me saying anything, but it is still worth mentioning IMO. Good luck to everyone out there in these tough times!

[paul6835]

If you quit, you may not be able to collect unemployment (basically, it ends up being your former employers choice whether to pay their portion of the benefit at a time they're cutting costs), I would not suggest doing this if you plan on needing that.

[Trainwreck20]

If you quit, you may not be able to collect unemployment (basically, it ends up being your former employers choice whether to pay their portion of the benefit at a time they're cutting costs), I would not suggest doing this if you plan on needing that.

Exactly what I was thinking.....

[carolinatx26]

Originally Posted by paul6835

If you quit, you may not be able to collect unemployment (basically, it ends up being your former employers choice whether to pay their portion of the benefit at a time they're cutting costs), I would not suggest doing this if you plan on needing that.

Samsung had this thing where gave employees the option to either take 30 days pay and resign, or go on a 45 day performance review where they would eventually come up with any reason to fire the person. They would approach the employee and offer this option, no information, no papers explaining anything, just the offer. They would give you 1 day to come up with your decision. What they failed to tell all those people was that since they were signing the paper to take the 30 days pay, they were waiving there unemployment rights, becuase they were basically quiting. What a piece of shyt company.