How can you survive a layoff?
Over the past few years, U.S. workers have been losing their jobs left and right, helping to bring the national unemployment rate to just under 10 percent currently. The majority of these jobless folks weren’t fired for poor performance, either. They were let go due to downsizing.
If you’ve heard this term around your place of business lately, you may want to know exactly what a downsize is, how to avoid it and what to do if you actually lose your job because of it.
What Is Downsizing and Why Does It Happen?
The act of downsizing is when a company eliminates positions that are no longer needed or has to cut costs by reducing the number of people it employs. This means systematically firing workers for financial reasons instead of performance, also known as a layoff.
Usually, downsizing is implemented as a last resort and is hard on both the company and the employees being laid off. There are many situations in which this can happen, such as an acquisition, merger, change in management or financial hardship.
What to Do When Layoffs are a Possibility
If you’re worried your company may be preparing to downsize, take the following steps to improve your chances of keeping your job:
- Show your value. Prove to your employer that you are too important to lose. Even though you should always be performing at your best, now is the time to shine and let everyone know how you’ve been contributing over time.
- Brush up on your skills. By improving upon your current skills and even learning new ones, you again make yourself invaluable and demonstrate you’re willing to go beyond the expectations for your role.
- Don’t go overboard. Be an asset, but don’t gloat or be overly self-promoting. You are still part of a team.
Surviving Post-Downsize
In a way, you can consider yourself lucky if you’re fired due to downsizing. This means losing your job wasn’t your fault and you are still a valuable employee. Finding a new job will hopefully be a bit easier for this reason.
Sometimes you will also be given a severance package in this situation to help float you through your transition from one job to another. However, the more you can do to make you and your family more financially secure during this tumultuous time, the better.
Use your emergency savings: If you don’t already have an emergency savings fund, start one now. Job loss can certainly be considered an emergency and you’ll be thankful you planned ahead for it–severance pay, if you even receive any, can only last so long and you have no way of knowing how much time it will take you to find a new job, especially in such a tough market.
Avoid debt at all costs: It may be tempting to live off your credit cards after being let go, but doing so will only set you up for continued money problems even after you’ve found work. To make sure the money you have lasts, you’ll have to downsize your budget as well and spend as little as possible.
Network: A new job isn’t going to fall into your lap; you’re going to have to stand out among the competition. Continue to build your network of peers and professionals so you can be the first to know about any openings.
Experiencing a downsizing can be traumatic even if you keep your job. Your confidence in the stability of your position is shaken and you begin to question your future. Whether downsizing results in being laid off or not, being prepared for the possibility with a strong skill set and well-padded bank account is your best defense against the negative consequences.
What do you think is the best defense against being laid-off due to a downsize?
This guest post was written by GoBankingRates.com, bringing you informative personal finance content and helpful tools, as well as the best interest rates on financial services nationwide.
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If you wind up unemployed: you may have better luck cobbling together two or more part-time jobs should you need to replace your full-time income quickly. Find one for weekends and evenings, and work another during the daytime. With the holidays approaching – hit the Christmas tree lots; then check look for tax-related gigs after the first of the year.
Good points! Just make sure these jobs don’t affect your unemployment benefits.
Networking before it happens is a great way to protect yourself. You’ll have a better chance of surviving if you network within your own company, and you’ll have outside contacts if you network outside. You never know who might happen to know someone who can get you a new position!
True, you should always be networking. I’ve found that many industries are really small in reality and the people who leave your company now are contacts in other companies if you’re smart.
I agree with Matt. Find two (no-brainer) jobs until you can land your next career position. You can actually make decent money delivering pizza, waiting tables, bartending, or any commission based sales jobs.
I would add to anticipate the downsizing. From my experience this has usually been evident well ahead of time. Start looking for another job as soon as you get any insight. Trying to be one who survives is admirable but all options should be kept open. Thanks for the tips.
I would say always keep your options open and having a up-to-date resume handy and networks to give it to is crucial. But I don’t know if you should jump ship when you hear about a downsize. Sometimes it’s a good thing when the company trims the fat and you are left. You can become the go-to person they need to protect.
Our company has been laying people off since January.
Just closed 4 branches out of 9. It’s not fun to see people go with little hope to find a job any time soon.
But sometimes loosing a job might mean finding a better job or starting a different carrer that can be more exciting and challenging and rewarding.
Very useful tips in your article on what to do if you get laid off.
Thanks a lot for posting!
A layoff can be the swift kick to the rear to get you doing what your were previously afraid to do.
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