Being Laid Off, Downsized, or Let Go in Today's Economic Times

I have had people ask me for advice about how to secure a new position without it costing any money. Unfortunately, the issue is deeper and rooted in our government economy.

Reports that the recession is over are the fabrication of economists whose sole purpose is to create an air of hope in this nation's government. Much the same as any fiction writer paints a scene of Utopian hope for the distant future. Reality, on the other hand, dictates the unemployment rate is higher than ever before and corporations, both large and small, are preying on the unemployed. How are they doing this you may wonder? I have first hand experience with an Electronic Commerce (EDI) job interview with a company whose manager and supervisor I spoke to at length, during two separate and face-to-face occasions of the interview process, and informing me that I am the perfect person for this specific position. I was sent the the HR manager to discuss coming on-board with the company and to get the low-down on the benefits etc...

The next day, I was informed the deal was reneged and the company was going in a different direction with this particular position. I could not leave it at that, so I contacted the person who should have been my supervisor. I was informed of a new development; a Vice President on the West Coast (the location I interviewed with was in the North Carolina / South Carolina region) decided that if he waited long enough the economy would down-turn deep enough to get someone with skills in which the company would need in two years. So, this EDI analyst position mutated into a person with expert skills in SAP, and minimal knowledge of EDI as well. The real issue was that the pay was dropped by twenty thousand over what I was offered, and if what I was offered was thirty or forty thousand less than an SAP expert, imagine how low, what a drastic cut in pay, an SAP person would have to accept to take the position.

I spoke to the manager and supervisor a few additional times as they were doing all they could to get the Vice President to change his mind at that madness. His response to them, and they quoted him to me as saying, "If we wait long enough someone will be hard pressed to take the position at what I want to pay them."

The old adage 'You get what you pay for' does hold some truth. But now let's examine this corporate attitude from a different angle. In this reality I am the SAP expert who has accepted their job offer at forty thousand dollars per year less than what I was making at my previous job, in which I was laid-off. Would my company loyalty be strong? No. I would have my resume in the global mix and I would pray every night for a new job making at least what I was making previously. So yes, the company has me and I am working and doing my best in all I am doing for this company; but the moment I can bail I will. Two weeks notice is something you give to a company in which you feel a bond or loyalty to and not a hard-core rule. Therefore, I may call up one morning and tell them I QUIT, or simply not show up and let them figure it out for themselves. Possibly, I would send an email letting them know that I have a great new job and thanks for all the experience while I was looking for a new position.

OK, back on topic: Why Economic Unemployment? Companies and recruiting organizations will do anything now to get the talent they need to succeed and stay in business. Another life story is a recruiting company, who normally has integrity and honor, has a single individual working who feels they need to close the deal at any cost. So when the prospect tells the recruiter they are looking for a specific rate of pay, and relocation expenses, and benefits (not unreasonable) the recruiter tells the prospect exactly what they want to hear. Then this recruiter goes to the company and sells them on this prospect, which was told that any discussion of pay or benefits needs to go through him. The company offers this prospect a full time position at a lower rate of pay and in looking over the contract there is no mention of any relocation included. When asked, the prospect is informed by the company HR manager that the recruiter never mentioned it and therefore it is not included. Now the prospect is forced to accept the new rate of pay and try to make ends meet on his own just to satisfy the quota of the recruiter and the twisted mind of the HR representative.

Long story short in both of these scenarios is simple. Both organizations were trying to use the economy to their advantage. The first by getting someone with high dollar skills for a low dollar wage; and the second using the prospect to increase the bottom line of the recruiting company through misinformation and deception. Both are not good business practices and most people with integrity would walk away from either situation. Then there is the fact that unemployment pays so little and making ends meet on unemployment insurance is near to impossible. So, a person is forced to swallow their pride and hide their integrity in a box until such a time as as a new opportunity comes forth to deliver them from the nightmare.

This is hope. The hope that somewhere out there a company exists that follows the value of mutual trust, respect in both directions, and loyalty is not a one-way street. Somewhere, there has to be a place like this or this country is doomed, our government cannot succeed in creating a Utopian "FEELING" and the invisible job opportunities they are describing.

A person who is currently working as a manager is laid-off and the only position available is that of a clerk or stock specialist in a store whose income is minimum wage and the hours are not full time; the option is clear. It is advisable to maintain their status on unemployment whose benefit is a great deal more income than that of the stocker or clerk position, which is part time because if they allow a specific number of hours they are required to give you and the family health benefits. So keeping you at a VERY minimum number of hours, and hiring three or four people to rotate through the single position saves them a great deal of money in the long run in the form of benefits.

This is where the term ECONOMIC UNEMPLOYMENT comes in to play. If is more lucrative to remain on unemployment due to the economy and the attitude of a prospective employer than it is to accept a position where your income is less than the level needed to survive; then yes, by all means be selective is what you accept as a job. Remember also that unemployment permits you to make up to a specific amount per week without affecting your unemployment insurance payment. You can use that to your advantage when accepting a very low paying position for a few hours a week. Know the MAX number of hours you can work to make just below the additional income you can collect and still not affect your unemployment. Who knows, perhaps you may meet your next real boss by assisting them in finding a toaster for a gift.