Comments on: On Being Laid Off

By: Nerd Money

Nerd Money — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:09:46 +0000

Oh I’m sorry to hear this news! This must be a hard time for you and your family but I’m sure you’ll survive to see better times. Good luck with your job search.

By: Hank

Hank — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:06:30 +0000

An engineer friend of mine was working on a project at a small company that was subsequently purchased by a bigger company. The project went south and he got laid off.
He got a generous severance as they recognized his service for the company they acquired.
I think it took him about 5 months to find work (he did QA mostly). It seemed hopeless at times but he kept at it. He now has a great job at a small company doing software QA and customer support. Also his workplace is much closer to home now and his commute is 1/4 of what it was at the other place.
He is the sole income earner for his family and is, incidentally, an incomplete quadriplegic.
I also worked for BNR/Nortel in Ottawa for 6 years+ before moving west in 2000. Most of the people I worked with have moved on/been laid off and found jobs fairly quickly afterward.
A friend of mine is a recruiter in Ottawa also.
I can pass his info to you or yours to him if you would like.

By: DRiPpy Chick

DRiPpy Chick — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:41 +0000

Sorry to hear the news. Been there. Am currently there. You will likely go through all stages of grieving. But remember, this is also an opportunity. There IS life after insert-company-name-here. The severance will hold you for a while financially, so why not look at this as a positive development and use it as an opportunity to take the rest of the summer off and do some things that you’ve wanted to do for a long time?

More advice, in detail, here: http://drippychick.blogspot.com/2008/07/some-advice-to-newly-laid-off.html

By: Jerry Hung

Jerry Hung — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:24:05 +0000

Sorry to hear the bad news

Unfortunately I am no stranger to hearing such news recently or over the last 6 months. In fact, I *think* I was almost gone as well

Good luck in your job search, sometimes it does force you to look upon this as an opportunity to open another door you never thought of. Best wishes!

It is sad, I have not heard of any good news anywhere for a while to cheer myself up …

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:11:55 +0000

Thanks for the mention! I’m pretty sure you can find something soon.

By: Gene

Gene — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:33:20 +0000

Sorry to hear about your job loss, and glad to hear of your decent severance package. I will be following your adventures closely, and hoping for a great outcome. A lot of people look back on a layoff as the best thing that happened to them. I’ve been glad to have quit a job before, so it’s not unheard of by any means.

By: Gail Vaz-Oxlade

Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:46:00 +0000

I am really sorry to hear about your change in material circumstances. The bottom fell out of my stomach when I read your blog. I guess you made it very real. This is where the rubber hits the road in terms of being financially healthy — both literally and emotionally. Keep in mind that whatever you collect in unemployment will likely be taxed right back if your back at work in good time, so once you go back to work, put away a little extra to deal with the tax next year. No doubt you have the best “advisors” in the world, but if you need to bounce ideas, I’m happy to listen. You can be an important guide through the next few months since there’s going to be more of this, and people are going to panic. With your sound voice whispering good sense, they will feel better. Hang tough. Keep smiling.

By: Loonies And Sense

Loonies And Sense — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:22:11 +0000

Sorry to hear about the job. Best of luck in your search. I look forward to hearing how you make out.