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No matter how you slice it, getting laid off is one of the most psychologically damaging things that anyone can go through in their career. However, this is sometimes unavoidable and you need to prepare yourself in the event that this should happen to you.

The Set-up

I was working at a large firm a few years ago. I loved it! I had a lot of friends at the firm, I had a lot of responsibility, even though I wasn’t too far out of school, and I worked on projects that I cared about. In my mind, I envisioned being with the firm until I retired. It was kind of like your first love where you dream of marriage and kids and a house with a white picket fence. You are smitten…until she dumps your ass!

The firm I was working for was large and had over a hundred employees and nine partners. It had a huge international contract that easily accounted for half of the firms revenues and, even though only a handful of people were working on the project, it was the life force of the office. One day however, the project was gone as the client did not renew the contract for the next phase.

Dropping the Hammer

The warning signs were eminent. There was hushed talk around the office and the people in management were in “secret meetings.” Team project parties were postponed. The partners didn’t even get paid the next pay cycle! Everyone knew that some of the fat would have to be cut out and all the people that were dead weight would be let go. We even took turns guessing who was going to get canned. I had been working at the company for nine months and was one of the more recent hires. Given my short stay there, the thought crossed my mind that I might be one of the first to go. I dismissed that thought as I was an integral part of the project I was working on and I knew for sure that they could see my value as an employee. What I mean to say is, I was the shit!

That next friday I got a call into the office of the managing partner. I had no other reason to talk to him professionaly so I knew that whatever he had to tell me could not be good. As architects generally are, he was pretty inept at giving me the bad news. It was the whole, “we are making cuts” and “its not you its me” and “we can still be friends” thing. I was in a daze and the office was spinning! Time slowed as I went back to my desk and finished my assignment for the day…I didn’t know what else to do.

It turns out a colleague who was hired the same day as me was let go right after me. To mourn our loss him and I and a few of our other friends went to our favorite diner as kind of a long fairwell lunch. They were all supportive and the oldest, wisest of them kept saying the same thing, “It will be for the best. It’s always for the best.”

I think at the time I wanted to hurt him in some fashion for dwindling this tragedy into a life lesson. You see, I couldn’t even envision myself anywhere else and this was not part of the life plan and how am I supposed to just shrug this off?

 ”I mean, I know they made me where a nametage at the company Christmas party and still half the office calls me Dan but…”

 My recently unemployed friend was taking the news even worse and had found the best way to cope was by murmuring unsavory language about those “cock-suckers” that “took him for a ride.”  Still, my wiser friend kept assuring me that better things would come.

What Next?

Seeing as I was always prepared for the inevitable, I had my resume and other documents ready to go. I hit the ground running and, by Monday, had a good number of e-mails out to employers. I filled out the unemployment benefits application to get some steady cash for the time being; I had received the severance pay from my old firm and the unemployment checks would be a nice addition to that. As a matter of fact, my bank account was larger than it had been in a long time! Being unemployed for the first time in my life, there was also time to catch up on the many things I hadn’t had time to do before…like reading a few books or studying for graduate school tests.

Soon I had a few interviews and within two weeks had my next job lined up. As a side effect of finding a job after another year of experience, I negotiated a nice raise from my old salary. I even took another two weeks off to take a week long vacation to Vermont and to visit with friends. I still had more than enough severance pay to last me a while.

The firm I would be joining had a more compatible employee make-up to mine and they were starting to be highly regarded in the area that I specialized in: high-rise residential. The partners were great and the office was spectacular. My commute was shorter and I would have even more responsibility in my new role managing project by myself.

The Silver Lining 

Getting laid off was one of the best things that could have happened to me. My friend was right. The first job was obviously not the end all be all for me and, now, it is apparent that it was not a good fit for me anyways. The experience forced me to look within myself to strive to be a better employee so that this wouldn’t likely happen again. It also forced me to evaluate what I liked and didn’t like about my old job and my career in general. Losing my job was a jolt that I needed to get my career onto the track that was right for me. It also resulted in an increased salary and a better position in a firm.

My friend and I were the only two people let go that day. This was sobering to find out as we were sure that a great many other people would leave the firm anyways.

 Another good friend of ours left the firm not too long afterwards as a result of my layoff and his struggles with management. In a matter of two or three months, the dominoes really began to fall. The partner that I was working under left along with another one. It wasn’t clear the circumstances that were involved, but it undoubtedly involved failing revenues, hurt egos, and a political struggle. I got out before it got messy.

 Now don’t get me wrong, the title of this post is “Getting laid-off sucks” but it IS “always for the best.” (unless you are a factory employee that has worked there your whole life and you get let go before you are eligible for pension…then it just sucks.)