I've been dreading this day for 4 months. The layoff call finally came, and it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to my career.
I'm still trying to process what happened today.
Anyway, last February, the company announced this 'organizational realignment' thing. Classic corporate talk. I wasn't in the first round of departures, but I felt the general vibe had changed. Instead of worrying and stressing, I decided to get my affairs in order and prepare myself. If nothing happened, I would have just wasted a few nights. And if it did, I'd be ready.
I really took it seriously. I made a simple spreadsheet to track everything and used a tool called Teal to organize my applications. I was tailoring my CV for every job I applied to because I know from past experience that sending one generic CV everywhere doesn't get results. I even had a recruiter friend look at my LinkedIn, and guys, it was a shock to see how many basic things I was missing in my field.
Anyway, throughout April and May, I was applying for jobs after work. I got a few interviews and got rejected from a few. Then, about two weeks ago, I got an offer. With a higher title, a 25% salary increase, and a genuinely cool-looking team. I signed the contracts last week and was about to submit my resignation this morning.
No joke, I was literally writing the 'I'm writing to inform you of my resignation' email when I suddenly got a calendar invite from my manager's manager. The title: 'Quick Chat.' And the meeting duration was only 15 minutes.
We all know what that means. The layoff call. But here's the kicker: they offered me 6 months of severance. Full salary, and they'll pay for my health insurance until September.
So my current situation is: I'll be getting 6 months of severance pay from my old job, and I have a new, better-paying job starting in a month. This means I get a month of paid vacation, and technically I'll be collecting two salaries at the same time. This feels unreal.
Seriously, if you're at a job and you have a weird feeling or don't feel secure, listen to that feeling. Don't wait. Start looking around and get your documents in order. You never know what might happen.