I’m 90% I’m about to be laid off from my job tomorrow and this is my first time being laid off and this was my first dev job. I’ve worked here for over 7 years which is a long time at a dev job I know.
I’m just wondering what I should do in the meeting, what should I ask for? I’m having a range of emotions from fear of losing my house and health insurance (thanks usa) to relief and hope that I’m going to find something better and more fulfilling.
Thanks for reading
Edit: it’s confirmed I am getting laid off. Thanks everyone for the advice and well wishes. It really helped and means a lot.
If you have time still, it can be good to just go over all the projects you’ve worked on and just give yourself a quick summary of what you did on them, and if there are any concrete examples of ways you contributed to them. It can make things easier for you to sell yourself in interviews afterwards, but it’s one of those things that we often don’t think of until we’ve already lost the job and no longer have access to the files we would need to reference to put it together.
Aside from that, there are some big questions on the financial side of things, if you happen to be based in the US. Do you qualify for severance, and if so, how long will it be? If you get it, will you also have access to your medical insurance during this period, or will you have to consider COBRA coverage? If you are based in the states, then this should like serve as a qualifying event to let you register with your state health marketplace and sign up for subsidized insurance there, which will likely be much cheaper than COBRA coverage long term. However, if you do get severance, you may have to wait until your severance period ends.
Also, take care of yourself. It’s never fun going through a layoff, happened to me about 2 years ago. Finances permitting, give yourself a few days or a week to just get yourself together and decompress, then start bombing out applications and looking for something else. I like to try and give myself a target date, that way I can take a bit of a breather, but I’ve got a hard deadline on it so I don’t let things drag on too long and just waste my time and make things even worse for myself in the long run.
You’ve gotten plenty of good support that hopefully makes it clear this isn’t necessarily the crisis it might seem to be, but a little more can’t hurt.
The time I got laid off, I wound up finding a new position before my severance was done and getting a window of double pay.
And that new position is what lead me to my first dev job!
It’s stressful, but it can work out alright. You can do it. Keep moving forward!
This just happened to me, too. There’s lots of great advice in here, but an important one is to apply for unemployment. It won’t be anywhere near what you were making, but it will definitely help stretch your finances.
Does anyone have thoughts regarding either hiring a resume writing service or just putting it through AI? AI is free and might help get past some early screening, but it also just feels… Wrong. On the other hand, I imagine these resume services just do exactly that. I’d love any thoughts or advice on this
OP can you please give us an update about what happened? I see your edit but if you can share more please do.
Either way take care we are all wishing you well ❤️
Most of the advice here is good. The less you say the better. Don’t sign anything. If they ask if you can do anything for them that’s not COMPLETELY standard (returning keys and equipment is obviously fine.) say “I need to think about it”. Don’t let them push you around.
In addition to the great advice in this thread, as a dev you were probably working in one stack for those 7 years. When that happened to me, I realized that my skills were out of date. So I did some leetcode grinding to get current. Also, lots of jobs use leetcode-type screenings now, so best to get proficient there. It sucks but that’s the way it is now.
[off topic]
I suggest this book to anyone who is laid off or going through any kind of job change.
“Discover What You Are Best At”
It gives you some self tests to find out what your skill set is, and then shows you jobs that use those skills. Nurses and hair stylists both need to have good people skills and be dexterous. Totally different jobs with a similar skill set.
If nothing else, it’ll give you some ideas about what to look for in your next job.
And start the unemployment process right away!
This happens to a lot of people, you’re definitely not alone.
Just try not to go off the deepend and spend a month at the bottom of a bottle/bag like I did, that shit only postpones the bounce back.
Instead try taking walks, playing games, reading or working out, IE healthy distractions and work your way in to sitting with yourself and understanding how you feel and who you are after this job.
Hey OP. I’ve been there, I’m sorry if it happens. Top comments here already have great advice. Take notes, DOWNLOAD YOUR ANNUAL REVIEWS NOW, make sure you can log into all hr sites on your personal laptop, makes w2 easier and 401k.
Not a lot of people are talking emotionally though. If you’ve never been laid off and this is your first, I want to prep you that this is going to hit hard. You don’t think so now, but you’re about to have massive emotional swings.
The first will be intense numbness and lonliness as you lose access/walk out. You will feel incredibly alone as your world is shut out. I want you to know that you are not alone, there are those who care for you. Tell your significant other, friend, even your mom. Reach out, talk to people if you need to. Ask someone if they want to meet for lunch. Try not to be alone all day. It will level set you and they’ll help. You’ll feel like you’re lost, but knowing people are still there helps immensely.
Don’t try to figure out your life that day. You have a great tenure of 7 years. You are allowed to take a break! Obviously I don’t know your finances, but I would take a week if you can, or minimum 24 hours before starting to think about your next role. You may feel panicky, like you have to get started, that’s normal, but fight that urge. Any plan you make in that state is going to be garbage anyway and you’ll need to redo it. Don’t do your resume yet, don’t start applying, just do something you enjoy. Hobbies, games, family time. It will also help center you.
This is a traumatic experience. No its or buts about it, its a feeling that still haunts me a year later. I still have intrusive thoughts of was I good enough, am I a failure, why was it me? It’s something I deal with, and I hope that at least in those first few days my advice will keep you moving.
Feel for you friend, I’ve seen it
Thank you for addressing the emotional aspect so well. This is good stuff and was part of my saving grace, too.
I disliked the advice to simply “show no emotion” in the meeting because it’s not often that this is a lucid choice in the moment. So OP, if you did get choked up or visibly frustrated in the meeting, please be kind to yourself and know that that is completely normal and anyone who has fired individuals has seen a very wide range of reactions to the news. It’s grief, and while some can go through it shocked and numb or stoic-at-will, it’s more common for people to have an emotional response of one kind or another. Obviously, it’s good advice not to have a verbal outburst that can have consequences (like threats) or a physical response that causes destruction, but don’t feel like you should handle this like a robot or a neutral person above it all.
You are more than your job title and more than your work. Spend time with the people who know you and can affirm the beautiful parts of your identity that have nothing to do with an occupation. Give yourself a little time to grieve before you go at the logistics of it all, which others have given solid advice about (unemployment benefits, subscription cancelling, etc.). You are not alone, and you will find work again; best wishes to you.
Don’t sign anything they give you, ask to take it home and take the time to read and understand it first.
And then have a lawyer look at it.
Take it home without even asking.
Yeah - look hostile and claim to rename your locker to America!
In the meeting:
- Stay calm and maintain professionalism. Don’t show fear. Just try not to show any emotion.
- Take notes about anything that seems relevant to your layoff. PRO payouts, when your final day will be, any severance pay you might be getting, etc.
- Ask about COBRA benefits. But don’t go ahead with incoming those unless it’s necessary over the next few months, because they usually suck ass (cost a lot).
And some general advice:
- Look up how to, and then tee up, an application for state unemployment benefits. As soon as you’re laid off officially you can pull the trigger on that.
- Get personal contact info for anyone at your job who could be a good professional reference.
- Get copies of any work-related certificates that might be useful in future jobs.
- Try to find the good tech recruiters in your city or region. There’s usually at least one among all the crappy ones. Ask colleagues/friends if you don’t know where to stay. Avoid the sweatshops like Accenture unless absolutely necessary.
- Update your resume on LinkedIn and start looking for new opportunities. But I wouldn’t flip your status to ‘looking for work’ because you’ll probably just get flooded with spammers and scammers. But look on the down-low yourself.
- Determine which subscriptions you can cancel to save some money, because if you get laid off it’s belt-tightening time.
Good luck!
All good suggestions, and I cannot emphasize the unemployment benefits application enough. Those applications can take time to get approved and may require some pestering on your part to keep the unemployment office moving, so the sooner you file (preferably same day) the better off you are.
Even if you have money saved and are hoping to not need unemployment before you find a new job, apply anyway. You’re entitled to benefits just like everyone else, and with the current craziness of the world right now that extra cushion could come in handy in a few months.
You cannot stress this one enough. You don’t know how long you will be unemployed. Your nest egg might deplete and then it’s too late to start applying. Do it immediately!
Stay calm and maintain professionalism. Don’t show fear. Just try not to show any emotion.
…
Get personal contact info for anyone at your job who could be a good professional reference.
These are the two most important pieces of advice I’ve seen so far, @iamericandre@lemmy.world
Good luck. Make sure you reach out to irl friends to help you deal with the emotional stress.
They may offer you a severance agreement. These are negotiable, you can always ask for more prioritizing what is the most important and/or where they will be flexible:
Larger severance payment amount Longer healthcare subsidy Pto types balance payouts not already mandated by law Keep your computer, phone or other hardware Reference (if important for your area/industry) or neutral employment verification Etc.
Where are you based? Labour law varies quite a bit worldwide.
Sorry, NC USA
Live in a town called sorry?
They said the US, not Canada
I’d be sorry if I lived in the USA.
Save anything you think you might need that’s attached to a work account, like emails/contacts. You might be locked out soon.
Make sure that whatever you sign is clear on whether you are being fired or resigning. You don’t get unemployment when you quit.
