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Got Laid Off... now what?

ktbubster

ktbubster

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 20, 2007
794
1
US
I was laid off from my job yesterday. This is the first time i've ever been fired from anything... and it was my first full time job out of college. I graduated with an industrial design degree and it took me 5+ months to find that job (wonderful market)

In the state of indiana, an employer is not required to give cause or notice. Which is ridiculous. I went in for my 90 day review (30 days late mind you since my boss is slow on scheduling) and was just told they had to let me go because i was not a good fit. They would not tell me ANY reasons why, but HR apparently was told that they had given me comments/critisms throughout the last few months... and i said they hadn't and HR said "oh well, won't change the outcome". It was quite possibly the most frustrating thing ever since they couldn't give me any reasons... and wouldn't... which i found fishy.

I believe they are just trying to get someone else (5-10 year graphic designer) to fill my position and another at the same time... (more for less so to speak) since they know they have their pick now.

Anyway... there is nothing I can do... i have a friend or two there that I will put as my reference to comment on my personality and such since my manager is useless and the company as a whole fired me.

SO anyway... now what?

I spent all afternoon yesterday and today updating my resume and applying for whatever jobs I could in the area, but I'm very worried.

My Dad retired back in june and has been looking for another job for the last 8 months (over qualified it seems.. no one will hire someone who will just leaevin a few months when teh econ turns back around) so my parents can't help out really either right now.

I'm really quite worried because I have tons of student loans that I have to pay back and had already had to defer a while when i got settled here...

So.. any suggestions for what I can do in the mean time. I'm updating my freelance site and going to hand out cards and flyers this weekend at an event i'm photographing....

Is there anything else icould be looking into to start getting a paycheck again?

Anyone been here? I feel empty not having a job to go to.... like i somehow failed (although no one would tell me if i actually did!)

What should i do to cope with this crappy feeling and get me through these days? I can' really get out of my apartment lease for another 6 months either. I had JUST settled in my new area, moved my horse to a barn close to work (lol, work... of course now that i get fired it's 20 min out of my normal way) and had started getting m budget and savings back together after the move.

That was a lot of babble but any words of advice, suggestions etc would be helpful.

I'm around the Indy area.
 
Laid off or fired? They are different types of termination with different implications, including eligibility for employment insurance.
 
I was officially Let Go / Fired

Which is probably their way of ducking out of unemployment or any other issues. I bet that's probably why they said they had reason but wouldn't actually tell me. They wanted to pretend they were firing me for actual cause instead of trying to move around my position.

I really really really was wracking my brain for ANYTHING that could have been the cause and I simply coudln't figure it out. The only comments I had gotten over the last few months were "good job with that, or you are doing a very good job taking care of this or that" ALL positive.

They had lost a million dollars a week or two ago becuase of a product getting pulled, and someone in another department mysteriously "left" last week too...

grumble.
 
Sorry to hear about your job ktbubster; while I'm no HR professional I did work side by side with HR people here in Toronto and I'm wondering if you could clarify a few things surrounding your termination (<- that's the 'clinical' term for it).

It appears that HR has told you that you were terminated with cause. Is that correct? If so I would check the labour laws in your state, here the business must state the reason if the termination was for cause.

In particular if you were terminated with cause for performance issues then HR should have documented performance reviews from your manager to underscore the fact that you knew there was problems with your performance.

It really does matter here if you were terminated with or without cause (at least here) on what kind of package they give you.

Also did they have you sign anything yet?
 
ktbubster said:
I was officially Let Go / Fired

Which is probably their way of ducking out of unemployment or any other issues. I bet that's probably why they said they had reason but wouldn't actually tell me. They wanted to pretend they were firing me for actual cause instead of trying to move around my position.

I really really really was wracking my brain for ANYTHING that could have been the cause and I simply coudln't figure it out. The only comments I had gotten over the last few months were "good job with that, or you are doing a very good job taking care of this or that" ALL positive.

They had lost a million dollars a week or two ago becuase of a product getting pulled, and someone in another department mysteriously "left" last week too...

grumble.
Click to expand...


You would not of gotten unemployment any ways. Most states require you to work 6 months to even qualify. There reasoning for letting you go is not good enough to stop you from getting any. It still works out to be no fault of yours. Just you have not worked long enough to get it.

You where laid off. It sucks welcome to the club. I been unemployed for a month now. At least you industry is doing better than mine.
 
I'm sorry to hear the bad news - it does suck to lose your job. Hang in there.

I don't know specifically about Indiana, but when you file for unemployment (and you should - don't waste any time!) it may come down to whether you were terminated with or without cause. Fill out your application the way you see it and hope for the best, but don't lie.

As for your student loans, you can often apply for a deferment (better) or a forbearance (less good) since you're out of work. The difference is that during a deferment you don't accumulate interest. Either way, you don't have to make payments.

This may not be the news you want to hear, but you might need to take a job that's a little less than you originally had, possibly for less money. In any event, a recession isn't a good time to turn down a job offer because you think the offer isn't good enough, unless you have a better offer in hand.

I wish you the best. Let us know how it turns out.
 
HR said that my manager did not have to go into detail (HR was on the phone during the conversation) if he didn't want to. He chose not to.

In Indiana apparently they aren't required to give you notice OR cause if they don't want to, which I think is complete crap. So nope, nothing.

After 30 days we had a meeting about my position and they said everything was going well, and the person who had had my job (got promoted) also was there and said I was doing a good job... and since then I had been given no critiques or anything formal OR informal. Basically management lied through their teeth when they told HR things had been said.

It's extremely frustrating.

I wasn't given anything to sign at all. After I got terminated I was given a box for my things, my pass taken away and I left... nothing was given to me except for the piece of paper explaining how long my benefits would last. (end of april)

I get no severence or anything. One day I had a job, the next i don't. end of story.
 
ktbubster said:
In Indiana apparently they aren't required to give you notice OR cause if they don't want to, which I think is complete crap. So nope, nothing.
Click to expand...

Unless you're in some kind of special circumstance (like a union or under an actual contract, like a performer or pro athlete, or military) I think this is pretty much standard. Just like you're able to quit without giving a reason, they can terminate you with or without reason or explanation. I hate to sound harsh, but that's the world.

I get no severence or anything. One day I had a job, the next i don't. end of story.
Click to expand...

This is peculiar. Did you try to negotiate this with them? Or perhaps you were hired for a probationary period? The reason I ask is that typically when you're "laid off" you can get some severance; if you're "fired" it's a crapshoot.
 
ktbubster said:
HR said that my manager did not have to go into detail (HR was on the phone during the conversation) if he didn't want to. He chose not to.

In Indiana apparently they aren't required to give you notice OR cause if they don't want to, which I think is complete crap. So nope, nothing.

After 30 days we had a meeting about my position and they said everything was going well, and the person who had had my job (got promoted) also was there and said I was doing a good job... and since then I had been given no critiques or anything formal OR informal. Basically management lied through their teeth when they told HR things had been said.

It's extremely frustrating.

I wasn't given anything to sign at all. After I got terminated I was given a box for my things, my pass taken away and I left... nothing was given to me except for the piece of paper explaining how long my benefits would last. (end of april)

I get no severence or anything. One day I had a job, the next i don't. end of story.
Click to expand...


I agree it is a huge kick in the gut.

When I was laid off I was told it was due to economic times blah blah blah. Told that it was last day handed a packet. My benefits ended that day, no severance or anything. The only thing I got was my unused paid time off and I still did get my profit sharing bonus from 08. Still sucked.

It sounds pretty typical lay off to me. It sucks they will look for any excuse.

Take a week to grieve and then get back on the horse an start looking.

Do file for unemployment. While you are in a right to work state if they do not have a good reason for firing you get unemployment.
 
Looks like you are lucky to be out, might be painful, but the if the manager was lying that much -- no telling what might have happened in the future.

Might not have been as easy a mark as the rest, and he had to get rid of you.
 
Hate to say it, but "not a good fit" usually means they don't like you at a gut level. I've heard that phrase plenty of times, not always directed at me, and it's almost always in a situation where the quality of the work has nothing to do with it.

First time I heard it: Chimichangas Leicester Sq.(worst Mexican food in London - not there anymore I don't think) Me: hippyish, Manager: skinhead. Not a good fit. I worked my ass off for two nights, made a few friends with waiters/waitresses (who were hired by his boss who was on holiday), but I was somehow "not a good fit." The fact is, we hated each other from the get-go.

Sounds like a personal thing to me.
 
Sorry to hear mate, best thing is to move on and find any kind of work to do untill you are able to pull yourself back into your chosen profession. I know that sucks but hey what ever pays the bills.

I'm in a simlar postion postion, did not lose my job however I went from doing 28-38 hours a week to like 12 hours, I'm just thankful I have a few hours. With that said I have an application in for the police force and hopefully I will be accepted, it will all get better :)
 
Dude that blows. I wonder if they just decided to axe you based on the "probationary" phase of your employment? I know out here my way [TX], there are laws that allow companies to just kick you to the curb w/o notice especially if they clause you from the git [i.e. all that fun paperwork you sign in the first week or so]. I would look into one of two things:
A) sue for wrongful termination
B) think about relocating to a more favorable market. with your skill set from college you can be in high demand in other areas of the country.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the advice and kind words everyone.

I'm back on the hunt for a job... and trying to really push my freelancing and photography stuff the last few days... It's so weird not having someplace to go everyday though... I haven't been without a job since I was 16, and then had college classes at least to go to on top of that on days i didn't work. It feels so strange.
 
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