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Laid off of my job and feeling screwed over


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I just got laid off of my job today and since I was the sole income earner in my household, I may even have to move out of my apartment. I feel really screwed over, but I did thank the HR lady for everything and asked her if there was anything I could improve upon going forward or anything I could have done differently. I was given minimal reasoning for the termination, other than they just decided I wasn't a good fit towards the end of the 90 days of my probation. I also learned the parent company of my workplace had filed bankruptcy the same month I was hired...not sure if this has anything to do with the layoff or not. If I would have known this, I wouldn't have taken the job and left my last job of 2 years. I am so depressed and I don't know what to do going forward. I had plenty of interviews prior to this job, so I should find something else soon. I just cannot stop being angry with myself that maybe I should have done something differently.

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I just got laid off of my job today and since I was the sole income earner in my household, I may even have to move out of my apartment. I feel really screwed over, but I did thank the HR lady for everything and asked her if there was anything I could improve upon going forward or anything I could have done differently. I was given minimal reasoning for the termination, other than they just decided I wasn't a good fit towards the end of the 90 days of my probation. I also learned the parent company of my workplace had filed bankruptcy the same month I was hired...not sure if this has anything to do with the layoff or not. If I would have known this, I wouldn't have taken the job and left my last job of 2 years. I am so depressed and I don't know what to do going forward. I had plenty of interviews prior to this job, so I should find something else soon. I just cannot stop being angry with myself that maybe I should have done something differently.

 

the sole income earner in your household? did your husband lose his job too? i'm sorry to hear about what happened. i hope you find something soon.

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No, I work about 30 hours a week part time, but it doesn't pay enough. :(

 

Sorry, I should have said primary income as we couldn't afford to pay rent and all our bills with only his income until unemployment comes through.

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Losing a job sucks. "Not the right fit" is a generic excuse many employers use to let someone go. There could be numerous reasons they let you go, including financial difficulties.

 

Did you get any performance reviews? Any feedback from a manager at any point?

 

I assume if they didn't think you were the right fit that they would have let you go long before the 90 day trial period.

 

Regardless, this must suck for you- :(

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If they would have had to offer you benefits, pension, insurance, etc. as a permanent hire, that is probably why they let you go. It's cheaper to bring someone new in without those benefits.

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If they would have had to offer you benefits, pension, insurance, etc. as a permanent hire, that is probably why they let you go. It's cheaper to bring someone new in without those benefits.

 

I agree with FC, I was thinking along the same lines. It's a little sketchy that they dismissed you just before your 90 days were up. Where I work, if you don't "fit", they dismiss you sooner rather than later.

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I agree with FC, I was thinking along the same lines. It's a little sketchy that they dismissed you just before your 90 days were up. Where I work, if you don't "fit", they dismiss you sooner rather than later.

 

The thing is, I already had benefits the day I started. And I got no feedback whatsoever. The only person in the room was the HR person who knew nothing about the reasoning behind my termination. Talk about lack of professionalism. You'd think a manager would be present during the termination.

Edited by pink_sugar
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  • 2 weeks later...
Secret Advisor

Yeah it sucks - but don't spend too much time trying to find a reason or blaming yourself. In almost 9 out of 10 of these situations, you find a much better job. Take it as blessing in disguise.

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Forever Learning

That really stinks Pink. I'm so sorry to hear it. But as they say, one door closes, another opens, and I believe that. There is something better out there for you. And once you do get that next job, you and your spouse should think about getting familiar with Dave Ramsey (if you are not already, particularly his "Financial Peace University" series of money education)

 

 

www.DaveRamsey.com

 

 

and his financial advice strategies, particularly having a sound emergency fund. Nothing has brought me peace, the way having an emergency fund and savings has. Dave Ramsey has helped so many people get through these terrible situations when they are blind sided by job loss. He's the money smart uncle type that we all should have had in our family to ask for money and career advice (but didn't have an uncle like him). All the best to you both.

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I agree with FC, I was thinking along the same lines. It's a little sketchy that they dismissed you just before your 90 days were up. Where I work, if you don't "fit", they dismiss you sooner rather than later.

 

Nah, there's nothing sketchy about it - it just is.

 

The ugly reality is that they're only gonna offer those things to people they really want to keep around. Turnover has a cost - in lost time if nothing else. Even the companies that can't quantify turnover costs somehow get that much. Lost time, lost productivity for others who have to jump in and assist the newbie - again. I'm not saying PS isn't a quality employee, just that she wasn't able to demonstrate her total value within the 90-day time frame - that happens unfortunately. It can happen because of short-sightedness on the part of the company, or because the employee really didn't work out, or more commonly, because of some combination of factors.

 

One problem is that companies can see very easily what they've paid out to someone, and what they've produced, and because a majority of companies I've ever been familiar with aren't capable of anything beyond simplistic analysis, they conclude that their investment in human capital failed. It somehow escapes them that it could have 'failed' because they don't invest in training, or because they don't establish clear expectations or guidelines, or whatever. What they don't quantify - probably because they don't know how to quantify it - is what it costs to bring in a new employee and just let them vegetate untrained for 90 days before repeating the same process over and over again until they find the perfect employee - someone who's willing to magically meet their expectations at their desired (low) wages. In short, they're ignorant and unrealistic, and they will eventually pay a price for that, but everyone else pays the price for it before they do.

 

We give employers way too much credit. We think that just because they sign a paycheck, have office equipment, wear uniforms, and have a desk with a title that they're somehow accomplished. In reality, most employers - just like most of the human species - are alarmingly unaware of what they don't know. Having been a manager myself here and there, I can say that this has been true of me, too - in retrospect.

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Yeah it sucks - but don't spend too much time trying to find a reason or blaming yourself. In almost 9 out of 10 of these situations, you find a much better job. Take it as blessing in disguise.

 

To add to this, I've known of a lot of people who've gotten sh*t-canned - even some who clearly deserved to be - who ultimately got jobs. You just have to want to find a job badly enough. Right now there's someone out there who's desperate enough to take a chance on someone they don't know. You just gotta know how to honk your horn.

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Nah, there's nothing sketchy about it - it just is.

 

The ugly reality is that they're only gonna offer those things to people they really want to keep around. Turnover has a cost - in lost time if nothing else. Even the companies that can't quantify turnover costs somehow get that much. Lost time, lost productivity for others who have to jump in and assist the newbie - again. I'm not saying PS isn't a quality employee, just that she wasn't able to demonstrate her total value within the 90-day time frame - that happens unfortunately. It can happen because of short-sightedness on the part of the company, or because the employee really didn't work out, or more commonly, because of some combination of factors.

 

One problem is that companies can see very easily what they've paid out to someone, and what they've produced, and because a majority of companies I've ever been familiar with aren't capable of anything beyond simplistic analysis, they conclude that their investment in human capital failed. It somehow escapes them that it could have 'failed' because they don't invest in training, or because they don't establish clear expectations or guidelines, or whatever. What they don't quantify - probably because they don't know how to quantify it - is what it costs to bring in a new employee and just let them vegetate untrained for 90 days before repeating the same process over and over again until they find the perfect employee - someone who's willing to magically meet their expectations at their desired (low) wages. In short, they're ignorant and unrealistic, and they will eventually pay a price for that, but everyone else pays the price for it before they do.

 

We give employers way too much credit. We think that just because they sign a paycheck, have office equipment, wear uniforms, and have a desk with a title that they're somehow accomplished. In reality, most employers - just like most of the human species - are alarmingly unaware of what they don't know. Having been a manager myself here and there, I can say that this has been true of me, too - in retrospect.

 

I agree. The funny thing is, I got their bankruptcy notice a few weeks after being let go. And the date they entered re-organization was the same exact day I was terminated. Funny how it happened to be on my very last day of probation. There is so much emphasis on how we need to give employers notice when leaving and etc, but employers don't have to do the same. They can pretty much leave you high and dry with no explanation, yet we could face the blacklist if we give a day less than two week's notice. They also re-listed the position. Not sure what to think of it all at all. But they were are o not know how to manage their money if they really do plan to invest more money into training someone new for the position at this time. It's probably for the best I am no longer there. Considering they no longer have stock and they haven't turned much of a profit in about 5 years (leading to the bankruptcy) they may not even be around within the next 10.

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I agree. The funny thing is, I got their bankruptcy notice a few weeks after being let go. And the date they entered re-organization was the same exact day I was terminated. Funny how it happened to be on my very last day of probation. There is so much emphasis on how we need to give employers notice when leaving and etc, but employers don't have to do the same. They can pretty much leave you high and dry with no explanation, yet we could face the blacklist if we give a day less than two week's notice. They also re-listed the position. Not sure what to think of it all at all. But they were are o not know how to manage their money if they really do plan to invest more money into training someone new for the position at this time. It's probably for the best I am no longer there. Considering they no longer have stock and they haven't turned much of a profit in about 5 years (leading to the bankruptcy) they may not even be around within the next 10.

 

1. Do the best job possible

 

2. Network.

 

Build a reputation for yourself and let other people know what you know. Don't rely on the conventional approaching of getting hired to get let go and search through job boards online. Think of self-improvement first, and then try to think of creative ways to get the word out about yourself. I know it's hard. The circumstances we're in now are often a result of decisions we've made in the past. Sometimes it's easy to undo, and sometimes not, but you gotta have hope and be motivated to just take it one day at a time and worry about the results another day.

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I've been laid off before from what I thought was my dream job. What a kick in the pants. I went through waves of depression mixed with feelings of freedom while receiving unemployment insurance.

 

You'll be alright. We shouldn't define ourselves by our careers in the way we do in America.

 

Thanks for this. That was exactly how I was feeling. :)

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I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through.

As someone who has been laid off 6 times in the last 8 years :(, I certainly understand how you feel. :(

Please stay strong and hopeful. I will pray for you.

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