hey guys, so I mentioned a while back that I had been laid off from work. Since the guys hanging out in this thread are most of the ones I interact with on a regular basis, thought I would just post the update here.
Back in September I was laid off as part of a pretty significant action by my former employer (of 16 years) to cut costs. I was actually working from home that day and got the call from my manager and HR while I was wearing a t-shirt with my company's logo on the front. I felt like the kid hearing his favorite player had been traded while wearing that player's jersey. The company had been going through a slight rough patch, but this was a huge shock to say the least.
But by the end of that same day I was pretty much over it. My manager, while great to work for at the beginning, had taken on additional responsibilities and was becoming someone that I gradually started to dislike. Also, the overall situation for advancement and opportunity at the company was not very good. It is a foreign company albeit with a significant presence in the US. For upper finance management positions in the US, the company rotates in people from its home country for experience then ships them elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately what happens is that lower and middle management folks from the US never move up, so they never go anywhere creating a logjam at the bottom and much stagnation. I remember at one point a couple of years ago they told us that we shouldn't look at career advancement as moving up the chain but more as moving laterally and learning new jobs. I probably should have been looking for something outside the company sooner but I was loyal to the company (my how short-sighted that was . . .) and I was really good at what I did, so that was at least fulfilling to a point. They just decided I was too expensive I suppose.
So, I am laid off. Time for a job search. I live near a major metropolitan area, lots of companies big and small, major corporate headquarters, etc. Should be easy for someone with a great deal of finance experience, management experience, several years as a senior analyst, etc, right? It was not. To say it has been an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. I went through days where things looked promising only to have things fall through followed by days/weeks of nothing going on despite me applying for positions right and left. I learned that if you don't know someone at a company, they aren't going to talk to you. Applying online is like sending your resume into a black hole. I had a couple of really low points where I was wondering if I would land anything, would we have to sell the house, be able to have Christmas for the kids etc. One was in mid-November and the other was the week before Christmas (not a great time to be miserable). Luckily, I received a call from one company at 5 PM the Friday before Christmas, asking me to interview in early January. Then the very next morning I received an email from someone at a different company asking to schedule an interview as well. I'm so thankful those two things happened as I'm sure I would have been a complete mess through the holidays. But now I had hope. That second company just happened to be my A#1 first choice to work for (I actually already had two interviews with this company for other positions, but they both went to internal candidates).
So January rolls around and I have my interviews, both of which went well. Then the hard part comes. The waiting. Will I get a callback? Will it be good news? How long is it going to take? Fast forward to Friday morning and I get call from A#1 company. They are offering me a job that sounds fantastic. I can't wait to get started and kick some ass.
Long story short, fuck my former employer and I am very excited to be starting my new role at the new company. Oh and my commute is now less than 5 minutes.
I know this is the classic hard rock/metal thread, but I'm gonna draw on one of my favorite 90s R&B songs to describe how I'm feeling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1D9wWxd2w