I\u2019ve been in the tech industry for a long time. I\u2019ve been a leader for most of that time. I\u2019ve read the script to employees I\u2019ve laid off: \u201cI regret to inform you\u2026\u201d or some variation of those words.\n<\/p>\n
\nThis was the first time I was on the receiving end.\n<\/p>\n
\nI have to be honest. I had already decided to leave Oracle. I was in discussions with another employer, and we were getting close to the offer stage. <\/p>\n
\n\nMy business unit at Oracle was doing well. We were exceeding targets, growing, and our employee satisfaction numbers were excellent. My decision to look elsewhere wasn\u2019t about performance or dissatisfaction with my team. It was about fatigue.\n<\/p>\n
\nI spent five years at Oracle following the PeopleSoft acquisition, and I was worn out. I loved my team, my customers, and the CRM space was exciting. One of the executives I worked for often talked about \u201cthe tyranny of the immediacy.\u201d I found that phrase to be an incredibly accurate description of my job. Everything was urgent. Everything needed attention. There was always another fire to put out, another priority to address, another change to navigate.<\/p>\n
\n\nWe went through leadership changes, organizational changes, and shifts in focus. I was ready for something different.\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd then the other shoe dropped.\n<\/p>\n
\nI was sitting at my desk, planning my next meeting with a regional credit union when my phone rang. My new boss was calling to ask if I had a few minutes for a private conversation.\n<\/p>\n
\nI admit it. I had no idea what was coming.\n<\/p>\n
\nThen I heard him, obviously reading from \u201cthe\u201d script. A script I delivered several times in my own career.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI regret to inform you that we have decided to eliminate your position\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nI heard nothing else.\n<\/p>\n
\nYour people hear nothing else.\n<\/p>\n
\nIn one phone call, life just changed.\n<\/p>\n
\nAll the things I intellectually knew happened during a layoff suddenly became very real. Even though I was already talking to another company and had essentially resolved to leave, I experienced many of the same emotions I observed others go through.\n<\/p>\n
\nIt reminded me of the stages of grief when you lose someone: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Not necessarily in that order. Not necessarily one at a time. Sometimes looping back around just when you think you\u2019ve moved on.\n<\/p>\n
\nI tell my kids they can have a 30-minute pity party when they\u2019re \u201cboo-hooing\u201d about life. Then we dust ourselves off and make a plan.\n<\/p>\n
\nI skipped the bargaining stage. There was no going back, and frankly, I didn\u2019t want to.\n<\/p>\n
\nI was surprised by the depression stage. I felt blue. I was disappointed. I already decided to leave, so why was this affecting me so much?\n<\/p>\n
\nBecause it was still a loss. It was an unexpected change in how my story was going to unfold. Even when you know something different is ahead, you don\u2019t necessarily get to choose how or when the current chapter ends.\n<\/p>\n
\nI received a severance package and time to explore other opportunities within the company. My health benefits were extended through the end of the year before COBRA kicked in. From a financial perspective, I was fortunate.\n\n<\/p>\n
There were lessons in the experience that I think are worth sharing.\n<\/p>\n
\nA few lessons from the other side<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \n1. Don\u2019t be surprised by your feelings.\n<\/strong><\/p>\n \nGive yourself permission to process what happened. You may feel angry, relieved, disappointed, anxious, or even embarrassed. You may feel several of those things in the same afternoon. Don\u2019t judge yourself for having a reaction. Even if you saw it coming, it\u2019s still a significant change.\n<\/p>\n \n2. Your value is not your job.\n<\/strong><\/p>\n \nI am an experienced leader with valuable skills. That didn\u2019t come from working at PeopleSoft or Oracle. It came from challenging myself, learning, growing, taking on new responsibilities, and building relationships throughout my career.\n<\/p>\n \nA RIF doesn\u2019t erase any of that. Your accomplishments, experience, and capabilities don\u2019t disappear because a company decides it no longer needs your position.\n<\/p>\n \n3. Take time to think about what\u2019s next. <\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t jump out of desperation.\n\nObviously, this depends on your financial situation and personal circumstances. Sometimes you need to get another paycheck coming in as quickly as possible. But if you have the flexibility, take a breath.\n<\/p>\n \nThink about what you really want next. What energizes you? What have you always wanted to try? What would you do differently?\n<\/p>\n \nI wanted to work for a startup. It sounded exciting and like a great next step. I spent time thinking through that decision rather than simply jumping at the first opportunity.\n<\/p>\n \n4. Keep your network fresh.\n<\/strong><\/p>\n \nOne of my former bosses is a master networker. He stays in touch with hundreds of people, knows what they\u2019re doing, and understands what they aspire to do next. I\u2019ve always admired that skill and aspire to be more like him.\n<\/p>\n \nYour network isn\u2019t something you build when you need a job. It\u2019s something you nurture throughout your career. The relationships you build along the way can open doors you didn\u2019t even know existed.\n<\/p>\n \n5. Maintain your resume and LinkedIn profile, even when you feel secure.\n\n<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t wait until you\u2019re looking for a job to update your professional story. Capture measurable results, accomplishments, new skills, awards, and experiences as they happen. You won\u2019t remember all the details when you look back months or years later.\n<\/p>\n \nAnd you never know when you\u2019ll need them.\n<\/p>\n \nWhat happened next?<\/strong><\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nI processed. I dusted off my resume and LinkedIn profile. I started reaching out to colleagues at other organizations. And I continued conversations with the startup.\n<\/p>\n \nI was actually a bit relieved. The decision to leave had been made for me, and I could focus on moving forward.\n<\/p>\n \nThree months later, I started at Varicent, a Canadian technology startup.\n<\/p>\n \nBut that\u2019s the next chapter.\n<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been laid off and are working through the process right now, I\u2019d be happy to connect. Message me, and we can explore where to start and how to move forward.\n<\/p>\n \nYou don\u2019t have to do this alone.\n<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions\/130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betteryoucoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}