layoffs

A reader writes:

Thanks to your amazing advice and great “how to get a job” book, I landed a position in the development office of a small non-profit organization that does the kind of work I really believe in. It was truly a step up from where I was — a more than $13k raise, more opportunities to be creative and, best of all, appreciative and respectful coworkers. I’ve been here just about two months and in that time have written a (so far) well-performing year-end appeal, spearheaded upcoming anniversary projects, received lots of positive feedback and, in general, made a difference.

At our last staff meeting, the executive director dropped a bomb that we’re down $100,000 from where we need to be at this point, due to several grants that did not come through earlier this year. She mentioned cut-backs on spending and furloughs, but nothing specific yet.

My question is — should I be looking for another job? I feel that, as the newest person, I’d likely be the first cut. I only understand furloughs to be company-imposed “vacations” with no pay…do you have any more insight than that? Also, since I’ve only been here two months, I’m worried how that would look to potential employers (I was at my previous job, my first after college, for nearly three years). Is a furlough an acceptable reason to look for another opportunity, or will I be seen as disloyal?

First, thank you. I will totally take credit for you getting your job.

Furloughs are mandated periods of time off without pay. They’re often used when an employer needs to make up a budget shortfall but wants to avoid outright layoffs. They’re usually for a week or two, although occasionally they’re longer. If doing furloughs means that the employer truly does end up being able to avoid layoffs, they can be a very good thing (in terms of potentially solving the problem).

The bigger issue on my mind, though, would be whether this actually signals bigger problems beyond your current $100,000 shortfall. What I would want to know is whether furloughs and other cutbacks are going to solve the problem, or whether the organization is likely going to need to look at layoffs down the road. (By the way, I don’t know how big your budget is or how small your organization is, but $100,000 might be perfectly easily made up with cuts other than layoffs. But I’d want to know if this indicates you’re on a downward funding trajectory more generally or if this is likely the extent of the damage.)

If there are going to be layoffs at some point, don’t assume that you’re the most vulnerable just because you were hired recently. An effectively run organization is going to pick positions to cut based on which positions are most expendable, i.e. least essential to the core work of the organization. If your position is key to the organization’s work, it doesn’t make sense to cut it, no matter how new you are … at least not as long as there are other positions that are less essential. (An organization may also take this opportunity to cut lower performers, although really, they should have been dealing with them long before this anyway.)  An exception to this: Even if your position is essential, it’s possible that if they need to eliminate a less-key position that’s held by a long-time and/or fantastic staffer, they could cut that person’s position and then move her into yours (assuming it’s a reasonable fit), thus resulting in you being laid off to open up the spot.

This is all speculation though. My point is just not to assume anything, because there are lots of possible ways this could go (including no painful cuts at all).

Now, what’s your relationship like with your manager? Unless it’s terrible, the best thing you can do here is to sit down with her and talk about this. You’re in development (that’s fundraising for readers who are unfamiliar with nonprofit terms), so start off by talking about what extra fundraising work you might be able to do that could help. Then, say something like this: “I would feel naive if I didn’t ask this next thing. I know that as a recent hire, my position might be high on the list to cut if it comes to that. I completely understand that there are no guarantees whatsoever and that these things can be hard to predict, but I’d so appreciate any insight you can give me about the security of my position should layoffs end up being necessary, or about how those decisions would be made.”

Even if you don’t get a solid “yes, you’d be an early cut” or “no, your position is essential” or even “I don’t know, but I do know there are three positions we’d cut before we even looked at yours,” you still have  a good chance of getting additional information that will help inform your thinking. And particularly because you’re in a small organization, you have pretty good chances of getting a fairly candid answer, rather than the opaque responses that large companies often give people.

Then, follow this up by saying how much you love your job and are thrilled to be there, but ask that you be given the earliest possible heads-up if it does start looking like your position might need to be cut. (But also don’t assume you’ll get that. There are a lot of concerns that go into managing layoffs well, and employers don’t always do it perfectly.)

Then, no matter what you learn in this conversation, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to do some looking around at other opportunities. You don’t need to take another job if it turns out you don’t need to, but job searches can take a while and if the worst does happen, you’ll be glad that you got a head start. So send out some applications, but think of it not as a “real” job hunt but as more of a safety net in case you end up needing one.

And when talking to prospective employers, I wouldn’t say that you’re looking because of furloughs in particular; I would be more general and say that you’re looking because the organization is in a rocky financial period and you’re concerned about the stability of your position. Hopefully this is true, right?  You wouldn’t be leaving because you had to take a week off without pay, but rather because of the larger concerns that raises about the organization’s financial stability. This will make sense to employers and you don’t need to worry about being seen as disloyal (although I think you might if it were really just confined to the furlough).

Last, I want to stress that all of this is just about being prepared. For all we know, your organization isn’t going to have a single lay-off, funding will be back where it needs to be next year, and you’re going to go on enjoying this job for many years.

A lot of nonprofits go through this. The best way to handle it is to gather information, make sure you don’t have your head in the sand, and create a safety net for yourself in case you need it, but not be scared off prematurely. Good luck!

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A reader writes:

I work for a major financial services company. I no longer wish to work for that company but don’t want to just resign. The company has been laying workers off and is planning more layoffs. I don’t want to feel like a sitting duck. I also want to leave and focus on a non-competing business that I recently started. Should I ask for a package because I wish to leave? I am hoping to get some perks and professional references if I seek a package. What would you advise?

You’re planning on leaving regardless, right? If so, you have nothing to lose by approaching your manager about the possibility of being a voluntary layoff in the next round. If they’re planning to do layoffs anyway, they may be relieved to get volunteers and you could save someone else from being cut.

That said, there’s no guarantee that they’ll accept your offer. If yours isn’t a position they plan to cut, it doesn’t make sense for them to lay you off. So you should be prepared for them not to take you up on it … and, depending on the culture there, it might be awkward hanging around much longer after you’ve told them you’re ready to leave. But it sounds like you want to leave either way, anyway.

If you’re close to your manager and have a relationship of trust, you might be successful running this by her off the record and getting a better sense of how this proposal is likely to be received. Good luck

P.S. I’m asking the Evil HR Lady, who has more experience with layoffs than me, to weigh in too.

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A reader writes:

I just graduated in December, and started work in January. The company lost a large contract, and my site had to lay off 20% of the work force, myself included. Any recruiter is going to ask why I left, and a friend of a friend who works for a staffing agency said she always chooses a candidate who already has a job over one who doesn’t. Of course this is true or she wouldn’t have said it, but I’m not sure how common it is.

I’m also not sure it’s good advice, particularly in my case where it looks like I’m looking for work only 8 months into the job. I recently had a phone interview and the recruiter asked why I was leaving after only 8 months. Not only did she emphasize “only,” but her tone was mildly disgusted. I had planned on saying “I just needed a change” or something like that, but told her I was laid off (though I beat around the bush a little), and she sounded relieved.

The pros I see to telling the truth (besides telling the truth) are that layoffs aren’t the employees’ fault and a good recruiter would understand that, and I think they also might see it as their company getting a deal on “talent” lost by another company that can’t afford to keep it. The con, for lack of a more professional way of putting it, is looking like a loser. I don’t know if anyone has heard this advice before, but I’m really curious to hear your take on it.

That friend of a friend who said she “always” chooses a candidate who already has a job over one who doesn’t? She’s a jerk. And short-sighted and probably not very good at her job.

Yes, it’s true that it’s often easier to get a job when you already have one, a cruel reality in an economy like this one. But for a recruiter to make that a rule? It’s ridiculous.

Most recruiters, HR people, and hiring managers aren’t going to freak out that you were laid off, especially right now. Half the people we’re seeing were laid off. It’s become the new normal. Explaining that you left your last job because you were laid off is far better than answering that you were fired, left because of differences with your boss, or left with no job lined up (which looks really odd in this economy).

Your idea about saying you left because you “needed a change”? Really bad idea. First of all, it’s a lie. And what’s going to happen when they check your references, ask why you left, hear that you were laid off, and wonder why you told a different story? Plus, when I hear that someone left because they “needed a change” — in any economy — I wonder what the real story is. Did they need the change because they couldn’t get along with their boss? Because they’re easily bored? Because they make rash decisions? Of course it can be a legitimate reason to leave, but it does raise these questions in my head, and I’d rather not have red flags to worry about. And especially right now, in the middle of such a bad job market, if you really left with no job lined up just because you needed a change, I’m going to wonder about your judgment.

For some people, the truth about why they left a job is sticky and they have to give a lot of thought to how they frame it. For you, that’s not the case. It’s straightforward and not a red flag. You were laid off. Say it and move on.

And send this post to your friend’s friend at that staffing agency.

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A reader writes:

Due to the recent economic downturn, I am obliged to fire one of my best employees: he is proactive, his work is always sharp, he is a team player, and he is an evangelist of the vision of the company, not only in his department but in the entire company. Unfortunately we are currently in “survival mode” and his position (software developer) is not fundamental for the survival of the company. So I have to let him go.

I’m not only sad because I’m losing a great person, but also because I don’t want to lose his trust: he is at the top of my list when we will start hiring again – hopefully in a few months… But how could he accept the job again after we clarified that his position is not fundamental for the company’s survival and therefore he could be let go again?

Well, first, make sure you don’t say you’re firing him, since that implies he did something wrong. You’re laying him off. Firing is for cause, whereas a layoff is about eliminating the position.

Now that that’s out of the way… well, this sucks. And all you can really do is tell him what you’ve said here. Tell him all the reasons you value him. And tell him the reality that you’re being forced into by finances.

You should also tell him that he’s at the top of your list when you’re hiring again. You’re right that he might be hesitant to return because he’d question his future job security. But he deserves to be able to make his decisions with full, complete, honest information — and yes, his decision might be not to return in the future, if he judges it’s not the best move for him. But all you can do is be straightforward with him, give him as much information as you can, and respect his decisions.

Actually, that’s not all you can do. You can also help him in the way you handle the layoff. Specifically:

• Tell him as soon as possible. Don’t leave him in the dark now that the decision has been made.
• Be as generous as you can in his severance package.
• Continue his health insurance if you can, for as long as you can.
• Help with job-hunting leads, including setting up introductions to others who may be able to help.

You’re not alone in going through this, and neither is he. Good luck to both of you.

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