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The California State Fair 2007

8 Responses to “What would you do if you were laid off?”

1. #1 Matt says:
   August 27th, 2007 at 12:53 pm

   What the eff? Were you laid off?

   If I had the money, I’d travel. Or get some hookers. If I didn’t, it’d be off to Craigslist to find some work.

2. #2 Scott says:
   August 27th, 2007 at 12:55 pm

   Well I was lucky when I got laid off because I could totally live of unemployment just fine. And I did try and try to find a job but that was the time of mass layoffs in the industry. So I gave up and decided to go to grad school and wait it out. And yes I was totally in sell off my possessions mode….

   Unfortunately I am not in the state now, I have a mortgage to pay so if I got laid off now I would probably freak and look franticly for a job….

3. #3 Jeff K says:
   August 27th, 2007 at 1:05 pm

   When it happened to me last year, I immediately got a new job. Like, the day after. I was pretty lucky that way. But I couldn’t afford not to, given that I have a family of 5 to support. If I could have, man, I’d have taken some serious me-time.

4. #4 heath says:
   August 27th, 2007 at 1:05 pm

   Matt - not yet. Hookers???

   Scott - yeah, I’m thinking I would scream first.

5. #5 J says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 12:50 pm

   If I got laid off I would really like to travel if i had the money. Maybe use this for motivation to move. I would really like to move to Canada i think, if anything travel there. But the truth is i would probably start looking for a job, bills have to get paid. Maybe I would end up with a better job, so that would be good.

6. #6 heath says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

   mmmm Canada. After my first trip to Vancouver a few years ago, I came home telling everyone that I was going to move to CA within 5 years.

   While that hasn’t happened yet (and would take a few years just to get residency), it’s still something that’s on my mind. I love that city. I fell in love within 10 minutes.

7. #7 tdbear says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 2:08 pm

   I’ve been through at least a half-dozen economic downturns at various jobs over the last 20-something years… I highly recommend establishing at least a 1-year cash reserve (you can stick it in a ETrade or ING savings and get 4-5%). That way if your employer changes to someone who sucks, you can even quit and be happy.

   I would definitely have a few weeks or month off to decompress… and of course having to do all of the job research, getting some “interviewing clothes and shoes”, and polishing up the resumes and cover letters. I’d also work your networks with old colleagues. Pay attention to which external services that potential employer use, and they will generally have a wider search or a way to register your resume for all of their clients to see.

   As for the money to do other stuff… I’d immediately set up a budget. I’d do a little research in how long I thought that I would have to be out, I’d also calculate my other assests if I wound up going beyond that and having to liquidate. And, I would know where I would be going if I had to sell and move in with relatives. It used to be that would be a red flag on resumes, but nowadays we have people so leveraged that they can quickly go bankrupt. There is no way I’d feel good about a week at Camp Happy Bear if that expense might cause me bankrupcy.

8. #8 heath says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 7:55 am

   Budgeting is a good plan, and something I do mostly well today. I think my biggest concern is that live to work and work to live equation. If I got laid off, I think I would want to just get as far away from the technology and corporate sector as possible, and really focus on what I WANT to do.

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