Lay off

Quite common from large companies as well as small startups. Way of life.

 

Layoffs can come across as being scary but they are quite common in the U.S. for many, many reasons. It's important to realize that many times, getting laid off is not always in the employee's hands even if they have amazing experience and credentials.

If you stay here long enough, you'll learn that there is rarely any company loyalty towards their employees. In some ways, as crazy as it may sound, this is good. It's a sign of competition and it has forced people to be more proactive about improving their skill sets, expanding their skills, exploring new avenues, and even pursuing their own businesses. Many times, while getting laid off can be a hard hit to one's self confidence... it also puts things into perspective and it's a chance to evaluate where you want to go next professionally. It gives you the freedom to explore your inner goals and I've seen some people seize this opportunity and wind up coming out, happier, stronger people. For some, they wound up doing pushing past their comfort zone to do something completely unexpected.

So...as difficult as the thought of layoffs may be (especially if visas are involved), try not to fear it. There's still things you can do help mitigate the potentially long term or negative effects by:

- Reassignment into a different group: If your DH's company is bigger, find out what other groups there are in the company that the skills sets your DH has can be a match. Some companies will be proactive about this themselves and try to place him into a different group or reassign him but it wouldn't hurt for him to take the initiative to ask around and meet those groups to make a personal connection. Sometimes, this comes with its own series of follow-up interviews for the group to know you better and make sure your DH is the right fit.

- Resumes (and Porfolios) If your DH been given a heads up that the company is restructuring or laying folks off, he'll no doubt try to get his resume updated and out there to explore other opportunities. Try to tap into both of your social networks. Try job boards but I would say that sometimes being unconventional can be really rewarding, too, and not to solely rely on job boards. He can even work with a couple of recruiters or try to use sites like LinkedIn to see other opportunities/folks that can refer you to them. You can also help him find these opportunities. BONUS: Depending on what your DH does, do encourage him to collect documentation of his previous projects and to craft some kind of portfolio that illustrates his thinking/problem solving things. Traditionally, portfolios are required only in creative fields, but they do help set candidates apart in other fields now, too. He can even include personal projects (if he's done any) to help showcase his skills.

- Participating & Networking at Local Professional Events: Check into local talks, workshops, hackathons or other lightweight local professional events that are related to your DH's skills, industry or other professional interests. For instance, I love autonomous automative technologies (self-driving vehicles) amongst other things. I regularly attend the the lectures and meet ups in this domain (which I wish had more women, but that's another story...). So check it out: www.meetups.com and you may find one that suits his needs and pushes his professional interests. You can even tap into spaces that host startups (e.g. Rocketspace or Pivotal Labs) and who host regular events. It's a nice way to learn about new opportunities and make connections.

- Developing Skill Sets: As your DH looks around for new opportunities, try looking up a couple of levels ahead and take note of what kind of skill sets are required. This may cue him into the kinds of skills he can prioritize improving on or expand out of his comfort zone to accommodate — at which point, both of you can look towards local community colleges, local courses or online courses to help him and even you grow. He can even consider working on a personal project with colleagues or each other (you and DH). MY DH and I both work on iOS apps outside of work (amongst other side projects) and if you or your DH have an idea Then you can try to use this time to build it and expand your skillsets at the same time. Win Win!


In the event that your DH does get laid off.
- Emotional Support: As his partner in crime, you can soften the blow with just a little bit of love and whimsy. My DH was going through this earlier this year and while he ultimately had a happy ending (they didn't lay him off but they did move him into another team for which he had follow up interviews), they did tell a lot of employees to not come to work for 4-6 weeks while they made their final decision (those 4-6 weeks were a little scary because they shut down all of their global offices except the one my DH worked at, but they still downsized that office tremendously). My DH was naturally really upset when the news first came that his group was being shut down, but that evening...I went home early to welcome him at home with his favorite cupcakes, candles and celebrated "A fresh start." I made his favorite foods (yes, we followed the dessert first policy for a few weeks there) and we went on walks together. He'll need that emotional support should that happen and you can be creative about how you give it to him

- Freelancing: Depending on what your DH does, he can also start freelancing. A few things to be mindful about here is that the way you price yourself when you're freelancing is different from when you're a salaried employee (e.g. you get a higher per hour rate). This is also done because you are expected to pay for your own equipment, software, travel, insurance, etc. Should your DH decide to do this, then try to look into how to keep track of the expenses because there will be a fixed tax that you will have to pay as your own business, along with identifying your business expenses which are tax deductible (need a new laptop or computer to work at home? Tax Deductable! Gas or public transit tickets when commuting to/from the client? Tax Deductable! etc. etc.). Just make sure that the contract he signed with his employer has no conflicts with him freelancing afterwards for other clients (sometimes there's a non-compete agreement but I hear that those are rarely enforced these days).

- Other Income: If your DH's income is the sole income, then that could be more worrisome for your family and an added pressure on your DH. If your circumstances allow, try to get a job yourself to help offset some of the finances and take the strain off of your DH. While you both look for a job, there's also some other quicker ways to earn money by joining one of many fantastic services available these days. Do you have old clothes that you no longer wear? Try Threadflip or Twice (I have sold lightly used clothes on both). Can you both drive? Try driving on your own hours using Uber, Lyft or Sidecar or joining a delivery service like Eat24, Seamless, DoorDash or GrubHub. Have a couch or room you can spare? Try listing it on Airbnb. Do you cook amazing food that you think people will like to try? Try Eatwith (it's like Airbnb but with people paying to eat at your home which is really neat). Live near a city and have a parking lot you can spare? Try services like JustPark, Spot. Have a car you can lend to folks? Try GetAround. There's so many! So fret not, you'll both figure out a solution that's right for you.

- Severance Packages: Depending on the time your DH spent at the company, they may give him a severance package. He can also ask about getting monetarily-compensated for any unused vacation time.

- Unemployment Benefits: If DH gets laid off, he should apply for unemployment in your state (America's Service Locator - Map Search for state links). You can even be eligible to receive biweekly unemployment checks (often the case if the termination of employment was not in the employee's hands) which is actually rightfully your money (it's deducted from the taxes you pay already in your income) and it is helpful to offset some of the costs. However, be mindful that unemployment checks are counted as taxable income so don't forget to set aside a certain portion (or you can opt to have it be taxed from the get go) to avoid a nasty surprise next April.

- Health Insurance: Another thing to not forget is that you do need to figure out is how to take care of your health insurance if you do get laid off. If you lose your health insurance through your employer, you can get on Cobra, sure, but it may just be better to explore private health insurance. (https://www.ehealthinsurance.com) has some good options.



I hope this helps, and best of luck to your DH and you

 

friendssmiley

It was my pleasure to do so, Pratts. I realize how scary and alien the concept of layoffs and all that it entails may be...and I guess I've witnessed it closely a few times myself which is why I felt compelled to reply to you and let you know that it's not the end of the world so to speak I'm glad you found it helpful!

All the best to you and your DH! You'll be fine!