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Things to do when you've lost your job
About a month and a half ago I was put on PIP to step up at work. Feedback has been good over the last few weeks but not enough I guess. I was told I was terminated today.
The job market out there is rough right now and I'm not sure what to do. I know a lot of people here have faced similar situations and everything, so I'm wondering if there's any tips/tricks/thoughts anyone has.
I'm an Android developer and was working in fin-tech adjacent work if that's relevant.
Just as an FYI, if you are put on a PIP, 99% of the time you are going to be let go regardless. Companies use PIPs as a way to "fire for performance" to lay people off without actually laying them off and having to pay out extra in severance or benefits and stuff.
No matter how much you improve, you're most likely going to be let go no matter what.
Yeah, it was really naive of me to trust my manager when he said that the company just wanted to see some improvement and that he wanted to keep me around. I should have been more seriously applying when I had the initial meeting.
Good knowledge to have for the future though. If it happens again to you or someone you know you could warn them as well
I think this depends on what industry you're in. I have worked with two under performers I put on a PIP who turned around their performance. I have also had two people leave after I put them on a PIP. Amusingly, I have never actually fired anyone I put on a PIP.
From my experience and everything I've heard, in corporate America they're a warning that being let go is coming
You're probably not wrong exactly, but I think you're missing a few things: some people who get put on a PIP are actually doing a bad job (for whatever reason) and maybe do need to be let go... or its bad managers either creating the pretense to fire someone or having unrealistic expectations.
My most direct experience with a PIP was my wife's business. Keeping some details vague but we had an employee that did a great job except for a recurring serious issue. She issued a PIP and ultimately ended up firing the employee. We did expect to fire them but the PIP was because we wanted to NOT fire them... we just couldn't continue with that issue.
The few PIPs I've heard of at my employer seem to be kind of in line with what I described above but with a harsher tone.
Yeah it’s basically the company creating a paper trail so they can fire you “for cause” which prevents you from getting unemployment benefits in the US.
It’s shitty that they use a process that in some cases can actually be your manager wanting you to improve instead of a soft launch of being fired. They will never tell you what the context of being put on a PIP is for legal reasons. Even if it is a genuine effort to help you improve, you have to assume the worst, so PIP ends up being a self fulfilling prophecy that you’ll leave the company one way or another.
What industry are you in?
Hope for best, plan for worst.
Apply for unemployment first thing - you don't know how long this is going to last for (time between jobs) and the sooner you get on this the sooner you have that bit of safety net. Same thing for food assistance benefits (if those still exist where you are...) - again, you can't know how long this will last and the faster you get whatever assistance like this you can in place and active the further your reserves will last for you. Waiting until you really need this does not help you nearly as much as doing it right now.
As u/ColorUserPro mentioned, look for any of the crappy high-turnover / easy-to-hire-in jobs that, because they have that high turnover, are likely to get you in reasonably quickly and get some money coming in.
CAUTION: beware of setting yourself up for that kind of work if it's going to be full time + overtime. There is no future there and you don't want so many hours of possibly physically demanding labor that you're too exhausted to put hours in during the week to apply for the jobs that have a future for you.
Thank you, I'll apply first thing in the morning. Luckily I have some savings and a rainy day fund that I feel weird touching but I guess that's what I set the money aside for. And worst case I can start liquidating my brokerage account.
As far as getting paychecks, if you have any logistics centers nearby they will hire you quickly and pay you for at least a week of orientation on safety and in house processes. I had to rely on a warehouse job to pay the bills between being laid off at one job and being rehired at another. Your skillset is useful but if you need money now the right job will pay you to listen and if the schedule's right you can line up interviews for better jobs in the meantime.
Thank you, I'll keep it in mind!
Please reach out to me directly. I am not a hiring manager but I am a developer (in several stacks, including Android). I can provide resume feedback and float your information around my circle.
Thank you! I will in the next day or two, I just need to do some adjustments to my resume and get in a better mental state.
I'm sending a hug from an internet stranger because kindness like that makes SUCH a difference.
When I’m in between jobs my favourite thing to do is volunteer. It takes me out of the job applications grind and out in the world. My go-to volunteer spot is the food bank, and second in a homeless people’s shelter. It feels like I’m doing something good while waiting on possible employers to answer. Keeps me sane, less demoralized.
If in the US make sure to apply for unemployment benefits. I believe you only have a week after your last day to do that. You'll just need to provide proof of an active job search every week.
If you have plenty of savings it's also a good opportunity to travel. But don't go somewhere too expensive.
Disclaimer: this only applies if you have the cushion to do so.
Exiting a job can be a good time to take some time to reflect. Do you like your career path and the trajectory it puts you on? Do you have skill gaps you want to fill? Are you interested in something similar but different, do you want more of the same, or would you go in a completely different direction if you could?
Something you may have going for you is that many employers treat all software development skills as fungible. Maybe you love Android development and want to keep doing it or maybe you want to see what else is out there. It can be interesting to look through job listings that interest you even if you don't think you're currently qualified for them.
I'd also be willing to do a resume review if you need. I can't say I'm personally a great resume writer, but I've been on the other side of the table in big tech enough times to pick that sort of stuff apart pretty well. I'd also be willing to help a bit with general interview prep stuff like helping you focus what to hit and what to skip in your prepared situationals.
Talk to people, in person. I’ve found most of my jobs by talking to friends, friends of friends, etc. Ask people to have a coffee with you and tell you about their work because you’re not sure what your next step in your career should be. Don’t ask if they are hiring! Bring some home baked cookies. Have a fun conversation. Ask lots of questions about their job, the industry, etc. If they think you’re a valuable addition to the team, they will ask you to formally apply. Rules and hiring freezes mean nothing if someone wants you on the team. Follow up with a “thank you”. If you feel it’s a place where you want to work, ask if they think a spot will open up soon.
I’ve been on the interviewer side of the table many times and what I’m looking for is a personal connection. If someone is smart and seems like a good fit for the company culture, they will get the job regardless of missing checkboxes on their resume.
On a personal level? I had to stay busy, to keep to a routine as much as possible for both my sanity and structure during a job hunt. I found exercise, both gym and outdoor cardio, to be freeing and a way to burn off a lot of frustration.
Professionally, use every person you can in your network for resume review and bypass the ATS to get you in front of a hiring manager. Also, as much as I hate LinkedIn, it's the Amazon of the job market, for better and for worse. Play the game as much as possible, and once re-employed, keep playing it, if only to keep a professional presence with a pulse visible.
There will be more budget in the new year. Keep swimming.
Write your resume yourself.
Get your friends to review it. Hell, get us to review it. If you take all the personal info out you can post it on r/resumes and they will tear it up and you’ll be better for it.
Just write it yourself and you’re ahead of like 90% of the applicants.
If you were using/relying on their health insurance, consider buying a "follow me" plan so you can retain whatever benefits they used to offer you until you find a job.
Otherwise, many many many of us have been PIP'd and or let go for whatever reason. It feels extremely personal and demoralizing at the moment, but once you have a new and better job, the icky feelings will fade.
Taking care of yourself is your new full time job: you're the sole employee at phoenixrises corp, afterall.
And in the future, I was told by a mental health professional that when we're suffreing some mental health issues due to personal setbacks, we can get a (vague) doctor's notes to submit to HR so they know you're going through something and it'd be discriminatory of them to PIP you while you're down. Would buy us some time while we sort things out. Impressions are not totally rational though, and hard to shake once set, so it still may not have helped.
Disclaimer: I have not been unemployed for a long duration at any point in my recent life, but I have spent a lot of time pondering this while fearing my current job's stability and failing to get any job offers after years of applications and interviews.
On the job application side, keep a list of companies you're interested in and check their job postings periodically. Some don't regularly post to indeed and other job boards. Never turn down an interview or avoid an employer altogether, unless you're in complete opposition with the company's work - hiring managers change, HR doesn't matter once you're past the initial phone screening, etc. Use your network if you can, but I personally have a virtually non-existent network so I sympathize if that applies to you as well.
On the personal side, know that job hunting isn't a 1:1 for effort to results. Don't spend all day, every day browsing job boards. At most, I'd check Tuesday-Thursday, as you're not going to see much activity on Mondays or Fridays when employees are focused on other work (or taking it easy before the weekend). Try to find a couple of hobbies you can take on. Maybe one can be related to work to keep your skills sharp (build an open source app?), and others can be a distraction.
If you’ve ever wanted to start a business, see if your state offers a self employment assistance program as an alternative or supplement to unemployment. Additionally, if you got a severance you may not be eligible for unemployment right away.