It Was Not Entirely Unexpected ...

But still, it was a shock. Being told that we were being laid off was not good news. But the handwriting was on the wall: the client had contracted with 2 other call centers to do roughly the same work we do. After reading their tickets and picking up the pieces of their trouble-shooting, I hope they learn fast. And I hope the true client (their customer) doesn’t get left hanging in the cold.

But that is neither here nor there: the phase out is going to happen regardless, no last-minute saves. There is the promise by our company to get as many people as possible into slots in other lines of business, but that nothing was guaranteed, and often that would mean a step-down in pay.

So, the big question: Do I jump, or do I wait to be pushed? I've already made my decision: It's better to leap, that way you have some idea of your landing spot.

It was good of them to give us the heads’ up. In other jobs I’ve had, the idea was to let the employee know at the last minute that they were being let go, to minimize “short-timers’ syndrome”. When I was a manager for said company, I hated that. I tried to let folks know that January was the “de-hire” time after the Christmas push was over. Some I told privately that they would not be kept on past the first of the year. Almost to a person, the people let go were shocked. Even the person I had told to “look around” for other employment past the first was shocked.

So, while I was shocked, I wasn’t all that shocked. That helps. The fact that I have been looking for a job or business opportunity in a casual way also helps. I just need to ramp that up to full time second job serious until I find a few good possibilities to choose from.

But the actual doing is still going to be a challenge.

It will be an interesting few months (or maybe less, with luck). But all of us make our own luck. I'll keep you posted.

Yes, I Can!