Exit Strategies

The “it won’t be me” mentality was a powerful blinder for Don Pietranczyk, former manager of internal communications and events for Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. Even when witnessing waves of layoffs in summer 2002, Pietranczyk felt immune.
   “I grew up in that company,” he says. “Although it was happening to friends around me in different departments, I thought it would never happen to me.”
   Remarkably, even after the nine-year veteran was told during a review in July 2002 that his position would be eliminated that September, it still didn’t sink in. “The writing was on the wall. The invitation was given to me to leave, and I still wasn’t convinced that I was really going,” says Pietranczyk. “I thought at the last moment someone’s mind would change.”   
   In retrospect, Pietranczyk wishes he had been more prepared both emotionally and professionally. “No one wants to be at a job with a plan B in the back of his head,” he says. “That’s not a way to go about living. But if it’s a little further back in your mind, I don’t think that’s such a bad idea.”

Pink slip season
Sage advice in this economy would be to anticipate the pink slip. And as cruel as it seems, the holiday season is prime job-cutting time for U.S. corporations.
   In fact, you are 25 percent more likely to lose a job from September through December than in the preceding eight months, according to research by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an international outplacement firm based in Chicago. The reason: Employers are finalizing budgets and business plans for the following year, and payroll levels are heavily impacted by both.
   Despite the grim statistics, few people  recognize themselves as a potential target, say experts. Ruth Luban, author of Are You a Corporate Refugee? A Survival Guide for Downsized, Disillusioned and Displaced Workers (Penguin) and a psychotherapist in Santa Monica, Calif., says a disconnect is created because people who are laid off are often good performers. Rarely is there a link between performance and job elimination. 
   “They’ve been validated before the layoff. They feel needed, essential. But those qualities set up denial,” Luban notes. “So many people say, ‘I should have seen it coming.’ ”

Signs of trouble
Carol Malinky also ignored the writing on the wall. The former manager of consumer marketing for RCI Holiday NetworkA Cendant Co., in Parsippany, N.J., had been working on a new project that was losing funding and not producing enough revenue.
   But Malinky was an RCI 2001 Presidents Award honoree, one of only 12 winners out of 5,000 employees across RCI’s global offices. She was completely unprepared when the ax fell.
   “I think I was in such shock. I was told to speak to the HR person, who was crying with me. I told my boss and HR that I wasn’t so angry just heartbroken,” says Malinky, who stayed on for close to two months following the news, which was perhaps the hardest part. “My co-workers were extremely supportive, but I don’t think people realized how hard it was to put on that smile every day.” 
   “What makes that day really bad is not anticipating it,” says Gina Hall, managing consultant in the Orlando office of the outplacement firm, Drake Beam Morin. “If you’re really shocked, you don’t know where to turn. But if you have an inkling, then you can execute a plan.”

Sudden severance
Sometimes, there are no warning signs. This summer, Tracy Orpin, CMP, was feeling really good about her job. She not only had survived a round of layoffs last March, but she was handed new and broader responsibilities as the events planner for Sprint Corp.’s Information Services Technology division. She was handling functions for 6,800 employees, a feat that helped to land her on M&C’s July cover for a story on last-minute meetings. A job elimination couldn’t have been further from her mind.
   After less than four months at her new position, on July 1, Orpin received a surprise visit by her boss, who told her the company had decided to eliminate all event planners in the ITS department. “‘This is your last day,’” Orpin recalls being told. “‘You get six months severance. Here’s your package. Do you have any questions?’”
   “I told her I needed a minute,” says Orpin. “She asked if I wanted to go home, and I said no. I think she thought I needed to have a good cry. What I needed was to focus.”
   Her boss wanted her computer, pronto. “I said no. The past four years of my life were in there,” says Orpin, who spent the entire day pulling documents off her computer and packing personal items she did not want to leave behind.
   Looking back, Orpin wonders why she was so surprised. Within Sprint, she has been stationed in six different buildings, worked under five different bosses, lived through two reorganizations and was laid off twice before.

Take off the blinders
Whether or not the danger signs are obvious, they’re there. Determining your job risk might take some sleuthing. Think about the overall health of the company: Is the firm getting bad press? Are stock prices down? Have simple privileges like free coffee been taken away?
   Planners might see a drastic cut in meeting budgets or an overall reduction in meetings. Perhaps sales meetings once held at resorts are being pulled back to local hotels. Another sign: Is the pace of work slowing?
   Consider what’s happening in the HR department. Is a hiring freeze in place, or are positions being eliminated, not filled, when someone leaves? Are you spotting résumés in the copy machine? Are executive assistants being laid off? Are older employees being offered early retirement packages? Any of these signs could signal danger ahead.
   Other actions might suggest that you in particular already have been singled out: You’re not invited to key meetings, or you notice “something as simple as averted eyes,” says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
   Consider the responsibilities you’re given while on-site at a meeting. Are they menial? Do you feel like a gofer instead of a manager?
   Dawn Penfold, CMP, president of The Meeting Candidate Network Inc., a search firm in New York City, warns employees to watch for “silly politics.” She currently has a candidate who says his firm is making his life miserable, with lots of weekend travel and no comp time, and bosses are nitpicking on his reports. Penfold asked him, “Did you ever think that they’re trying to make you leave?”
   Then there’s the matter of how well you get along with your boss. “The people laid off are not necessarily the ones who are poor performers,” says John Challenger. “They’re the ones the bosses don’t like. The boss has to pick someone, and the person he is going to feel the least guilty about is the one who goes.”

Stubborn Statistics

Several years into an uncertain economy, major layoffs, reorganizations and downsizings hardly seem to be newsworthy except, of course, to those on the front lines. 

Unemployment statistics continue to paint a grim picture. Since 2001, almost 4.5 million U.S. jobs have been cut, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an international outplacement firm based in Chicago.

“Layoffs are still very heavy,” says John Challenger, the firm’s CEO. “We’re seeing it even in healthy industries such as pharmaceuticals. No one is invulnerable.”

And while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment in October was 6.0 percent, this is somewhat deceiving. According to Challenger, a more realistic figure is 9.0 percent, which reflects those people who are out of work but not actively seeking positions.

This adjusted statistic reflects another depressing angle of the jobless situation: It is taking people a lot longer to find work; 23.2 percent  a near two-decade high of those who are unemployed have been out of work for more than 27 weeks, according to government statistics.

Not only is it taking longer to find jobs, but job seekers can’t afford to be picky even when it comes to their paychecks. In fact, 23 percent of job winners are accepting salaries lower than what they received at their previous jobs, according to Challenger statistics.

Planning for the worst
Even when all the warning signs are in place, a proactive approach and a positive attitude can help make the most of an unpleasant situation.
   Don’t disengage. A natural reaction to a stressful work environment is to distance yourself and cocoon in your cube. Do the opposite: Keep your boss apprised of work progress, offer to pitch in if necessary, and stay away from water cooler gossip it is almost always negative and therefore unhelpful.
   Take it easy. Especially in the midst of a merger or major reorganization, don’t be the one to moan about the changes. Instead, try to embrace change and brainstorm ways to work within the new system. If procurement is taking over some aspects of third-party contracts, for instance, position yourself as someone who can manage that process. “If you fight it, it’s so easy to get rid of you,” warns Penfold.
   Get finances in order. If a reorganization is looming like a thundercloud, take cover under a good personal budget plan, especially since a job hunt today is likely to outlast a severance package (see “Stubborn Statistics”). Experts recommend keeping an emergency fund worth six months of salary. If you’re nowhere near that figure, start  belt-tightening, advises Roberta Chinsky Matuson, principal with the Human Resources Solutions consulting practice in Northampton, Mass., and an HR expert for Monster.com.
   Investigate severance. Become familiar with the corporate policies that govern the amount of salary received per year of service, in the event of layoffs. If you’re checking the employee handbook, make sure it’s the latest version. Research local and federal unemployment benefits. Also, be sure you are up to date on filing expense reports, and keep track of any reimbursement the company might owe you.
   Update that résumé. Don’t wait until you need it. Consider hiring a résumé writer or an editor through Monster.com or other employment websites.
   Expand your circle. Notes Challenger, “Most people find their jobs through other people, and it’s not always the five or 10 closest colleagues. Have a Rolodex with 1,000 names in it. It will be invaluable in your search.” If your contact list is on your office computer, make sure you have a printed copy, and send another copy to your Palm Pilot or home computer. If you don’t have a computer at home, consider buying one now, before you’re desperate to have one.
   Keep contacts fresh. Update the Rolodex each time you work with someone new it’s one more person who potentially can help find you a new job. It’s also better to touch base with folks on a positive note, says Matuson. “The time to reconnect with people is not to say, ‘I’m out of a job,’” she notes. Reconnect periodically just to stay in touch.
   Don’t be an attendee on the prowl. “You can’t walk into an MPI environment with a résumé in hand,” says Dawn Penfold. “I have been chased into bathrooms by people with résumés.” Instead, use the meeting to establish connections. The time to present your résumé should come later.
   Take advantage of downtime. If the in-box is low, use this time to touch base with industry trade organizations and even volunteer to sit on a committee. The more involved you are, the wider your network becomes.
   Maintain bridges. The time before a layoff can be difficult for everyone involved; it is always a mistake badmouth higher-ups. Remember, most supervisors also find the circumstances painful. Keep in their good graces, and you might find yourself hired back if conditions improve.
   Be needed. “If you have some special skills hard or soft you’re probably in a better position than someone with general skills,” says Gina Hall of Drake Beam Morin.
   However, planners with broad skills have better chances of finding work in the future than someone with a narrow specialization. “The most important thing to do is to learn beyond your position,” says Penfold. “If you’re a corporate meeting planner and have never done exhibit management, at least educate yourself so you can about talk it.”
   Make the first move. Nobody says you have to wait until you’re laid off to look for new work. “Think about your career as something that is not managed passively,” advises Challenger. Begin the search now, and you might avoid being put through the emotional roller coaster of a reorganization.
   Take it with you. With a layoff looming, consider taking home more than just your Rolodex. Think about reports that you spearheaded (as long as they aren’t proprietary), spreadsheets, letters of recommendation, performance reviews and any examples of your professional accomplishments. After all, with some layoffs, there’s very little time to gather things. “Have your files in order so you can pack your bag with dignity and split,” says Ruth Luban.
   Consider Penni Phillips, former meeting planner and hotel programs manager for a Houston-based software company. After 17 years of service, she had 30 minutes to pack her things and go, although she managed to return the following weekend to finish up. “My office was like my home. I had pictures on the walls, and even a fish,” she notes.
   Get your teeth cleaned. Make that dentist appointment. Have the physical you’ve been putting off. If you have a generous health plan, take advantage of it while you can.
   Manage your stress. If you know a layoff is imminent, it is imperative that you take care of yourself mind, body and spirit. Avoid shopping sprees, excessive drinking or binge eating. Maintain your fitness rituals. Luban suggests keeping a journal.
   Reach out. Luban reminds those anticipating a layoff to lean on friends, family and colleagues outside the company. Talk the issues through and let them know your biggest concerns. “It’s amazing how many times people don’t even tell their spouses about their job situation,” she says. “It creates detachment from the very people you need.”

If it happens&
A supervisor might be pushing papers in front of you to sign during one of the most stressful events in your life. Tell her you need some time to look things over. (See “Your Legal Rights” on page 74). For instance, you might be offered outplacement services only if you agree in writing to waive your right to sue the firm. Say you need a few days before deciding how to proceed.
   Use your negotiating skills. How many times have you hammered out a hotel contract? Tap into these skills during this crucial time. Offer to stay on during the transition period. Negotiate a better benefits or severance package.
   Don Pietranczyk met with Morningstar’s owner to request another month of severance. “Based on my time with the company and the time it would take to find something, I didn’t think the severance they offered would last,” he says.
   While his request was denied, Pietranczyk doesn’t regret asking. “It was an unsuccessful plea, but I’m glad I did it. I always would have wondered.”
   Shout it out. If a pink slip takes you by surprise, your résumé is 10 years old and your Rolodex is just as stale, go ahead advertise shamelessly. When Sprint’s Orpin was let go with no notice, “I wrote to everyone in my e-mail address book and everyone in Sprint I’ve had close contact with,” she says. “Letting everyone know you’re out of a job is the fastest way to get a job,” she adds.
   Within 48 hours, Orpin had received more than 100 e-mails and 70 phone calls from Sprint employees across the country, including two actual job offers. Orpin landed a position two weeks later within another division of Sprint.
   Seize the day. It might not have happened according to your plan, but this might be the perfect time to revisit those lofty dreams of starting a business or moving to a new place.
   For Pietranczyk, “The past year has been all about searching for exactly what I want out of life, both personally and professionally.” Heeding his passion for dance and acting, he moved to West Hollywood, Calif., in the hopes of finding some exciting opportunities in event planning for the entertainment industry.
   For now, free-lance work is bringing Pietranczyk closer to his goal. At press time, he was involved in planning the Nov. 2 gala for the WIN Awards, an annual event sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Women’s Image Network to honor those who create realistic portrayals of women in the media.
   It has been a challenging yet exciting year of growth, says Pietranczyk. In retrospect, he adds, “Being let go from my job gave me the time to take stock and see what’s really important to me.”