What to do on getting Pink Slip – Concrete Steps

One fine morning, you reach office and your manager says “Let’s talk”. You suddenly get hundreds of thoughts because these are tough times. Your manager (depends on how he handles it) gives you the pink slip. The first reaction is of-course the DENIAL. This could not be happening to me. Here are the things you should do on getting the pink slip:

• Keep in mind that pink-slip does not indicate you incapability or incompetence. This is extremely important to realize as quickly as possible, since self-confidence will open hundreds of other doors for you. A pink slip just indicates employer’s incapability to either keep you employed or to fit you in the organization. Period.
• Relax take a deep breath and discuss with your manager about
• Severance Package
• Other Policy details related to lay-off
• Thank your manager and ask him some contacts
• Call up your friends in office (if allowed to meet, do meet them), discuss the situation and make sure not to let people show mercy for you. Ask them for their help/contacts (note down their personal email address)
• The biggest mistake people do is not to discuss the lay-off with their family members (spouse/parents/kids). A family is meant to provide the moral support needed in the hour of crisis and here is one. So don’t be hesitant, you have not failed them, rather it is just a phase, so discuss it openly with them. Don’t be ashamed to talk about it and the reason for the lay-off, it helps them to understand your problems as well as a way for you to out-pour the frustration.
• Take a day or two off with your family and try to forget and think about it. Over-speculation on “why you” will lead to more frustration rather than getting any answers. It is really worthless to discuss/think on why you were chosen. Instead give your mind some peace, so as to deal with the crisis in a pragmatic manner.
• Usually it takes 1-2 days to finally sink that you have been fired. In those 1-2 days, thoughts fly at jet speed and the more you try to think or sort out, the more confuse you become, hence it is very important to take these initial few days as a vacation. It is difficult, but extremely important.
• Now start focusing on the financial aspect of your lay-off. It is not at all difficult and you need to keep telling yourself and your family that world is not about to end, rather this is the time for all family members to come together and provide inputs on how to handle the financial situation. What to do:
• List down your hard cash (at home, in banks, FDs etc)
• Do not touch the long-term investments, so don’t even think about them.
• List down the monthly expenses to extreme detail (include for e.g. toothpaste expense per month)
• Strike the items which can be done without (e.g. dining out, movies etc)
• The remaining list will tell you how much monthly money you need and how much cash you have will indicate how many months you can survive without earning.
• List down the loan EMIs, credit card balance to be paid etc. These are the items which will cost you the most. And these are the items you seriously need to re-think on “how to get rid of them”. Make sure not to panic and start offloading everything. Give yourself 1-2 months and see if you can get some job.
• Do not even think of using credit card or personal loans to tide the expenses. This is the time to reduce your debt and not to increase it.
• Start updating your resume. Also call in your contacts and start sending the resume. You can also search on google for some consultants or job search websites and upload your resume. Simultaneously, start refreshing your basics for any interview call. You need to be prepared for any sudden interview calls and give your best shot.This is the time when your networking helps you a lot.
• It is also important to understand that all work is good, just because you were earning a handsome salary of 1 Lakh per month doesn’t mean that now earning Rs 20000 per month on part time basis is a bad idea. The only thing important is that you are earning back as quickly as possible and the temporary job you are getting into is aligned to your field. As an example, if you were a software engineer, following jobs can be a good idea:
• Software consultant on part-time basis
• Teaching SW Engg in a college/training institute as a visiting faculty
• On-line software development projects or finding other genuine ways to earn money online [like documentation or creating SW training materials etc].
• You can even encourage your spouse to take up the temporary job (if he/she is not working) while making yourself available for the house-work.
• If you really ever thought of starting your own enterprise, this is the god-given opportunity. This is the time to take risk, since you can’t be worse off.
• Most importantly you need to be patient while searching for job and you have to have confidence on your own ability. Keep finding the doors which can lead you out of the crisis, it does exist!!