33 Signs You Are About To Be Laid Off
Denial is not a career strategy and rarely does the ax fall unannounced. The warning signs are usually abundant, it’s just the timing that is uncertain. Hints can appear quickly over the course of a few days or add up slowly during a couple of weeks.
Photo credit Kaleb Fulgham
Take the following test and discover if you are about to be asked to clean out your desk. Simply indicate yes or no to the following statements:
- Top management has announced “There is no truth to any layoff rumor.”
- You are not being invited to the meetings that you should be invited to
- Someone from HR meets with your boss behind closed doors, and they both look at (or away) from you when emerging
- You see a job posting on Monster, Dice, or other job site for a position similar to yours by your company, a recruiter your company uses, or an anonymous firm in your area that sounds suspiciously like your company
- You get written up for “anything” (HR and Legal loves to build a case)
- Your boss cuts off your access to senior management
- Your company / industry is under earning pressure
- Your main project loses its funding or is seriously behind schedule
- Your boss screws up and needs a scapegoat
- Your boss doesn’t like you
- Your senior management support base leaves the company or gets demoted
- Your new work assignment is a de-facto demotion
- Co-worker whispers stop when you walk up
- Unclaimed fax machine resumes have a similar background to yours
- You know of an upcoming round of layoffs but don’t know the details
- Your friends in IT, HR, the boss’ assistant, or co-workers can’t look you in the eyes, start asking about your plans for the future, or start measuring your office with their eyes
- Your boss starts to micro-manage, suddenly asks for your vendor/client/project list, or otherwise change their behavior towards you
- You get a new boss
- Your boss loses in a game of political Sumo wrestling
- Your company has new owners
- Your intra-office relationship ends badly
- An office rival gets promoted to be your new boss
- Your workload gets too easy to handle (“Someone else can handle the job”)
- Your workload gets too much to handle (“You’re not doing your job”)
- You find yourself making excuses at meetings
- You know deep inside that you’d fire yourself if you were your boss
- Your friendship with senior management grows cold or stiff
- If you’ve hired your own (younger, cheaper) replacement without having a guaranteed promotion or exit strategy
- You don’t get your guaranteed promotion
- There have been previous rounds of lay-offs
- Your company owner or senior management have lots of meetings with their bank
- Subordinates speak directly to your boss and you’re not there to step on their feet or take the credit
- Your “little voice” tells you something is wrong
Now to score your test….the more questions to which you answer “yes”, the faster you should rewrite your resume, post on Linkedin, and find those old convention business cards.
What signs have you seen that aren’t on this list? Let us know your favorite warning signals.
© 2010 MoneyandRisk.com
Photo credit Kaleb Fulgham
Posting direct email reply from Bob C.
I have not seen your 33 signs – but here are mine:
1). when your last fantastic performance review is rewarded with stock options, deferred stock, or some other form of compensation that will “phase in” over the next several years – polish up the resume.
2). When your title changes several times in the same fiscal year – and/or your title does not accurately reflect what you do.
3). When C-level and senior management start touting “bumper sticker” leadership that espouses “Everyone in this company is a …” (e.g. everyone is in sales, everyone is responsible for customer satisfaction, everyone is a problem owner) it means management does not value the job you do as much as the job they want everyone to do – so your job is soon to be gone.
Here’s one I had to enforce.
34. A new contract requires education or quals you do not have.
When your boss tells you that you need to be in the office first thing in the morning on Friday to sign some papers, when normally you telecommute.
When you overhear your boss talking to a recruited or someone about an opening with job requirements similar to yours.
From Lloyd F.
Your office is moved to a new location, either 1.) smaller and farther from the printer, or 2.) directly under the bosses eyes.