Manager Tools' latest podcast, "Getting Laid Off - Finances Rule" is a great illustration of why I listen every week.
This week's episode cuts through the BS straight to the core of the issue in Mike and Mark's typical direct style: Whether you get laid off or terminated, the state of your finances are what determine how well you are able to handle the situation.
Most folks reaction is focusing on the job hunt and totally miss the fact that if their finances are in order, and have a an emergency fund that they can live on while they search, they can afford to take the time and make better choices in resolving the situation.
In early 2001, the tech bubble was collapsing and I went through a layoff situation. One company I was in was collapsing, so I got laid off, but I quickly landed another job and thought I was set. Then I got laid off from that job a couple weeks later and spent the next few weeks without a job. I didn't have my finances together then and we suffered through that time. By the time I was able to land my next job, I was desperate and glad to drive 40 miles each way to get a paycheck.
If I was in a better financial situation at the time, I wouldn't have taken the job. On the flip side though, I spent the next seven years working there. Tomorrow's my last day there, actually, so I guess it wasn't all bad. I learned a lot and grew a lot and got to work with some really great people.
We've been working really hard getting our finances together...taking care of things, building that emergency fund, etc. I got lucky pulling out of my last layoff, but I'm not taking that chance next time.
This episode of Manager Tools comes at a good time. While I'm already working hard on my finances, but it puts financial issues in an atypical context that really hit home for me. Thanks, guys.
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