Layoff Stigma
Fellow Monkeys, got laid off (non performance related) a few months back from one of the BBs in London. Been trying to lateral, but the process has been far from easy. Have had 2 offers rescinded/ rolled back after disclosing the redundancy, and another one has gone quiet after a positive start, presumably because I can be kept in limbo indefinitely as they continue to look for their top choice.
Question is how do I convince the folks that the layoffs were not performance related, and even if they were (they were not), everyone deserves a fresh start? I have tried references but doesnt seem to work.
It almost seems like this event will haunt me for long.
Feeling a bit dejected having had 2 offers in hand, only to be taken away - dont know what else to do. Any input would be appreciated.
Are you lying during your interviews about why you’re no longer with your previous firm? Not sure how you would make it to the offer stage, let alone past the first phone call, without being asked about it.
And tbh … unless your entire department is axed, it is kind of performance related …
You are an idiot. Often these days MDs are unable to meet revenue KPIs and most convenient way to save their skin is to reduce headcount. At that point HR will force MD to rank juniors, often he isn’t allowed or unwilling to layoff women. That means if OP wasn’t the super top buckets he is on the chopping block depending on the cost target. How do I know? I was involved in these decisions as staffer.
When there is performance issue, there is usually a PIP and it takes couple of months to build a case.
Thanks for making the point for me. The MD ranks the juniors and unfortunately OP did not perform well enough / was not well liked enough to avoid the axe.
No hate towards OP and hope he lands on his feet, but not going to sugarcoat it.
Here is the issue. OP has control over his work product and competency but no say in how much MD likes him or not. Plenty of irrational MD across the street favouring juniors with similar racial, and socio-economic backgrounds. I have even seen MDs favor some juniors just because they were from same college or hometown. You see how slippery this slope is while you conveniently ignored how MDs hesitate to layoff women for political compulsions in the workplace.
Dont ask dont tell. But even when have been upfront, I am moved forward into the process - the issue is getting to a final offer, where presumably I feel like I am kept on hold like forever.
Disagree on the performance point tho...Business wasnt doing well.
Sorry to hear OP. Do you have copy of formal performance reviews handy as they should help alleviate some concerns and having references like Staffer could help too
Ultimately assh^les are in every business who like to judge people for layoffs even when there is strong evidence that performance wasn’t the issue
Agree, regardless of reason for layoff there is going to be a perception that you would not have been laid off if you were a top performer. If you have some support for that it would help.
Thank you both. very helpful. I unfortunately dont have access to my records anymore but exited with a good standing. The alternate I have offered to companies are references, but they dont seem to have worked (even if the references swear they gave positive feedback).
the point on perception is fair, but I think if one were a top performer, they wouldnt have applied to other jobs anyway (uphill battle to build reputation again), so the candidate pool is anyway filled with mid buckets.
Either ways, I'll think of some way to counter this because clearly something is not working.
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