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Warning Signs You're About to be Laid-Off

posted by martyb on Wednesday December 23 2015, @07:32AM   
from the it's-never-easy dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

It's the holidays and many people are feeling cheerful, but if you're feeling Grinch-like instead this one's for you:

If you've been around for a while, the time will eventually come when a company you work for is in unfortunate shape and will need to "downsize." Having witnessed this at a client of mine this week, I've noticed a pattern and a few warning signs you may find useful...

Here are several warning signs you're about to be laid-off. If you've noticed more than perhaps one of these, your Spidey-Sense should be tingling—it's time to start polishing that resume/CV!
...
  I. Backups
"Have you backed-up all your work to XYZ?"
...
  II. Training
"Please train your co-worker on X, we need everyone up to speed on these components."
...
  III. Important Project or Person MIA
Just like the old Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life, where the very existence of the main character is erased from history, a similar fate will happen to $BIG_PROJECT or important people.
...
  IV. Mandatory Meeting
Subject: Moving Forward in $YEAR+1

Content-free meeting invitations or email focused on date periods, especially late-in the year (a nod to tax purposes). "Let's discuss our plan for 2016." **gulp**

That's my list for now, please chime in with any others you can think of.

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Original Submission

• You see a job ad for your position You see a job ad for your position (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 23 2015, @06:19PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 23 2015, @06:19PM (#280281)

  With an added requirement, "No prima donnas".

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• Re:You see a job ad for your position Re:You see a job ad for your position (Score: 3, Interesting) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday December 23 2015, @06:21PM

  by PizzaRollPlinkett (4512) on Wednesday December 23 2015, @06:21PM (#280283)

  This isn't funny. If an employer wants to work employees hard before purging them, they'll put a false job ad on the job boards. This gives workers hope that if they stick with the company a little while longer, things will get better as hard work will be rewarded with growth. Well, what happens is the company gets what it wants and purges them. Also, watch out for that when you look at job boards. There are many reasons for posting jobs on them, and hiring people isn't always the reason. This is all psychological warfare, really.

  --
  (E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)

  Parent

  • Re:You see a job ad for your position (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 23 2015, @10:33PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 23 2015, @10:33PM (#280412)

    I was tricked by one company that had a whole bunch of similar positions with slightly different requirements.

    What they really wanted to know was what your strengths and weaknesses are based on the position you applied for.

    Parent