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The company I was working for conducted a large layoff in April, and I was one of the employees impacted. Soon after, I reached out to members of my professional network for any advice, leads, or people to meet for informational interviews.
While I appreciate them trying to help, I feel like their message, whether intentional or not, has not been encouraging:
- Multiple people have pointed me toward roles that pay roughly half of what I was previously making and/or would be an clear demotion to anyone who saw the two titles next to one another. While some don't know what I was making at my previous jobs (which is understandable), others do.
- Some people have tried convincing me to take jobs that either require a 2-3 hour commute one-way each day or would require a relocation. I live in a major city where most of the jobs in my industry are based and I have family in the same city, so it makes no sense to move.
- When I see a job posted at one of my connection's companies, I let them know I applied to the role and ask for their advice on what steps I should take next to make myself a better candidate, only to be ghosted.
What baffles me is I have worked with or for these colleagues in the past and at a high level, often given lead roles and have received very positive feedback. When I was promoted into my last role, they told me it was "well-deserved." Do they believe good employees don't get laid off, even though it's typically not performance-based? Has something suddenly changed their sentiment? Do they see the job market as so difficult that I should be applying to anything? So many questions.
I can't leverage my network if they're suggesting I settle for basically any job that gets posted on LinkedIn or Indeed. What should I be doing to develop a better network? Additionally, how can I better inform my current network of my desired salary/roles so they can help guide me in the best way possible?
The company I was working for conducted a large layoff in April, and I was one of the employees impacted. Soon after, I reached out to members of my professional network for any advice, leads, or people to meet for informational interviews.
While I appreciate them trying to help, I feel like their message, whether intentional or not, has not been encouraging:
- Multiple people have pointed me toward roles that pay roughly half of what I was previously making and/or would be an clear demotion to anyone who saw the two titles next to one another. While some don't know what I was making at my previous jobs (which is understandable), others do.
- Some people have tried convincing me to take jobs that either require a 2-3 hour commute one-way each day or would require a relocation. I live in a major city where most of the jobs in my industry are based and I have family in the same city, so it makes no sense to move.
- When I see a job posted at one of my connection's companies, I let them know I applied to the role and ask for their advice on what steps I should take next to make myself a better candidate, only to be ghosted.
What baffles me is I have worked with or for these colleagues in the past and at a high level, often given lead roles and have received very positive feedback. When I was promoted into my last role, they told me it was "well-deserved." Do they believe good employees don't get laid off, even though it's typically not performance-based? Has something suddenly changed their sentiment? Do they see the job market as so difficult that I should be applying to anything? So many questions.
I can't leverage my network if they're suggesting I settle for basically any job that gets posted on LinkedIn or Indeed. What should I be doing to develop a better network? Additionally, how can I better inform my current network of my desired salary/roles so they can help guide me in the best way possible?
Sounds like an over constrained problem. The biggest limitation I see people put on themselves is being unwilling to move. It limits the number of opportunities greatly. I even acknowledge that for myself. I made a conscious decision not to move to certain cities and that did limit my opportunities. So, if not moving is going to be a hard limit, then you will have to relax other criteria which may be any of pay, title, benefits, commute, or something else. I chose to give up pay and promotion for quality of life.
Sounds like an over constrained problem. The biggest limitation I see people put on themselves is being unwilling to move. It limits the number of opportunities greatly. I even acknowledge that for myself. I made a conscious decision not to move to certain cities and that did limit my opportunities. So, if not moving is going to be a hard limit, then you will have to relax other criteria which may be any of pay, title, benefits, commute, or something else. I chose to give up pay and promotion for quality of life.
You make a good point, and those are all things to consider. Some other details I didn't include on this in the OP that may add some clarity:
- My significant other also works in the same city and goes into the office a few days a week. Therefore, a move would impact both of us and force her to look for work too.
- A couple of the positions that would require a move are in more rural areas AND pay significantly less. Bit of a double-whammy.
Is it perhaps that either they don't know what to tell you, or don't want to put in a bunch of effort, so they're just giving any sort of advice? I've had people give me advice that doesn't seem to make much sense or contradicts what I've told them, and I suspect it's that they don't really know what to tell me but feel like they have to offer something, so they'll give whatever advice pops to mind or that might make sense for someone else, just to have something to suggest.
You make a good point, and those are all things to consider. Some other details I didn't include on this in the OP that may add some clarity:
- My significant other also works in the same city and goes into the office a few days a week. Therefore, a move would impact both of us and force her to look for work too.
- A couple of the positions that would require a move are in more rural areas AND pay significantly less. Bit of a double-whammy.
That was actually the tradeoff I made. Much better quality of life and great place to raise kids so it was worth it. Now that I'm retired, I'd actually like to move even more rural.
At this many months out, you need to be flexible and willing to move unless you have some other way to sustain your living expenses.
I have a solid amount in savings and my partner is making decent money. We don’t need to move at the drop of a hat. However, we are planning to move away from the city center and into the suburbs within the next 1-2 years.
I’m not sure why the thread has migrated in favor of moving hours away to a quiet(er) area after 3+ months of unemployment. I am hoping you can help me when it comes to getting the most out of my professional network.
Maybe, just maybe, what your friends are trying to tell you is that there aren't any jobs in your field at your current rate of pay in your area. You know, this might have something to do with why you got laid off.
”Hmmm... here's this guy, at 160% of prevailing wages for that job in the area, he does an OK job but he's not a superstar. Out he goes...”
It sounds like they are trying to help you find a job and get a paycheck.
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