Somebody told me they were laid off four times throughout their entire career, and I can't wrap my head around it. How do you survive something like that? I'm worried about how I'd take being laid off once, but to have it happen to me more times? No. Just, no. Does it get easer or harder? I literally can't even imagine what that'd feel like.
10 replies (most recent on top)
Survive???? How dramatic can you be? It's a layoff not cancer or a war.
I’ve been through 5 layoffs in my banking career. Ir comes with territory especially if your area is NOT a revenue generator. I got into banking because of the perception that the industry was layoff-proof. That perception was true when I was a rookie all those years ago. It changed about 12 years in and got worse every year after that. The circle of life I guess.
@OP - I believe that, on average, most people will experience being laid off at least twice during their careers. As @be below mentioned, life throws punches. You have to adapt to change, or you won’t survive. That’s just the reality of life. It is true of all animals (yes humans are animals) that they have to adapt to a changing environment or they simply perish (thanks Darwin).
What happens if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness or face a serious health scare? What if it happens to someone in your family? There are so many situations in life that are completely out of our control. All we can do is pick up the pieces, adapt, give it our best effort, keep showing up, and continue pushing forward.
@xq You must be in a completely different business unit because it was SunTrust people who were targeted. Competent managers and teams let go and replaced by bumbling clueless teams.
@wz As some who was hSTI, I see it the other way. A lot of the peeps who were let go were hBBT. It seems like they were targeted and not hSTI.
Those who joined as Truist were fine.
I've seen a few people that were top of their game rif'd and then brought back. They just happened to be suntrust people and were targeted by bb&t managers that are still around and hate any suntrust peeps. Pol
@be is correct. Roll with it or get rolled. Develop a niche, become VERY good at something, and belive it or not trumpet yourself every now and then. Sometimes layoffs are mass reductions or efficiency plays. Not personal and not a statement of performance. What you want (if you’re on a role that is subject to this) is to be flexible and valuable enough that they ask you to take a different role in the company.
Now if “laid off” is your friend’s word for “fired”, that’s a different story.
Once you make AVP you should be safe.
"I literally can't even imagine what that'd feel like."
Yes you "literally" can, which is why you've whipped yourself up into a frothy anxious mess, at the very thought of it.
Listen kid, life throws punches.
You learn how to roll with them, otherwise you're the one who gets rolled.
Toughen up.
Nothing's certain, nothing's guaranteed, and nothing lasts forever.
Always be ready for change.
Assume nothing.
Rely most on yourself, and your own intuition, resiliance, and smarts.
Or be a lost little waif, getting thrashed around by life, as it chews you up and spits you out.
Winner / Loser.
Your choice!
It gets easier. I've been laid off three times over a long span. I might be up for my 4th rif in 2026 but hard to tell. Every time I think I'm safe, I get bounced. Just comes with the territory of working here.