Everyone is on edge, wringing their hands hoping that all will be well in regards to their employment.
Lots of naysayers out there. Lots off people who desperately try to sell that its not use to look for jobs elsewhere. Lots of people who try to tell you that if someone got let go “it must be because they got a deserved 4 rating”.
While both can be true, neither is exclusively always true.
The one thing that I know for sure 100% is that you are guaranteed to NEVER find a job outside of Citi if you don’t start looking. Many don’t want to take the leap out of fear of starting over and having to prove themselves. Ok, then all the stress you get from Citi going forward will be forever shackled to you. If you don’t like your world then change your world. Easy, no. Quick, usually not. Impossible, absolutely not. Worth it, for piece of mind, oh you bet it is.
As one other poster mentioned, many people NEED to believe that if someone got let go its because they were a sustained 4 in all areas for an extended amount of time. They have to believe that so that they can take themselves out of that bucket that it could happen to them. They need to believe that if they do all the right things, they are safe.
The actual truth is much uglier than what they can handle.
Work hard, keep your head down, sharpen your skills. Search externally for jobs and apply. Rinse, repeat until you find something and move on. Keep in mind that Citi wants you to move on. They are taking measures to encourage you to leave. If you survive this round, then congratulations, you get to take up the slack for everyone else. You get more work and with most assuredly shortened deadlines with a higher expectations to never make a mistake. Keep in mind all the while with no increase in pay. Its ok though because it’ll be summed up with “don’t forget about your work life balance” speech. To Citi “work life balance” is that your family needs to be ok with you working all the time.