After all the accolades of achieving Presidents Club-ranked the #3 wireline sales rep in the country.... less than 9 months later I am RIF'd. Made absolutely no sense and the only thing I can deduce is.... A: I'm older than 50 and female (health care risk? risk to be a caregiver of older parents as a female?) and/or B: I was making too much money. They can hire a 20 year old for pennies on the dollar of what I made. Multiple Vz jobs have since been applied for that I am more than qualified for ...nothing... NADA, not even a whiff of interest. Not even the courtesy of one single call or email. Same with all the other similar jobs applied for with other companies, after a LONG successful career...doesn't matter. Unless I want an entry level job I have nothing on the horizon. During the same RIF.... long term qualified engineers were laid off and immediate listings were on the internal job board for their jobs in Czechoslovakia(I had 30 days to look internally for a job that is how I know they were posted. one of my team engineers lost his job to a foreign worker....he'd been there over 35 years) They are destroying the older American workers lives which is technically illegal but of course you can't prove it and you sign away your rights if you want that package. Now looking to move to Costa Rica or Nicaragua to try and survive on what money I have left.
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Please don't think I'm being rude I'm not. Is it possible you are considered over qualified and they will have to pay you what you were paid at Verizon? That seems to be a common theme with a few of my friends.
Great post "You Need To Rebrand". Thanks for sharing.
I am an "older worker" @ 53. I asked to be RIFd and was off payroll 5 weeks ago. Severance policy is under review for 2016, and because I was privy to that information, I decided to consider my options. My years of service entitled me to the maximum severance weeks, so, ultimately, that is a hefty one-time pay out I had to consider. Even a 1 week change in severance slices that money in half, and VZ is considering a larger cut (it's on the table. no I am not trolling here, I know this for a fact).
I also recognized based on experience with VZ, from a statistical standpoint, the chances I could stay with VZ until I am ready to retire, were very slim. I know of only 2 managers who made it past 58 with the company. So, for me, it made sense to leave the company while I could still put in several years with another company and collect a fat severance payout while it is still available. Add to this a very decent economy in my neck of the woods (MA) and in my area (Boston) and I left with a smile.
What I immediately started to do the minute I made my decision and during the 2 months I was employed with VZ but had my separation date is to re-brand myself. Start as if you are a blank slate. Write down the skills and experience you have had at Verizon through the years and parlay all of that into an image and brand that is unique to you. Ask yourself where and how you contributed in a big way during your work with VZ and then make that the central theme of how you present yourself to prospective employers. You should be highlighting that you were awarded through the President's Club as well. You have to shed your Verizon skin so to speak. You will not walk into another job that is similar since no 2 jobs/companies are the same, and so you have to shed the image you have of yourself as an employee. There are a lot of free, online tools for this type of self-assessment. Once you have a handle on who you are as an employee, what makes you a great catch for an employer, get excited about that and project that excitement.
Then use the funnel approach. Apply to a zillion jobs knowing only a few will come out the other end of the funnel. You should get your presentation materials down to the point where everything is perfect and ready to go. So, your resume and a cover letter (which you can change a few words here and there to be specific for your job) should be set. Give yourself a daily goal number. Mine was 5. I will do 5 job search related tasks a day, 7 days a week. This could be apply to say 3 jobs, add a contract to your LinkedIn profile; watch a TEDS talk on how to project yourself (equals 5); another day you might find 5 jobs to apply to; etc. Keep a log of everything you do and every response you get. Think of any phone screening or interview as one step closer to your next job. The more you go through the better you become. And, more importantly, the process helps you decide what you want, what will work for you for a job.
You have to get to the point where you recognize your value and be excited about what you have to offer. In turn, you will that project that without faking it. It will just come through. Don't be afraid to turn down offers if there is something "not right". I turned down 2 offers for different reasons and it was very empowering for me to believe in my worth, my value enough to say "no thank you".
You have a sales background? Sales can be evolved into the skill set of any job. No matter what work an organization does, it involves having to sell that work to internal stakeholders, to get capital approved; etc. That is all sales. Sell yourself. Ultimately that is what you are doing, and it takes time, energy, self-awareness, interest in yourself, and definitely re-branding or shifting of your brand.
Here is some other stuff that helped me:
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Ask people who know you well and who support your efforts (job hunting) to endorse you on your LinkedIn profile.
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Get your resume down to a single page.
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Focus not so much on the specifics of your work at VZ, but the fact YOU COULD GET WORK DONE at VZ. Managing to be successful at a large, evolving, global, chaotic bureaucracy that is any Fortune 5 XXX means you have the experience to get work done anywhere.
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Be yourself. During phone screens, ask questions about the job. Say what you like and don't like, what you are interested in and what you are not interested in.
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Ask yourself, "What is the worst that can happen and can I manage that"? So if you don't find a job right away you can work as a contractor somewhere or 2 part time jobs and squeak by. Can you deal with that? If the answer is yes, you've faced the worst and it's do-able so you can relax and focus on your job search.
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Take advantage of all of the resources available via the Internet. Self-awareness videos; resume ideas; job boards; job board feeds; interview techniques; how to promote yourself; etc. etc.
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Tell people you are looking for a job. If you are at a restaurant and the person standing in front of you waiting for a table starts making small talk, find a way to bring the conversation around to your job search. That is the true networking.
I found a job in no time - the job that was right for me. You will too. Just keep at it. Stay positive. Be happy you are no longer looking over your shoulder wondering if you will be RIFd next month or next year. Be happy you "got out" with your severance money. Be happy you can now decide what kind of company or non-profit or society or group YOU want to work for. You can decide what FITS YOU and not what fits Verizon.
Good luck!
below market value, indebted youth, mold-able canvas.....easy to maneuver and drain....we all trade in and trade up - according to hunger for power and control
My sincere sympathies ... and MCI/VzB/VES was a great business once upon a time. I quit cold last year, with the harassment of the EWA, Boot Camp etc (which of course is what "they" wanted). No package, but no regrets, despite no pension, and lousy 401K. Immediately disposed of the shares in the VZstock-holding company - they do NOT give real stock, which would give employees a VOTE! The Vz COBRA was actually better value than anything I could find on the 2015 Obamacare ( rates and vast deductibles racked up by the big insurance companies once Rubio had killed the fledgling coop competition). You are among America's brightest and best, do not lose confidence at this point. Think beyond sales, because you have serious systematic thinking skills, technical and organizational understanding. Maybe you can get in with Accenture, Deloitte, Ernst and Young? Advise on how to turn around sales Depts.!! I am serious, know a couple of people who have done that! Karma works in mysterious ways!
My org and current manager is so toxic I wish I would get a RIF offer.
A damn shame! Good luck to you!
Social Security needs to start at 70. Sorry.
@FFS / OP ........ Same here (over 50, ) , when I attended the seperation services ...I was in a class, looked around (about 30 people who had been RIF'd by all types of corporations) All had grey , salt & pepper hair and were 50-60- years old except for one young lady (25?) who was RIF'd from Google (and would not keep her smart ass month shut for the life of all of us)
I was management ..all sales reps in VZ Business are management, not union represented. Thanks for all the comments guys. I will bounce back... I have looked at other career areas..energy sales, data center sales, also have project management training skills. I could list 60+ companies I have applied for...remember 5 per week is required by the state to get unemployment benefits...what a joke that process was...and the pitiful unemployment rate in Florida...ahh another soapbox. . But the total lack of response has been the same...usually in sales someone with a stellar track record has no problem finding something.....so the only thing I can attribute it to is there is an undisclosed age cutoff that you are automatically discarded to the refuse pile. And I KNOW how to network, and get directly to the hiring managers (successful sales training 101) I do not rely on just applying online. I have hundreds of cards of previous business contacts....and it has all lead to ...CRICKETS. A previous manager at Vz who is still there and a friend keeps feeding me opportunities and is also baffled by the total lack of response. It's like I have leprosy.....there is nothing out there on the web that makes me look like a criminal...I checked.....I could work in either of 2 large cities so geography is not the problem. I will be fine, I have a great family, husband and 3 college graduate kids...I really don't have much to complain about but just NOT ready to quit the workplace yet...don't have enough saved to survive on without a decent job. The healthcare costs are astronomical....and we are not in poor health. One medication we just had to fill on the "new plan" (not Verizon) cost $1000 for a 90 day supply of Nexium..have to meet the outlandish deductible of $5000 first....on top of the monthly $1500 premium for a middle of the road plan for 3 of us. My point is if you are still with Vz their benefits were fantastic...should have appreciated/used them more.
My condolences. My opinion is that some VLSS blackbelt who knows nothing about the business, decided that a hungry new hire could do your job at one third the price. Change energizes us!
1vm - If you say so :) Your right. Wireline growth is bullish, everyone's doing wireline.
lai, you are clueless. The problem is not that wireline is dying, the problem is that Verizon has chosen to run the wireline, h.s.i. and fios businesses into the ground. I'm willing to bet that you are one of the 7 people in the U.S. to download and use the go90 app. Good for you, change energizes you.
@rde - what is the difference between a reduction in force and a lay off? Are they not one in the same? Both result in involuntary separation of employment due to changes in "needs of the business"
OP - I am sorry to hear your sad story. Have you considered a career change? Wireline is dying and trying to get back in that field wether with Verizon, Frontier or some other telecom is a waste of time.
OP, as a wireline sales rep you would be considered an associate in the union and could not be RIF'D, you could either be laid off or fired. As I understand it, only management can be RIF'D. Can you please clarify?
I was rif'd last year after 25 years of service. I too am a over-50 female. You can file a complaint with the EEOC. I did and they are investigating my charge of age discrimination. The severance package does not stop you from filing a complaint. It is a slow process but it is free.