#JobLayoff #JobMarket #ProfessionalRelationships
Hey there, I’m really sorry to hear about your experience with the layoff. It sounds like you were doing a great job and it’s frustrating to be let go without a clear explanation. 🙁
In terms of responding to your former director’s message, it’s totally understandable to feel conflicted. On one hand, you don’t want to be dishonest and pretend everything is fine. But on the other hand, you also don’t want to burn any bridges, especially if he was a good director.
If you do decide to respond, you could keep it simple and polite. Something like, “Thanks for checking in. I’ve been navigating the job market and exploring my options. It’s been a bit challenging, but I’m staying positive and hopeful for what’s to come.” This way, you’re being cordial without giving too much away about your current struggles.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether you want to engage in further conversation with your former director. Just remember to prioritize your own well-being and mental health during this difficult time. Good luck with your job search, and I hope things start looking up for you soon! 💪🏼🍀
Laid off isn’t fired and although you can be fired without cause, there are reasons and should never come as a surprise. Laying people off is never fun but best advice I can give is don’t take it personally. If the situation was handled well no reason not to stay in touch. Could be a great advocate for you.
Take an emotional and rhetorical posture of gathering information about the purpose of the message.
Nothing personal; it’s just business.
Definitely respond, be honest but upbeat.
Ignore. He’s doing it to satisfy his own guilt.
Maybe wants you to sign some legalese for their CYA.
He didn’t speak to you after you came back from PTO. I wouldn’t trust him now.
Of course respond ! It’s free.
You can tell the truth and still be polite
Was firing you “for performance reasons” a way to avoid paying unemployment? That would make a huge difference in my response, personally.
From what you describe, they were probably forbidden from telling you they have financial difficulties, as this could create additional financial issues if it came out. It sucks, but this is corporate life.
You have nothing to lose by talking to him and potentially something to gain. You say he was a great director and that makes it worthwhile to talk to him. Definitely let him know that you are still looking for a job and be professional about it.
Be nice to the director but don’t offer them any help if they need it. You don’t have to burn the bridge but it sounds like they burned the bridge with you.
I wouldn’t respond just stay neutral. I will ghost him
Maybe he’s trying to offer you your job back.
Maybe they have a referral for you.
Maybe they are hoping you got a job somewhere because they need one.
If the director isn’t the business owner, they may not have had a choice about layoffs or the way in which they were communicated. So make your decision based on other factors (value of the relationship, etc.)
Understandable that you got laid off and feel really burned by this. I worked for several companies over the years and got my first layoff after 18 years right after covid hit.
Remember it is a layoff and not a firing due to your performance regardless of what they said, hence why you are (should be) collecting unemployment benefits. This is not personal and its very hard to separate personal and business, no matter how much it hurts. Also telling people they are let go can be difficult, so your boss probably made up some sh*t just to get through the video call.
I got hired back 3 months later and took it on the chin because economy was still not great. I was pissed because I did more for the company than the others who were still there. I’d like to think that I was let go because my salary was higher than the others but at this point didn’t care, I just waited until the economy got better then I quit 1 year later.
They called you back which shows that they didn’t terminate you with cause and that they really liked you. If there was ANY doubt about your performance, NO way would they have called you back probably for potential rehire.
Never burn a potential networking bridge. It wouldn’t do any harm to respond and be polite.
Just let him know you are still looking for a job other then that you are ok. Just a simple message, if you were a good employee he might help recommend you to his colleagues it’s all about networking , good luck, stay positive
Have you applied for unemployment? The fact that they falsely characterized it as performance related, which is obviously immoral and suggests you cannot trust these people further than you can throw them, suggests they were possibly trying to avoid you being able to collect unemployment by lying about the nature of your discharge.
Finding a good job is typically about who you know. I would absolutely respond to the email and say you are well but still looking for a job. You don’t have to give a big sob story. He knows the truth about the layoffs and his hands were likely tied about how much he could say. That is just the nature of business and the corporate world.
If you liked this person, stay in touch.
I’m thinking they regret it and want you back. Respond (or not) according to how you feel about possibly returning to work there
Never burn bridges if you don’t have to.
Life is long. You bump into people down the road.
Yes I’d respond – never want to burn bridges professionaly.
I’d be honest without sounding whiny. I’d explain that up to the time I took the 3 days PTO my performance was stellar. I hadn’t been made aware of any shortcomings with my performance, so being laid off, for the reasons offered, blindsided me. I’d ask if there was something I could do better in the interest of professional growth (but really to see if they could provide a real reason for the lay off).
I’d message back that you’re looking for a job still, had some really great interviews and are weighing options as you’re feeling pretty good about them.
Best case scenario, they ask you to come back, you go back for a few weeks or months to get a paycheck but then leave when you actually land a new job.
Might want to bring you back as a contractor.
If the company is doing that bad he’s probably fishing for new job leads and hoping you’ve got some at a new company. Or maybe he’s genuinely concerned with how you are doing. It shouldn’t hurt to respond, maybe he’ll have some advice or leads himself.
Respond.
Be pleasant.
Find out what he wants.
I have gotten a callback at one point in my career. I turned it down but it was an interesting conversation.
Respond professionally and politely.
Keep it short.
If you have any interest in going back, I’d say respond and see where it goes. What to say is a different problem. Worse case is it leads to nothing. Even if you don’t want to go back, it could still be okay to keep that connection.
I had an old employer do that to me once. I responded back just because I was curious. But it was nothing more than to see how I was doing. Nothing else. I regretted responding because I felt it gave them the satisfaction. But of course each situation is different.
Also, IF they offered the job back, would you take it? Or would you be too embarrassed to go back? If you wouldn’t take it, then I wouldn’t bother.
If you want your job back then respond and be friendly. It sounds like they had to cut costs quickly and didn’t have a good way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Your director may be reaching out to you because he knows your work is good and you wouldn’t have gotten laid off if there was a proper accounting of resources before layoffs were made.
You’ve got a great negotiating position if they want you back. Don’t be afraid to leverage it for a better position and compensation if you decide to work there again.
The fact that he is reaching out to you shows that they genuinely cared about you as an employee. Maybe the reasoning for the termination was masked as you say, but contrary to what many people think of managers, most do care and don’t like letting people go
Never hurts to respond. Never burn a bridge.
I personally would not respond, which is clearly not the majority opinion. The circumstances around your leaving sound shady as hell (on their side, not yours) and my first thought is that they’re scrambling to cover their asses somehow and are trying to get you to sign/say/do something. I’d steer clear and make a clean break, in case there’s fallout coming.