Tips for getting back up on feet after being laid off 6

[MiataMan]

Hi all, i am a plumbing & fire protection engineer with 3 years experience in NYC. Like the title says i was unfortunately laid off just yesterday. I had left my last company of 3 years on very good terms to pursue a new position just a few weeks ago. However, after just 2 weeks of working the CEO terminated my employment stating that i "falsified" my qualifications. I don't agree with it. He had contacted me on Linkedin desperate to fill a position since his senior engineer with 15+ years experience was leaving soon (He was only there 2 months). After an interview with his associates, who were not in the plumbing & fire protection field and did not ask me any technical questions, he extended a very high offer to me which i could not refuse. However, upon starting the job i had soon realized that the department was in shambles and i could not handle the work they were giving me.

I'm already over it, i just want to move on with my life and be more wary of the offers im given in the future. Luckily i have supportive friends, family, and former coworkers are even reaching out to me. I live with my parents and have no loans thankfully. My questions are:

-I still have Cobra insurance to accept from my last job, but its very expensive, is there another option?
-When searching for a new job, should i even mention this job since it only lasted 2 weeks? The next employer would appreciate my honesty if i just straight up told them i wasn't the right fit for the position and was laid off. But i also don't want it to hurt my chances of gaining employment. I doubt i even qualify for unemployment at this point.
-I'm looking at this as an opportunity to start fresh. With plumbing & fire protection engineering experience, what other paths could i take? Finance? Anything in the healthcare field? Maybe work for MTA or ConEd/National Grid? I have my EIT, plenty of 2D CAD experience, and knowledge of NFPA/plumbing codes.

Thank you all in this time of need.

 

[MiataMan]

The thing is, my direct supervisor was the CEO of the company. The Plumbing & Fire protection dept only consisted of a part time senior adviser engineer, me, and another engineer that was forced to switch from HVAC to Plb&FP. I only answered to the CEO.

 

[MiataMan]

Its interesting that you had the experience of working in finance Glass99. Good to know that option is there if it ever comes to that. Sometimes i wonder if i should go back to school and get a degree for nursing or PT/OT, etc. so i don't have to deal with all the corporate nonsense. But then that would set me back for years.

 

[Triangled]

Call a lawyer regarding signed piece of paper, and talk to him about wrongful termination etcetera etcetera etcetera, not because you want to work there, but to leverage the, uh, ummm, hmmmm ..... not so nice guy- shall we say(?)- to release you're signed piece of paper. He had you sign it because he is afraid if something.
...
...
...uh, and I'm sure you don't need this, but, just in case....don't ever do something so stupid again.

And, by the way, be glad you're not working for that psycho any longer.

 

[KENAT]

Nurses don't have to deal with corporate nonsense, news to me - unless you mean working in a small clinic which one assumes may have many of same issues as 'small offices' can.

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[MikeHalloran]

Do apply for unemployment immediately, just to get the ball rolling there. Tell them what happened honestly. They have probably heard of the psycho who fired you already, and they will make their own determination about your eligibility.

The unemployment office can also help you tune up your job-finding skills.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[MacGyverS2000]

The unemployment office can also help you tune up your job-finding skills.

Excepting blue collar jobs, I have never found this to be the case (despite their requirements to let them "help you"). The unemployment office never has anyone working there that is keen enough on true engineering work, so your resume will look mumbo jumbo to them. Some of the suggestions they have made over the years to make me more "marketable" were so unbelievably bad I have flat out told them "There is no way on Earth I would ever destroy this record of my career by doing the asinine things you claim will help me get a job." I'm an electrical engineer who does software/firmware, so to them I should be thankful for a job working at the local power company... "It's electrical, and that fits your degree."

I look at the unemployment office as a necessary evil with a slew of hoops I must jump through to get meager financial aid in dire circumstances... but they are far from helpful or useful.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[TheTick]

When I was laid off in 2011, I was compelled to go through a job-hunting skills workshop. I never had to do this before. This amounted to little more than ritual humiliation.

 

[KENAT]

Yep, if you don't have a clue they may be able to help you get up to a very basic level. Beyond that for professional type work, or at least technical stuff they are at best limited at worst counter productive.

In fairness this goes not just to the unemployment office but also to some of the 'resume doctor' type folks who claim to be able to spruce up your resume & certainly applies to many of the news & web articles about how to write your resume.

Most of them are far too general to be of much help in a moderately specialized field like ours.

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[truckandbus]

faced this a few times from both sides over the years.

-having left a company I was called by them three times over the following 5 years to see if I was still happy with my career move and to let me know there was a spot for me if I wanted to come back. 15 years later when my last company closed they called again to see if I needed a position. Lesson learned? Don't burn bridges, be professional when resigning

-having had employees leave me and want to come back - two of them did me a favour in resigning and I didn't hire them back when the tried to return. Three i hired back with no hard feelings. You never know if one day you will be working for them

 

[MiataMan]

I am about to speak with my old boss in a few. Very good advice here all around. I'm glad i didn't burn my bridges at my last job. The dilemma now is that i face the possibility of returning to my former position with lower than market value compensation and projects, now apparent to me, are not challenging or broad enough. On the other side of the fence, i could be searching for a new job for months before i find anything... and from the looks of it i will have zero income that entire time.

 

[TheTick]

You could possibly return as a contract employee, with the understanding that you are looking for better work.

 

[MiataMan]

Hmm never thought of that TheTick but that sounds like something i can discuss with him. By the way, i spoke with an employment lawyer. He said the paper i signed doesn't mean much, just that it will be harder to claim unemployment. He told me this is not an uncommon situation, and that most people would just leave this past job off the resume.

 

[urgross]

The piece of paper ypou signed could have an impact on when you are elegible for unemployment. I've previously had to hire counsel for my wife wheen she was wrongfully terminated and the employer stated it was for cause. Dumb move by the former employer, as my wife was the accountant for the firm.

My first consulting job I encountered the same situation. Having pictues with farm animals (not literally, but I was dealing with a jackass)translated into a nice 5 gigure settlement, plus immediate unemployment for being fired without cause. Funny thing, 25 years later this same jackass came to me looking to drum up consu;lting business. Have to admit, I was not above intense verbal disparagement until the idiot left my office.

Either don't deal with them again or be ready to play hardball.

 

[rotw]

quoted
The dilemma now is that i face the possibility of returning to my former position with lower than market value compensation and projects, now apparent to me, are not challenging or broad enough. On the other side of the fence, i could be searching for a new job for months before i find anything... and from the looks of it i will have zero income that entire time.
unquoted

Don't be picky. If you have any chance to be hired back in the old company just go for it without any conditions.
Once you secure this, after that everything is possible.

I wish you good luck.

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

 

[KENAT]

Well, I wouldn't take the 'cap in hand' approach too far - depending on your risk tolerance.

You've shown them that you are willing to leave for better remuneration, so you might at least think if there's a way to mention that was the reason to your old boss and see if there's anything you can work out between you to avoid you being in the same situation a year from now. However, I'm not sure I have the negotiating skill so to pull that one off so take my idea with a pinch of salt.

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[1gibson]

I'd expect the elephant in the room will be that if they want him back at all, they will make an offer that is higher than what he was making when he left. Even just a small raise would be needed, so both sides feel a little more comfortable with the arrangement.

No matter who has the upper hand, it would be awkward to say "can I come back, and can you pay me more?" Much more natural to say "thanks for the advice, you were right it didn't work out" and then leave it to the employer to make an offer. Obviously if it's for the same salary, they know he will still be job hunting, so what's the point?

I left my previous job with a written offer (for a higher salary) in hand to come back any time. That number would have definitely kept me there had it come around in my previous negotiations, which ended with me making it crystal clear that I was looking around (risky so I wouldn't suggest that.) The fact that it took me putting in my notice to get the offer did not sit well, not my style (which I had also made clear!) so they knew I wasn't going to stay. But, no hard feelings and I've still got that letter.

 

[MiataMan]

Its a tough situation indeed, but i'd rather have some awkwardness than long term unemployment right now. I just spoke with him, there's a young guy that was given an offer they want to train from the ground up. So it would depend on whether he accepts the position or not right now. In the mean time, i'll be applying all around.

 

[ctopher]

MiataMan,
You're still in college?

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 14
SolidWorks Legion

 

[MiataMan]

Ctopher,
I've been out for a few years now.

 

[GHartmann]

The quick time frame probably makes going back to your old company a little easier. You can come in "cap in hand", "tail between legs", and just state the new job wasn't what was professed and did not work out and that you really enjoyed working with old employer. (A few little "white lies" won't hurt)

IMHO you have little chance of coming on board "on contract" with the company knowing you are looking.

It all depends on how tolerant you of the "hat in hand" method and how much you liked your prior job.

I really don't see the downside of asking to come back (except getting a rude NO in response). But to me that beats the hard effort to find a new job and all the no responses / cold leads you get.