Employment consultant Martha Finney doesn't pull any punches when she talks about layoffs. "The very first thing we should all do is just cop to the fact that it could be us," she says. "If we're drawing a paycheck, we could be losing that paycheck. Period." Her new book, Rebound: A Proven Plan for Starting Over After Job Loss (FT Press) is intended for those who are nervous about their job security or find themselves on the unemployment line. With 3.6 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007, that's a lot of people. TIME senior reporter Andrea Sachs reached Finney at her office in Santa Fe, N.M.
What if someone tells you that you're being let go? What do you do and
say at that awful moment?
Keep your mouth shut. Keep your hand away from the pen. Sign
nothing. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Ask questions. At the risk of
sounding adversarial — and I don't like to do that because I'm a huge booster
of the HR profession — these people have a script. HR and the layoff managers
are war-gamed against a script because they need to protect themselves
legally. If you only ask questions, in a really calm way, you can get them
to move off-script. And when they move off-script, they could say something
that you can use in your favor. Not necessarily against them, but certainly
in your favor. So don't sign the severance package at that moment; find out
what their reasoning was behind you being selected as someone to lay off.
And expect a nondescript answer. "It wasn't you — it's us." That typical
breakup line. (See the worst business deals of 2008.)
What if you burst into tears?
I think that's completely normal and natural. I think if you're dealing with
a humane terminating manager and a humane HR person, their hearts are
breaking too. It's just painful all around.
Is it O.K. to express that you think the layoff is unfair, if you
think it really shouldn't have been you?
Probably not. The reason why is that it makes no difference. They're not
suddenly going to press the rewind button and totally unlay you off. It's
just going to make you look petulant, and it's going to leave a bad taste in
everybody's mouth. And you're going to look back and say, "Gosh, I wish I
hadn't said that." It gets you nowhere, and dignity will get you everywhere. (See the top 10 financial collapses of 2008.)
Is there any point in writing down what's been said to you?
Absolutely. In fact, even if what is being said to you seems innocuous, if
you take that document to an attorney who looks it over and knows what he's
looking for, there could be something buried in that document that can give
you leverage for a more substantial severance package or even a wrongful-termination suit. It's going to give you bargaining leverage, ultimately.
And again, never sign the severance agreement right then and there. It's
ridiculous that it takes you much longer to buy a car than it does to lose
your job. Nobody ever expects anybody on a reasonable basis to sign any
document under duress. It's completely realistic, reasonable to expect to
take that document home or a copy of it so that you can look at it with
your spouse, look at it with your attorney. There are all sorts of things
embedded in a severance package that you can negotiate to your favor, even
if it means negotiating an extra month of health insurance.
Who do your files belong to? Are you allowed to take them?
No. Your files are company property. If you have extra time, if they give
you a couple of weeks to tidy up business, you can probably use your contact
list, because those are relationships that you carry with you, to let people
know that you're leaving. You can set the tone for why you're leaving
without making you sound vindictive. But in terms of company property and
documents and company secrets, those belong to the company, and you should
leave them alone.
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