Fired for Now: Getting fired, laid off, and hired again

Image sourced from Google Images (sorry Microsoft)

Is it just me, or is Microsoft determined to topple Google every chance it gets (to no avail), even when it comes to layoffs?

No sooner did Google announce their first-ever layoffs of 100 recruiters on Wednesday, but the next day sources at the Wall Street Journal learned that Microsoft is considering “significant workforce reductions across multiple divisions”, although it stopped short of … Continue Reading

You’ve been fired or laid off. You oscillate between feeling angry, afraid, inadequate, frustrated, or depressed – and chances are anyone you live with knows it.

The practical impact of joblessness is self-evident, but when a marriage starts to crack under the stress, or children feel their parents become emotionally unavailable or lash out at them, the toll can be far worse.

Yesterday I learned of one organization that’s stepping up to help with just that. Next month, the Catholic Family Services of Durham Region, encompassing many bedroom communities just east of Toronto, is implementing a new program called the Centre for … Continue Reading

Every few months Jobfox publishes a list of the top 25 job categories in demand by employers and recruiters (see below). Jobfox is a relatively new entry in career sites founded in 2004 by Rob McGovern, former CEO and founder of CareerBuilder, so it’s got some pedigree behind it.

And if I believe what their latest list says, I’m definitely off the A list and on my way to the B list. There’s probably a C, D and E list in this economy too, but let’s not quibble over details. The net take-away is that I’m not one of America’s … Continue Reading

You can’t finish up a year without 10-Best-Lists appearing everywhere, not to mention 10-Worst-Lists too. So it only figures that someone came up with the 10 Worst Employees of the Year. This one seems to have originated with CareerBuilder.com (10 Worst Employees 2008) and it’s proliferated like mosquitoes in a swamp across the media, both on and offline.

On the other hand, the list naming the 10 Worst Corporations of 2008 hardly made a dent in the media rounds. (10 Worst Corporations of 2008). Do we take more delight in the fall of the individual, more specifically, in ordinary … Continue Reading

You have a bullet-proof resume, stellar references, and you just aced the interview with the HR manager for the job you really, really want to get. But you don’t get it.

Who knew that sharing would come back to bite you and leave a huge black mark on your job application? After all, we all grew up being reminded over and over that sharing is a good thing.

Well, it turns out some companies are now using social networking sites to check out job candidates. And social media has made it easier than … Continue Reading

Image by Leraism

With the glut of bad layoff news coming daily, you wouldn’t think we’re living in a time that shows progress. However, based on the astounding insensitivity of Northwest Airlines two years ago, you may actually think employer-employee relations have evolved.

In 2006, Northwest announced massive layoffs. This was back when the company was struggling for survival before its recent merger with Delta. Along with pink-slips, they began handing each laid-off employee a booklet called “101 Ways to Save Money.”

Included in this prize of helpful hints … Continue Reading