I Got Laid Off...And then Unlaid Off

April 14, 2011

So this date is why we got so behind in blogging. It started a chain reaction that made our heads spin and we're finally getting an opportunity to take a breath. On this day I was given notice that I was being laid off. I'd worked for Bank of America for 8 years. This morning I was brought into my manager's office and told my last official day would be in 2 weeks on 4/29/11. They made me leave right away though. I went to my cubicle, grabbed my personal stuff and was escorted to the exit.

I had mixed emotions. I suddenly was looking at the prospect of having to job hunt in a weak job market and having to worry about income which was never a concern for the last several years which was initially daunting. But I didn't like my job, was getting a nice severance package that would pay me as normal for the next 4 months, would get unemployment checks for 18 months if needed and now had an exciting chance to do something else. I felt good about it.

Jen freaked out initially but I told her not to worry because this is what we needed. We had been wrestling with moving to Texas for affordable housing or staying in California and buying an over-priced home. Now the choice was easy.

It was strange the first few days. After getting up early to go to work every day I felt weird when suddenly I didn't have to do that. I got to sleep in and be house husband. I realized Jen would be the bread winner, my sugar mamma. I'd get to roll out of bed well rested, workout and get ripped, do some shopping, a little cleaning here and there, make dinner for Jen when she comes home, and take care of the baby when it's here. I'd teach the baby to love sports and their first word would be, "Touchdown!"

Jen dashed that fantasy quickly. Apparently she called dibs on the stay at home parent job a while back. Dang it, I'm too slow! Oh, well. I was still in good standing with Bank of America. They were just reducing the work force so I was still able to transfer to another location possibly. Now I had been trying to do this for the last 9 months with no luck what-so-ever. The bank has a large presence in Plano, TX and I would regularly apply for a position in the online Bank of America website like I was supposed to and I'd get back emails weeks later that the position was filled or I wasn't going to be considered for an interview. It was frustrating.

A friend of mine who had been laid off by Bank of America a while back and got hired back on gave me the name of the recruiter that he dealt with. So I sent the recruiter an email and asked if she could help me at least get my resume in front of someone. The next day she emailed me back with a position listing and asked what I thought of it. I said that's fine. Then she told me that's great and you have an interview tomorrow. Say what?! Nothing for months in going the normal route online and I just send an email to this person and I have an interview in 24 hours. It's not what you know it's who you know I guess. The interview was over the phone with someone in Texas and it went well. A week later they say they want to do an in person interview with someone in the department that works in California. That went well. I get home from that interview and a couple hours later the recruiter calls me and says I got the job. Huh?! One email to the recruiter and I have a job in a week!

So my old manager calls me later that day and says he needs a paper from my severance package folder to stop the layoff. The next day was going to be my last official day so they just wanted to stop the layoff and do the transfer. Went in to the office and everyone was happy for me. It was nice to now get a chance to say goodbye to everyone. We stopped the layoff and I talked with my new manager who wanted me to start as soon as possible. We agreed I was going to take a week of vacation to give me time to start packing things and make the drive out here. The plan is to pack as much as possible, drive out to Texas to start working, and come get Jen and all our stuff later.

Next: The clock is ticking. Lots to do in a week...