WHAT I DID AFTER BEING RETRENCHED
After I was retrenched, I took my time to say a proper goodbye to colleagues I had worked with for years, giving me the closure I needed. It also gave me the opportunity to ask them to endorse my skills and write a short recommendation for me on LinkedIn.
Like many others facing financial or visa issues after being retrenched, I needed to find a job as quickly as possible. I decided to make a positive announcement on LinkedIn about the change in my employment status, sharing what I was looking for next. This brought in many opportunities.
With plenty of free time after being laid off, I decided to invest in myself by signing up for a professional project management course. I also updated my profile on LinkedIn and rewrote my resume to summarize what I had accomplished over the last few years. When sending out resumes, I customized my cover letters, showing the companies I applied for jobs with that I understood what they needed and that I was the ideal candidate.
Most importantly, I tried to keep my confidence up.
Was I really in the bottom 5 percent at Zendesk? I don’t have the answer to that. I probably will never know why I was let go, but that’s okay. Companies need to make cost adjustments to survive. They have to make hard decisions and let some brilliant people go; it is just business.
With referrals from friends and colleagues, and unconditional support from my wife, I was fortunate enough to have several leads and have had multiple successful interviews. If everything goes according to plan, I will join a new company this month.
Yes, it still stinks that my time with Zendesk ended so abruptly. But nothing lasts forever, especially on a business level. I choose to think of being retrenched in a positive manner: Being retrenched is our last yet greatest contribution to our companies. We have helped them to cut costs; we have saved them from failing. We are heroes.
Han Li is a localization enthusiast and specializes in bringing tech products to the world.
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