22 Signs You're About To Be Laid Off

Sometimes a layoff takes employees by surprise. But there are usually signs, if you are paying attention. Here are some signs the company may be cutting back:

• Paychecks bounce or are late: If your paycheck bounces or is late once, okay, maybe a glitch. But if it happens more than once, it's fair to assume the company is in trouble. Don't let them get further and further behind. If they aren't paying you, start looking and get the heck out of there.
• Vendor checks bounce or are late: If vendors start complaining they haven't been paid, the company is probably  having financial trouble.
• Job postings: It's good to keep track of company job postings. If you see a posting that looks suspiciously like your job, but it has a different title or lower pay, you are probably going to be "eliminated."
• Out of the loop: If you're suddenly excluded from meetings, told to hand over information about your projects to someone else, they suddenly want you to describe from A to Z every single thing you do and how, or they suddenly want you to turn over all your business contacts, you're probably about to be replaced.
• Budget cuts: A company in trouble may cancel projects or put projects on hold, start watching every single paper clip bought, or limit business travel and entertainment. Maybe that coffee quality drops or is eliminated. Free sodas and snacks disappear. That's a sign there's financial trouble.
• Losses or revenue drops: If you have access to the company financials, some big losses, a major customer loss, or a severe or lengthy drop in revenue can signal long term financial trouble. If the company's product becomes the equivalent of a horse buggy, if a big product flops or fails to launch, if there's bad press, if the stock price drops, the company is in trouble.
• Hiring freeze: When anyone leaves, someone else has to absorb their job. Double the work for the same pay. Fun! Time to start looking.
• Supervisors are leaving: If your boss gets laid off or leaves, it may be time to look elsewhere. A new boss could want their own team, and many times bosses leaving can signal financial or other trouble in the department. If your bosses start taking their personal items home, that's a sign they're headed out.
• Whispers and closed door meetings: If management starts having secret meetings or whispering, there is something afoot. It probably isn't good. 
• Reassignments and restructuring: If entire teams starting being reassigned, positions restructured, even if it isn't your department yet, that's a sign there is some trouble brewing.
• You lose access to email: If your password stops working for emails and other company documents, it's possible HR had a miscommunication with tech about when to pull the trigger. It may well not be a glitch. If you ask about it and there seems to be a lot of confusion and stammering, you're already gone.
• Training: You're told to train a new employee in every aspect of your job. That's your replacement.
• Won't look at you: If management or even coworkers suddenly can't look you in the eye, avoid you, or stop talking when you're nearby, you're being let go.
• They used the words: If bosses start discussing or hinting about layoffs, restructuring, cutbacks, outsourcing, offshoring, or other similar terms, believe them.
• Prior layoffs: If there has been a round (or more) of layoffs already, assume you could be next.
• Conference rooms booked: If all the conference rooms are booked, especially if by HR, and even more especially if tissue boxes appear in them, a mass layoff is coming.
• Security: If security guards start appearing, or if there is a sudden police presence, today is possibly layoff day.
• Boss gets weird: If your boss starts acting odd, gives you a bad vibe, loses interest in your projects, looks uncomfortable, they may know something you don't about your future.
• Raises on hold: If the company freezes wages, that's a sign there's financial trouble.
• They tell you: If you have write-ups or disciplines, you are on notice you might lose your job. If they send you a WARN notice, there's definitely going to be a layoff.
• Merger or acquisition: If your company is merging or being gobbled up by another company, there will be consolidations and cutbacks. This is always a very risky time.
• HR wants to meet: If you're called into a meeting with HR, and they don't tell you what it's about, you may be getting let go at that meeting.

With some of these, you have enough warning to start looking elsewhere. If you are blindsided, just listen and take in the information. Don't do anything drastic or sign a severance agreement. Ask for copies of anyting they want you to sign and read carefully. Take to a lawyer if you don't understand or think you have potential claims.

I Think I'm About To Be Fired! What Do I Do?

With layoffs happening in droves right now, many people are wondering what to do if the axe falls. While this is a stressful time, it’s also an opportunity to prepare. Here are some things to think about if you are about to be fired or laid off:

• Potential claims: If you think you’re being singled out due to race, age, sex or national origin, start writing down the ways you believe you’ve been treated differently. If you are objecting to or refusing to participate in something illegal, make sure you document it. A discrimination or whistleblower claim might give you leverage to negotiate a better severance package. Now might be a good time to have a strategy session with an employee-side employment lawyer about how to document your case.
• Look for a job: No matter why you may lose your job, polish your resume. It's way easier to get a job if you have a job. Don't procrastinate.
• Signing termination papers and severance agreements: If your employer hands you a resignation or termination paper to sign and you’re not getting any severance, take a pass. If you will receive severance, be careful before signing an agreement. You may wind up agreeing to something costing you more than the amount of your severance, such as a requirement to turn down a job offer from a competitor. If the employer wants you to sign a non-compete clause and the restriction is longer than the number of weeks of severance, it’s probably not worth signing unless you’re going into an entirely new field. If you don’t understand everything in your severance agreement, have a lawyer review it with you to discuss claims you may have that could be potential leverage that you have that might get you a better package, and any changes to the agreement language that are necessary. 
• Exit interviews: Some companies say you’ll need to give an exit interview after you’ve been fired. That’s because firms use exit interviews to cover themselves in case departing employees later claim discrimination or something illegal. Here’s the truth about an exit interview: Your employer can’t make you go to one. I’d suggest not giving an exit interview unless the firm offers to pay you the equivalent of your salary for the time it takes to do one. The trouble with exit interviews is that anything you say can come back to bite you later. I’ve seen people who were accused of making threats or engaging in inappropriate behavior during their exit interviews. If you do have the session, avoid the temptation to blast your supervisors or complain about their incompetence or mismanagement. Remember: These are the people who will be giving references to potential employers. So no matter what you think of them, hold your tongue. It could serve you well in the future. 
• Gather your documents: Start gathering documentation of anything they owe you (commissions, bonuses, contracts, etc.), proof of any deals still in the pipeline you think you may be entitled to be paid on after you leave, copies of all employment agreements, confidentiality agreements and noncompete agreements you signed, your performance reviews, evaluations, commendations, awards, write-ups, disciplines, recommendation letters -- anything you can get about your performance, bad or good anything else you think might be useful to a lawyer or to unemployment. Copy any thank you notes, letters or great comments you’ve received from your boss; take any plaques, certificates and awards home (in case you’ll be asked to leave abruptly) and get a copy of your personnel file if you can, as well as the employee handbook and benefits policies. Be discreet, though. Don’t empty out your office in one day. If you do, your employer may say you quit. 

Hopefully you'll never be in the situation of losing your job, but be ready if you think it's about to happen. When the axe falls, you'll be too stunned to act rationally. Next week I'll talk about what to do during that termination meeting and right after.