700 IT people are planned to be laid off next Friday. Of course I am one of those.
In between Friday February 19, when the warn notices went out, and today a lot has transpired in peoples lives; people without warn notices have gone on with their lives. Some have found new positions within Boeing and are in the process of changing jobs; some have found work outside of Boeing and are in the process of leaving Boeing; some have decided that they have had enough and have decided to retire. These unforeseen circumstances in those without warn notices are causing last minute reprieves for those of us that do have notices.
Today, I was fortunate to be called into one of these interviews. It was set up sort of like a regular structured interview, only quite a bit less formal. Since their is no job requisition, I could not prepare for the interview like I would have. Instead, I looked up everything I could find on the manager, the group and thought about my times in the past that I had dealings with this group.
There was one question that almost stumped me. I think it was partially a psychological block on my part. The question was “Think of a time when you had to make a decision quickly.” It must have been those words “make decison quickly” that just blanked my mind out; I took a long time to think of something to talk about. It wasn’t that I couldn’t decide; it was that my mind was blank. After what seemed to be an eternity, my brain thawed and I was able to provide a good answer. Not sure what the effects of the brain freeze will have on my chances of getting the position.
After the formal interview was over there was time for my questions. I asked about the timing of the decision. They will have made the decision this afternoon; I may already have the position. They needed to make the decision so that they could inform HR before the end of the day. '
Over the weekend HR will create a no post requisition and have this ready for Monday. Then the candidate will be contacted on Monday. At this point the candidate has to take the position or they will have to forfeit their severance package and priority return rights to Boeing and they will be laid off come Friday. If I was not wanting to retain a position with Boeing I would not have accepted the interview in the first place. There are plenty of people that want to stay on, refusing an interview wouldn’t cause any surprise or concern.
So Monday, I find out. This isn’t a job the prefect job that I had in mind, but it has several advantages. First, it allows me to feel somewhat secure financially. Second, it allows me to keep looking inside and outside of Boeing for a better position. There may be a limit on how soon I can transfer out of the position to another position within Boeing. I have asked this question of HR but have not heard back. Third, it creates a bridge between now and a better economy. The economy has improved quite a bit in the last few months and it looks like it will continue on this course. If Boeing moves into one of it’s growth modes, then finding another position becomes much easier within the company.
One of the biggest downfalls with this position is that it is still in IT. The word on the street is that IT is not done taking big cuts and I don’t want to be the last rat left on deck. So finding a new position is a top priority for me, even if I find out that I’m still employed come next Friday.
I think I have mentioned it here before, but today I received a email from someone who had just found out, so I thought I would re-mention it. On the day you are laid off, since your status changes from from being a Boeing employee to being a non-Boeing employee, all the internal jobs that we have applied for go away because we are deemed ineligible for the positions. This seems like a stupid waste on Boeing’s part to me. They should let these complete and if you are deemed a good candidate for the job you should get in to interview.
I keep applying anyways, just because it is so easy; but I have lost faith that anything is going to happen with the 10 or so jobs I have applied for this week. The normal process is just too slow for these to be helpful to my situation.
Next week should be a interesting week
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