A mass layoff by your company is a unique opportunity for Career Change.

Analyst are predicting that Cisco will lay-off 5,000 employees, which is a 7% global workforce reduction.

Note that not having this confirmed or denied by the company leadership can have a worse impact on morale than the actual layoffs.

There is probably a lot of fear, frustration, and anxiety swirling around the global Cisco organization right now, and it doesn’t lessen the sting when the reason that’s been announced is related to maintaining “competitiveness”.

You find when companies announce massive layoffs it impacts more than those that are being laid off.

It usually affects everyone in the organization including the peers of those being laid off (who feel victimized and scared) and the executives at the top that are doing the laying off (guilty and burdened).

It doesn’t sound like very much fun at Cisco, does it?

Even if you are not going through this now, most people I know have gone through this at least once in their career (usually multiple times).

The good news for you (even if you work at Cisco) is that in troubling corporate times there are benefits.

Even when people are getting laid off in masses you can still have:

• Peace of Mind for Your Career
• Major Opportunity for Promotion
• Big Earning Opportunities

Keep reading to find out why…

Peace of Mind for your Career

Take a breath.  Understand that this is part of working for a large company.  It does not mean the ship is sinking, nor does it mean it’s time to jump ship.

There are millions of people that have gone through massive layoffs (I have one friend that has been through 7).

There are people that stay and ones that go but this is part of the new “traditional” career path.

There is very little stigma for being laid off in the marketplace today in these situations and it is likely not going to be held against you in your next job.

Being laid off in masse is practically becoming part of “earning your stripes” in Corporate.

This also means that laying people off is part of your career path as well.  Obviously this is difficult but doing it as thoughtfully and carefully as possible can help you down the road in your career.

Keep in mind that when you lay someone off you might be working for this same person one day at another company.

Major Opportunities for Promotion

The churning up at Corp can result in turmoil and chaos, but it also represents opportunities for advancement and promotion.

In this situations, the organizational structure usually changes and with fewer people at the company it can provide more opportunity for advancement (albeit a heavier workload in the short term).

Huge Negotiating Leverage

This may be a surprise but during big layoffs you can have huge negotiating leverage.

It seems that most people believe they have less leverage during layoffs, but consider if there are fewer people around then there are fewer people that can do your job if you leave.

Frequently, Corp ask employees to double up on jobs when employees are ousted and this can be the perfect time to ask for compensation for the additional workload (even if it is temporary).

Also you can consider strategically requesting a move into a different area of the company (that you are more interested in or passionate about).

While most companies that are in layoffs don’t allow external hires they still permit internal transfers (and other areas may be hurting for people).

If you are looking for ways to benefit from mass layoffs at Corp, click here to schedule a free 20 minute call.

You will walk away with 3 specific steps to take.

To your Crossroads!

Executive X

Executivecrossroads.com