Do we ever really know when we are about to be laid off?

Depending on the circumstances, then yes. If the economy is very bad and all the banks are reporting losses, if the company is bankrupt, if the parent company decides to shut your area down, if the CEO does a Bernie Madoff and cannot pay the investors back. Or worst-case scenario, if a co-worker tells you.

I knew I was going to lose my job several years when I was working for a small derivatives company in New York. The new owners of our parent company said that they were shutting down our division, which took some time to do, so the adjustment of being laid off was able to sink in during this time.

Fast forward to London almost two years later, and I was working in a now-government controlled bank when my manager called me into a room and said: "I have a vision for the team and you are not in that vision". Ouch! I had been on that team for a paltry three months, and it was my first job in London. I was not the only person he told this to that day; two other co-workers were also given the same speech.

I was put through the ringer again last year at another bank, after having my contract renewed several times, I was told I was no longer needed - with one week's notice! I was expecting it (but not really expecting it). This was last October, near the peak of the financial meltdown. I was thrown out and into the abyss.

And what about being told that you are no longer needed by a boss who has never laid off an employee before?

Earlier this year at this now-government controlled bank, layoffs were happening right and left, and many people were expecting to be laid off at any moment. As I had been laid off before, it was no surprise to me when my boss asked me to step into an office one sunny Wednesday morning. As he said that I was no longer needed, it was clear he was nervous as his voice was slightly shaking. Meanwhile, as I expected it, I was calm, cool, and collected.

At this point, I have so much experience in this matter, I should put in on my CV.

Another bank I used to work for has now resorted to instantaneously getting rid of employees by mobile phone. They either call them in the morning to tell them not to come in to work that day, or they call them in the evening to tell them not to come in the next day. Talk about harsh! What ever happened to the days of giving a month's notice? Most temp contracts state a week notice on both sides, however, in the past year, we could use a little more generosity since times are tough and jobs are scarce.

Getting laid off was easy because it was out of my control, the hard part now is to actually find a job in which to get laid off from again!

Here Is The Writer : Tim Baros

Tim Baros has worked in the derivatives industry for several large financial institutions in both the U.S. and the U.K., and one now-defunct financial products company. Tim moved from New York City to London in 2003 to take advantage of the many job opportunities that London had to offer in the banking sector, easily qualifying for a Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Visa. Unemployed but now a UK resident, Tim spends some of his day looking for another job in finance and other parts of the day either at the gym, in the pubs, clubs, or just about anywhere, really.

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