A RL Job Search Dynasty

[CraigSca]

Ok, I've thought about posting about this for a while now, but I've always talked myself out of it. Why? Well, I guess in a way I'm always a little bit guarded when it comes to what I present on the Internet. My life, my family, etc., that's all personal stuff. Okay, occasionally I'll post a flippant comment or two in the main forums, but that's about it.

So...I'm presenting this out there to the community as a "stop me now" or forever hold your peace. Should I post a dynasty about my job search? One, would there be any interest? Two, is there a possibility that I could harm my search by posting here? I would like to divulge as much as possible - I'll certainly keep the company names out of it, but I want to be honest here. What's the sense if you're not telling the truth, right?

So...let me know - I (and possibly you) have a lot of catching up to do.

[Barkeep49]

I'm interested. I tend to like the RL dynasties around here which is why I started posting my own.

[CraigSca]

Okay...I'll give this is a shot. If it earns a collective yawn from the masses, then it's obviously not worth it and I'll put it to bed.

Let's start at the beginning...

I've been working at a company as a pre-sales engineer for almost two years now. A pre-sales engineer basically works hand-in-hand with either a single or a few salespeople as the technical piece of the sales cycle. We generally know the product inside and out, but we also have the ability to present and develop a rapport with the customer. It's our job to aid the sales cycle, design the implementation and perhaps manage the project as well. In a company as small as mine, we wear all hats, so not only do we perform the pre-sales side, we also install the product and we're the customer's first line of defense when the product has a problem.

Day 0

Received a call from my manager today, but I couldn't pick up because I was at a customer site, fixing a problem with one of our installations. Was informed of a company meeting (our main location is on the west coast, so I would be dialing in). Very rarely does my manager call me, as we run a pretty autonomous operation here. Had a conference call right before the company meeting, so I took part in that. During that call my manager attempted to call me again. Dialed into the company meeting and was informed of a re-org...hmm...interesting. I can't go into specifics (obviously), but it seems some jobs were "moved around" (read whatever you want into that). After the meeting, finally got in touch with my manager who, in a completely surreal moment, let me know that my services will no longer be needed. This is the second time this has happened to me in the past 4 years. I can't even begin to describe the sensations (literally) felt - I feel sick inside. I have a wife, two young children, a mortgage, and, up until a few minutes ago, a job I liked. Immediately I begin to panic a bit...we have some money saved...I'm offered a package, but it's less than half the package I was offered when I was laid off previously (different company). Ok...I need to figure this out in my head...how long do I have before the savings and the retirement money runs out...?

Walked downstairs to tell my wife...she, like me, was caught completely off guard. She tells me we'll be okay...we'll get through it. I hope so.