So about those Microsoft layoffs...

"Garrett Davis" (GarrettDavis)
07/17/2014 at 15:30 • Filed to: None

Looks like I need to freshen up my resume. I got my walking papers today.

Fun fact, those slips aren't actually pink. Myth busted.

Also, have a Ford GT:

DISCUSSION (86)

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:31

Shit dude, that sucks.

MonkeePuzzle > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:32

wow :( must have been a crowd if you got a conference room and power point slides

Party-vi > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:32

That...sucks. Are you cut immediately or did they give you a grace period?

lone_liberal > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:32

That sucks. Are you in Redmond or one of the other campuses?

Brian, The Life of > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:33

FFUUUUU ...

Sorry man. If it's any consolation, I've been through this three times in my career. I am currently trying to recover from #3. It sucks but this too shall pass.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:33

hopefully your severance comes with many monies. Be on the lookout, competing and other tech companies love when this happens because they can snatch up all the talent on its way out the door. I've been on a similar side and as my mom has frequently told me "I always step in shit and end up smelling like roses"

Hoping for the best.

Garrett Davis > MonkeePuzzle
07/17/2014 at 15:33

Yeah, over 18k in total.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:33

Bummer! Did you know it was coming and do you have a backup plan?

Garrett Davis > lone_liberal
07/17/2014 at 15:34

San Diego. Was formerly Nokia, but we were bought out.

Spaceball-Two > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:34

That sucks! I've heard from 3 friends today that are getting walking papers.

Garrett Davis > Party-vi
07/17/2014 at 15:34

My last day of work is tomorrow, then two months severance pay as well as two weeks of pay for every 6 months you worked there, so 5 weeks for me.

area man > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:35

ouch man, I'm sorry. At least you got severance? I've had it offered once but fortunately found another job before it kicked in. Best of luck.

Garrett Davis > Spaceball-Two
07/17/2014 at 15:35

In Microsoft? Or elsewhere?

Nothing > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:36

That sucks, sorry to hear about that. I worked at Lucent many moons ago and we had layoffs every Thursday. It was 2 years into those weekly layoffs that I finally got my walking papers.

Spaceball-Two > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:36

Microsoft. Two in Redmond and one in Bellevue.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:36

Well, at least you get the 3 month cushion to find something, that's nice anyway.

Garrett Davis > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
07/17/2014 at 15:36

I was under the impression that my team was safe, but they cut about half of it. No idea who's going to do this work now, the quality team was not where they had overlap within the company.

Garrett Davis > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
07/17/2014 at 15:36

Thank you!

Garrett Davis > Brian, The Life of
07/17/2014 at 15:36

Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

lone_liberal > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:37

Yeah, I heard that the most of the layoffs were coming from the Nokia buyout but I was thinking that those would be mostly in Finland. I'm sorry to see that I was totally wrong.

Garrett Davis > Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
07/17/2014 at 15:37

Agreed. I'm not just out on my ass, which is good.

Garrett Davis > Spaceball-Two
07/17/2014 at 15:38

Damn, didn't think they would cut many from Redmond. Still, largest layoff in Microsoft history.

Garrett Davis > Nothing
07/17/2014 at 15:38

Ouch.

Nibbles > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:38

BALL(mer) SACKS

Garrett Davis > area man
07/17/2014 at 15:38

Yep, the severance is pretty decent, so at least I have that.

quarterlifecrisis > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:38

If you need a hand on your resume, let me know.

Garrett Davis > quarterlifecrisis
07/17/2014 at 15:39

Thank you! I appreciate that.

Manuél Ferrari > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:39

pdx107 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:39

That sucks but at least you have the severance. I am sure you will find something soon

crowmolly > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:40

Well, then there's only one thing left for you to do!

All joking aside, I'm really sorry to hear the news and hope you find a new place very soon. Best of luck to you.

Garrett Davis > lone_liberal
07/17/2014 at 15:40

We'll land on our feet. It's not like there's a shortage of tech jobs ;)

Garrett Davis > crowmolly
07/17/2014 at 15:41

Thank you! I love that episode.

Spaceball-Two > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:42

Up to 18,000 according Sea Times

quarterlifecrisis > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:43

No problem. I fire people for a living, but have honed the art of resume maintenance.

Garrett Davis > quarterlifecrisis
07/17/2014 at 15:44

Good to know!

Garrett Davis > Spaceball-Two
07/17/2014 at 15:46

Yep. I think the next largest was 6,000, after the whole Windows Vista fiasco.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:46

That's the reality of the situation with big companies you are just a number nothing more nothing less. They will make you believe you are in good hands until the very last second when they pull a 180 and get rid of you.

I'm sort of in that loop now, working for a huge company and don't know from one day to the next what's going on.

Working for a smaller company definitely has it's benefits. You may not earn as much but if you're any good you will definitely be valued and if things start to go astray you're boss would let you know ahead of time that it might be a good idea to start sending out resumes.

$kaycog > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:48

So sorry to hear that. Best of luck. Oh, and I love the Ford GT. :D

jariten1781 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:48

That's why I got out of the tech industry...too volatile. I worked for DEC, got bought out by Compaq and watched a bunch of good people get canned. Then Compaq 'merged' (good joke Carly) with HP and even more left. Survived the layoffs but got assigned to legacy system support and said fuck it and switched careers...never looked back.

Good luck. There's a lot out there if you're location flexible.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:49

Sorry for the wall of text, but a buddy of mine, who just happens to be a lawyer for Microsquash posted this today. you may find it useful, Garrett.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

April 9, 2009 at 9:55am

While I was going through layoffs as part of the Microsoft 1400, I put together a list of tips to help me & my friends get through.

Layoff tips

If you think that layoffs are imminent, don't quit. Unemployment insurance and severance only kicks in if someone is laid off, but doesn't help anyone who has quit a job. One person in my studio quit Microsoft 1 or 2 weeks before the layoffs, and is really regretting that decision now.

If widespread layoffs are imminent, think about asking friends to give you positive LinkedIn recommendations now. When everyone is in the middle of layoffs all at once, writing recommendations for others drops lower on people's priority. Even consider a "LinkedIn" virtual party where you set aside even just 30 minutes with coworkers & write positive reviews for each other. Especially once everyone is laid off, this may be the most efficient way to build your own LinkedIn profile.

If you have any personal docs on a computer at work now that would be OK for you to download (like anything like personal contacts, personal documents, or personal portfolio pieces), it might be better to grab a copy now with a portable USB hard drive, rather than trying to find a way to get them later. Western Digital is a good brand, but anything at a popular electronics store like Best Buy would work, too. Just make sure to get an EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE, not an Internal hard drive that needs to be installed into a computer. Here's a link to external hard drives at Best Buy (under "Computers" | "Drives and Storage" | "Hard Drives" | "External": http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Hard-Driv… . If you sort by price, the drives start around $75. I've seen some deals at Costco on Western Digital hard drives, too. Note that most of these require USB 2.0. In order to use them, both your work & home computers need to support USB 2.0. This shouldn't be an issue if your computer is 5 years old or less, but if it's older than that, you might want to verify that it supports USB 2.0. If you don't have time to pick up an external hard drive, you can now use OneDrive: https://onedrive.live.com. If you don't have a OneDrive account yet, it's really easy to set up and it's free. Because of space restrictions, this won't be able to store lots of photos, but it will be able to save essential personal documents and exported contacts. Also make sure to set this up with a personal e-mail address, not a company one.

Save a copy of your last reviews, positive letters from your manager, etc. Also consider writing a letter of recommendation for yourself & keeping that in your Hotmail or personal e-mail account. If layoffs happen, ask your manager and ask if they'd be willing to write a letter of recommendation for you to put in your portfolio. Depending on the manager, if they're willing, ask them if you could send them a draft you've already put together to help save them some time. Sometimes managers like this idea because it's less work for them, although of course some wouldn't appreciate it at all, so do whatever works for you! :)

If you have an electronic paystub system, print out a copy of your recent paycheck. This might be at http://hrweb. This may help expedite unemployment stuff. Once you're out of the company, there's no easy way to find out exactly how much you made so it may be handy to have a hard copy.

Start activating business networks, to see if there are any jobs out there. Strategic lunches with past or present business colleagues can help uncover leads. This economy is so obviously struggling now, so it's OK to even let people know in the invite that you want to re-connect with people in different parts of the economy, because you don't know what your situation will be 6 months from now. If you're not part of an industry-related association, consider joining one, regardless of if you've been laid off. People you meet through business networking outside of your company can be a good source of job leads.

If there's really nothing in the industry, start contacting some community colleges. It sounds like community colleges may be expanding because of the economy, and may need some Associate Professors to fill in staffing gaps. I taught classes at Cascadia Community College for a couple of years & was paid over $3,000 per quarter just for teaching one class two evenings a week.

If you've moved recently, make sure your W-2 information on file is current, so that your 2009 income tax info gets sent to the correct place next January / February.

If you have dental, vision, prescription, physical therapy, or other annual benefits, make appointments now. Some doctors are willing to write prescriptions for a year's supply of some medications, so if you have anything you get updated frequently like allergy medication, ask about this. If you have kids, consider booking a dentist appointment for them before your insurance runs out, if they haven't gone this calendar year yet. Consider taking youreslf to the dentist and eye doctor, too. If you wear glasses but don't really need a new pair this year, use your benefit to get a spare pair. If you don't need glasses, consider using your benefit for a free pair of non-prescription sunglasses. I don't have a prescription, but one of the employees at Bel-Red Vision suggested this to me several years ago & I was surprised that I could get a free pair of nice shades. This is pretty low on the priority list during the middle of layoffs, but you might as well take what you can get.

If the company locks you out of a computer on the network, and you have to get stuff off of that computer, there may be a secret way in. You can usually physically unplug the network cable from the machine, and log on. Network credentials are generally cached, to allow people to log on to their machines when the network is down. Most companies don't think about this, so it can be a cheat to get into a machine, depending on security protocols in place. Of course, because this machine is unplugged from the network, it won't be able to access any network resources.

Visit the company store & pick up a copy or two of the latest operating system & Office. These will be much more expensive after leaving Microsoft.

Online accounts & web sites to update

If you think layoffs could impact you, think about switching over any online accounts you have linked to your work e-mail to a personal e-mail account, now. If a layoff happens and access to work e-mail is lost, these logins probably won't be directly impacted. However, if you forget the login info, the site will send the password reset to a work e-mail that might not be available any longer.

I also recommend compiling a list of online accounts now (URL, login ID, password) and storing them all in one place in a personal e-mail account that you can access outside of work. I was shocked to find out how many online accounts I had, and I'm not sure if I could have remembered them all in the first 24 hours when I was laid off. Once layoffs hit, even if you think you're prepared for it, there are so many things flying through your head that it's best to have as much taken care of before hand as possible. Here are some possible places for online accounts:

Any external benefit sites (Smith Barney for stock, Fidelity for ESPP, 401k) You'll want to make sure to retain easy access to these after leaving.

Banking (bank, 401k, IRA, mortgage, insurance, credit cards, accountant / tax preparation sites)

Bills (cable, power, gas, phone, cell phone, satellite, homeowners association, waste management, Smith Brothers, car insurance, daycare)

Networking sites (Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Classmates, school alumni association, flicker, twitter, Yahoo!, Orkut, Friendster, MSN Messenger / Hotmail, AOL)

Shopping (Amazon, Ebay)

Travel (airlines, mileage, AAA)

Other online accounts(Netflix, Hulu, Political groups, medical login, Industry-related groups, clubs, Ancestry.com, Xbox LIVE or gaming, King County Library, woot, Adobe - especially if you've purchased Photoshop, Tickemaster, Ikea, Good to Go, Skype, iTunes, Costco, Safeway delivery, medical stuff, Costco Photo Center, Shutterfly, Snapfish, Old Navy, Babies R Us, Paypal, Best Buy, blogspot, Pinterest, Etsy, ...)

RESUME - Get it sent out ASAP

Update your resume & get it sent out sooner rather than later. When my entire department was laid off, we were told around 10 or 11 am, and people took the rest of the day off. Many folks chose to get drunk, which is understandable but not particularly helpful. It took lots of folks about a week or so to update their resume & start sending it out, but by then hiring managers had already been inundated. When rumors began to circulate about a month or two before the actual layoffs, I updated my resume so that it was ready to go. Once layoffs happen, skip the getting drunk part (there will be plenty of time for that later.) Get the resume updated and ideally compose a short cover letter and get those sent out quickly, before interview loops are all booked. Internal to Microsoft, go to http://jobs (whatever it is now) and start finding something. Send a letter to the hiring manager with your resume and ask for an informational to talk about your possible fit for the team. In addition, go to http://careers.microsoft.com , try to find the same job, and submit your resume that should include your external e-mail address, just in case. Hiring managers may get overwhelmed by e-mail requests for informationals. However, by officially applying for a particular job position through the external portal, you'll make sure the professional recruiter for that department will see your resume. Make sure to include any releveant keywords and names of specific tools & applications used by that department. Good keywords will increase your chance of getting in front of recruiter's eyes. For the external application, resumes need to be in plain text format, so expect to spend some time in Notepad getting it ready. Don't wait to hear back – even after applying to lots of Microsoft positions, also submit your resume to external companies. Some of these are great companies, although others may not be your first choice. However, but when big layoffs happen, finding an external job is better than no job.

Examples of companies to consider:

Microsoft http://careers.microsoft.com

Amazon http://www.amazon.jobs

Google http://www.google.com/about/careers

Volt temporary services http://jobs.volt.com

Career Builder http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/m…

Monster Jobs http://www.monster.com

Boeing http://www.boeing.com/boeing/careers

Exporting contacts from Outlook :

On "File" menu, select "Import and Export"

Select "Export to a file" and click "Next"

Select "Microsoft Excel", "Comma Separated Values (Windows)", or other format that is best for you

Select "Contacts" (you may have to scroll up or down to find it) and click "Next"

Select a location, like "c:\ContactList" and click "Next"

Select "Finish"

It may take a minute or two, but the file should soon be created with all of your Outlook contacts

This is how you can also download work e-mail, but you just have to select "Inbox" or a mail directory instead of "Contacts". Note that if you want to download e-mail, saving it as a .PST rather than a text file may be easier to read later, although you need to have Outlook installed in order to read .PSTs.

Example Cover Letter

Here's a link to an example cover letter: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/morejoblett… . The goal is to give a little context to why you're applying and why you think you'll add value to their team. Keep it short with just the essential info.

Date

George Gilhooley

XYZ Company

87 Delaware Road

Hatfield, CA 08065

Dear Mr. Gilhooley,

I am writing to apply for the programmer position

advertised in the Times Union . As requested, I am enclosing a completed

job application, my certification, my resume and three references.

The opportunity presented in this listing is very

interesting, and I believe that my strong technical experience and education

will make me a very competitive candidate for this position. The key strengths

that I possess for success in this position include:

I have successfully designed, developed, and supported live use applications

I strive for continued excellence

I provide exceptional contributions to customer service for all customers

With a BS degree in Computer Programming, I have a full

understanding of the full life cycle of a software development project. I also

have experience in learning and excelling at new technologies as needed.

Please see my resume for additional information on my

experience.

I can be reached anytime via email at

john.donaldson@emailexample.com or my cell phone, 909-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward

to speaking with you about this employment opportunity.

Sincerely,

Signature (for

hard copy letter)

John Donaldson

Garrett Davis > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
07/17/2014 at 15:49

Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it. I have no idea what they're going to do with all the work that the remaining half of my team still needs to do. We're in Carrier Quality, so any device that goes onto U.S. cell networks has to pass through us, and there is still no shortage of products coming down the pipeline.

Party-vi > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:51

That's not bad. Hopefully you can pick something up until then. Good luck!

thebigbossyboss > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 15:52

Severance pay good! sorry for your loss buddy.

Garrett Davis > Party-vi
07/17/2014 at 15:54

Thank you! Yeah, I should be able to find something fairly quickly.

Garrett Davis > jariten1781
07/17/2014 at 15:56

Ouch. Yeah there are a few people on my team who have switched around companies like crazy.

One guy worked for Motorola, which Google then bought and eventually eliminated his position, then he came here to work for Nokia, which Microsoft bought out, and now they've eliminated his position again.

What a way to work.

Garrett Davis > $kaycog
07/17/2014 at 15:57

Thanks! I thought you'd like that.

Garrett Davis > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
07/17/2014 at 15:58

Wow, this is awesome! Thank you very much for sharing that.

scoob > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:10

And this is why my dad told me not to go into the tech field. He said I'll either get laid off or outsourced. But I like tech. :(

Honestly, I still don't know what to choose as a career. Going to start my first year of college, too.

That sucks man. I hope you find a new job soon, at a place where you'll stay for a long time.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:10

Crap. Well ... goes both ways though. If they didn't want you around, you probably didn't want to be around after the layoffs anyway. (Been there before — survived 1st round mass layoffs, got the hook during the 2nd.)

KnowsAboutCars > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:13

That sucks. They are also shutting down whole research and development unit here in Finland.

Garrett Davis > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
07/17/2014 at 16:16

All very true.

dinobot666 > MonkeePuzzle
07/17/2014 at 16:16

Plot twist: They used Google Presentation.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:18

Also...give Quaalcom a call since you are in the middle of it over there in the triangle.

Garrett Davis > scoob
07/17/2014 at 16:19

Eh, that's only partially true, and certainly no reason to avoid the field in general. It's just so competitive right now, but there are always tons of jobs opening, much more than one's that are closing. I have some leads already for possible opportunities in the field. This is a huge space and it's only growing.

I'm not discouraged in the least. It happens. I happened to be on the wrong side if the chopping block this time, but this is just a kick in the pants to move elsewhere.

I'll still say it to anyone looking into the field, do it, and do it now. Oh, and know how to code. Software is the future.

Garrett Davis > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
07/17/2014 at 16:21

Already in the process of checking them out. I foresee a mass exodus over there and some other places from this site. There are a surprising amount of tech firms down here.

Garrett Davis > KnowsAboutCars
07/17/2014 at 16:26

They're actually moving all new product development to Redmond and Finland. The Tampere, Salo and Espoo sites as well as Lund, Sweden will still remain.

Hooker > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:26

That sucks man. Hope you find something soon.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:29

Lots of biotech too, if that's your thing.

KnowsAboutCars > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:29

The unit they are shutting down is in Oulu.

Slave2anMG > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
07/17/2014 at 16:31

Companies sometimes seem to wonder why employees have no loyalty...yet fail to comprehend loyalty is a two way street.

Garrett Davis > Hooker
07/17/2014 at 16:35

Thank you!

Garrett Davis > KnowsAboutCars
07/17/2014 at 16:35

Ah, yeah. Heard about that.

Sn210 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:38

that sucks, my company just got bought out too for $43B. Waiting to hear what the plan is

Garrett Davis > Sn210
07/17/2014 at 16:44

What company? If you don't mind me asking.

Racescort666 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 16:59

That sucks dude.

ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 17:05

I don't think quality has always been their focus anyways. Sorry to hear the news though, that's always a shitty situation to be in.

Sn210 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 17:28

Covidien (one of the largest medical device manufactures) just got bought by Medtronic (THE largest medical device manufacturer), the deal is supposed to close as soon as January. It's all speculation now, but it should result in a bunch of layoffs.

Garrett Davis > Sn210
07/17/2014 at 18:14

Ouch. Well, best of luck, man!

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 21:15

Sorry to hear that. Is there a reason 'why' they let you guys go?

mazda616 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 21:28

Sucks. I got fired back in April and still haven't found a job. It's been incredibly shitty. Hopefully you find something quick. At least you have the severance!

Sn210 > Garrett Davis
07/17/2014 at 21:42

Thanks, you too!

Garrett Davis > mazda616
07/18/2014 at 11:06

Thank you and good luck!

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 11:09

All part of the integration of Nokia into Microsoft, basically. I'm not entirely sure why crippling their quality test labs is the answer, especially since Microsoft doesn't have an equivelant and outsourcing this work costs many millions over having the labs do it in house — which is the whole reason why we existed in the first place.

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 11:23

Man, that stinks. How much industry experience do you have?

I'm sort of afraid something like this might happen to me, I work for IBM.

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 11:39

Nearly 2.5 years in the cell phone industry, but maybe 6 years in tech total.

Another baffling part of this whole thing are the people who were let go as opposed to those who weren't. It seems to be purely a numbers thing because there is no correlation with pay grade, performance reviews, seniority, education, nothing.

Hopefully IBM is a little more impervious to this sort of thing since this is mostly just the result of being left over in an acquired company.

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 11:45

When I onboarded last Oct., we were given the heads-up that a couple of years ago the highers ups made a plan to increase the stock up by so much by 2015. Well, when I came on, it hadn't reach that goal. We were also informed that if that goal wasn't met, they'll meet it some other way, like letting people go. It wasn't the most encouraging thing to hear after you were just hired.

But it sounds like you can get hired easily. I had difficultly looking for a job because I have little to no experience in a work environment.

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 11:55

Damn, that's not very comforting. How long ago was that?

Thanks, hopefully it works out for you!

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 12:40

10 months ago. I'm sort of afraid to make any big purchases, -_-.

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 13:16

Damn. That's no way to live.

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 13:23

Pretty much. I'll spare you the details, but life hasn't been easy on my family and I these past few years (I'm 27).

Question though, what would be the best way to better myself? To be a better programmer and knowledgeable? To just get involved and learn? Have any tips you wouldn't mind sharing?

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 13:46

I probably wouldn't be the best person to ask, really, being mostly involved with hardware (was an RF Test Engineer at MSFT) and I'm also still pretty early in my career having landed in the industry even before I even finished my degree. But honestly, being involved in as many projects as you can (while performing well), and learning as much about coding as you can. That's what I'm going to be focusing on. I'm going to be taking a few more programming classes coming up here pretty soon.

I always just try to make myself as important to the team as possible, but in cases like this it didn't really make a difference.

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 13:52

Thanks, :).

Garrett Davis > zeontestpilot
07/18/2014 at 13:57

Hopefully 2015 will roll through and everything will be just peachy. From what I hear, IBM is generally a pretty good company to work for, but that's just what I've heard.

Best of luck, man!

zeontestpilot > Garrett Davis
07/18/2014 at 14:04

Good luck to you too!

James > Garrett Davis
07/20/2014 at 13:48

I am just curious, as I will be going into the tech field soon, when they lay you off do you have a no compete clause and if so does it apply in this case(laid off) and if so how long is it for?

Garrett Davis > James
07/20/2014 at 22:56

Thankfully no, that would have been a gigantic slap in the face if they had dropped one on us. I haven't heard of another company doing so in a case like this either, so I think when they do these sorts of layoffs they don't want to just fully screw over their former employees.

The NDA we signed is still valid for the full length of the contract, though, so that's where they make up for it. We are still going through a very lengthy process in making sure we don't have copies of certain technical documents from within the company or with others that we have had agreements with. They comb through our work drives pretty thoroughly for that reason.