We asked Get Ahead readers to send their Happy days... tales as we believe that the dark clouds of recession are slowly but surely vanishing and those who were laid off during 2008 and 2009 are getting back their jobs.
In the seventh part of this series, reader Ragini Mehra tells us how her employer forced her to resign but she had the courage to overcome her ordeal and emerge as a winner again.
Name: Ragini Mehra (Name changed on erquest)
Age: 32
Company/Sector: IT
Educational qualification: BTech
Work experience: 10 years
Background check
This is my story, how a company, for whom I worked for 8 years, betrayed me. I was deputed on an onsite assignment in USA; it was my third assignment in US where I had spent almost 6 years. My visa extension got rejected in January 2009, when President Barack Obama came to power and created tough immigration laws.
As per the rules, I needed to reply to visa queries by May but since we had a big project coming up in April, my manager suggested me to take my long pending vacation and go back to US on a fresh visa instead of an extension. I was more than happy to take the offer as it was my third year away from home and my family back in India wanted to see my newborn daughter.
Things turned ugly when I went to report at my company office in Mumbai. I was called into the HR manager's room and was surprised to see three senior managers staring at me. I was told because of the tough stand taken by US immigration, they had decided not to apply for a new visa till things get better.
As a result I could not go back to my old assignment. But since the company was not doing well they didn't have work for me in India. I was given 2 choices: either resign and take one month's basic salary or take termination letter along with 3 months salary.
I was dumbstruck not knowing what was happening. I took the first offer and wrote a resignation letter. Within 20 minutes, my relation of 8 years with them went kaput, just like that.
Click NEXT to read how Ragini got a new job again and the lessons she has learnt.
Reader invite:
Do you have a similar tale to tell?
Did you lose your job and have now got a new one? Do you know someone who lost her/ his job, and got it back recently?
If you, your friends or relatives have a similar story to tell, to inform readers about the lessons that you have learnt, please write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line 'Happy days are here again!' Your name and identity will not be disclosed unless you want it to.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
Lessons learnt
How I got a job again
Then the real struggle started. I couldn't face my family and friends; always carried this monkey of humiliation of getting fired. I got ill, always had low blood pressure and tension took its toll. I took 3 weeks to gather courage and face the world again. Updated my resume and uploaded it to many job sites; friends too tried to help. There were very few jobs, and being a project manager didn't help. Nobody needed a PM. So I changed my resume to show that I am a senior software engineer, which is what I was before I became a PM.
My new resume got me calls but I was rusty on technical side. I couldn't go beyond 2-3 rounds of interviews. With so many people in the job market, firms were fastidiously selective. I burnt midnight lamp to upgrade my self in latest Java technologies and finally after 4 months I was able to get an offer as a software architect. But the package was 20 per cent less than what I used to get at my previous company. I took the offer and joined my new company.
However, now that market is getting better again, I have decided to float my resume once again. I don't want to be a victim again and I cannot be loyal to my new employer who took advantage of the market and hired me for less than my actual worth. I am high on confidence; I did it in the worst recession and I can do it better now. It's time for me to reclaim my life back and move on.
Lessons learnt:
- If you are an IT manger, make sure that you are in touch with latest technologies.
- If you can't trust your company you cannot trust anyone else. So never stick around with an employer for many years unless you are on the beneficial side.
Reader invite:
Do you have a similar tale to tell?
Did you lose your job and have now got a new one? Do you know someone who lost her/ his job, and got it back recently?
If you, your friends or relatives have a similar story to tell, to inform readers about the lessons that you have learnt, please write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line 'Happy days are here again!' Your name and identity will not be disclosed unless you want it to.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
Comment
article