Jobs: 'Companies hired but took advantage of recession'

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 fifth part of this series, Ismail Pervez tells us why he accepted his new job, albeit that paid him less than his last drawn salary, after being laid off for five months, and the lessons he learnt.

Name: Aditya Jain
Age: 26
Company/Sector: IT
Educational qualification: BE (Computers) and PGDBM
Work experience: 2 years 6 months

Background check:

I still remember that fateful morning of January 7, 2009. We didn't realise what had hit us after Ramlinga Raju's confession of fraud in Satyam Computers.

For two days I didn't understand the gravity of the situation. The government took matter in its hand and was very swift in putting up a new management. We were quite happy about it but the revenues of our company declined very fast, thanks to the recession. Also, since there were no proportionate decline in number of employees it was sure that layoffs will follow.

On June 19, I and many of my colleagues were told to go home after the famous VPP (virtual pool programme that was aimed at containing costs) scheme launched by the company.

Click NEXT to read how Ismail got his job again and the lessons he learnt.

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

How I got a job again

I got in touch with my MBA classmates and all other contacts. I registered on most of the job portals I knew and even became a paid member of a job portal. I thought that getting a job with my qualifications shouldn't be a problem. Alas, I was proved wrong with the recession worsening each passing day. I attended a few interviews but nothing worked.

After 5 months and many interviews I got selected in a company through my friend's referral. I accepted the offer letter because the job profile was challenging and it didn't matter that my new package was less than the one I earned at Satyam.

I fully knew that we were in a situation where there were too many people and too less jobs. It was obvious that companies who hired during these times took full advantage of it.

Family support:

My family's support was very crucial for me to overcome those hard times. With them around I didn't feel alone in my struggle and their constant motivation kept me going to look for a new job.

Lessons learnt:

• Tough time never last but tough people do. Never lose hope
• Change is the only constant. However the situation, good or bad, it changes one day
• Keep in touch with all your batch mates as a good network of friends is important but much more needed in these times
• Utilise the free hours in doing those activities which you couldn't do earlier due to lack of time

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.