Our building is now back in possession of the landlords, the last payroll is scheduled to go at the end of the month, and today I went to visit our closet of a temp office to do the paperwork to lay myself off. I will be officially out of a job at the end of this month, when I receive the last paycheck along with the severance.
I had mentioned I was trying something entrepreneurial. A major wrench has just been thrown in that works. It’s not necessarily a fatal blow yet, but it may take time to sort out. My plan is to take a few days to decompress, then decide what to do. I know blogging has been very erratic, largely because I have been unable to keep a schedule. Right now I feel like I need a few days to get used to the fact that things are indeed over. My CEO will not be calling on me for major tasks, and after next Thursday, when my employment officially ends, we’re talking contract arrangements regardless.
Hang in there Sebastian. I know exactly what you are going through – shutting down a company is one of the hardest jobs ever, far harder that most people acknowledge.
What’s on the horizon for new gigs? I’m guessing you are in IT rather than software development per se. On the Left Coast you can’t hire good devs for love nor money right now. Demand for IT is healthy but not at the same level of insanity.
I sort of move between both worlds. This was a small company. 70 people at its “height” or depths, depending on how you look at it. But for the past several years definitely no more than 30. I’ve had to be a jack of all trades. That’s kind of what’s made the question of what to do next so hard.
If I had to pin down what I do, I would say I’m an integrator, first and foremost. If you have pain in a business or technical process, I can probably figure out what technology, either off the shelf or custom developed, that would smooth that process. I also have a good deal of expertise in high performance computing, especially where clusters and clouds are concerned.
I’ve also been our IT manager for 6 out of my 10 years, with various people, never a large number, working under me.
But for the past ten years I’ve been working at a small company. Granted, as a biotech with a rather unique technology, we’re a very IT intensive company, but it’s been a while since I’ve had to be meticulously formal, and to be honest I hate formality. I like working in research, and I like researchers. I like helping them solve their IT problems. I don’t like being the guy to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on them, and that’s what a lot of big pharma IT is about.
If I had advance knowledge that my company was about to go under, I would suddenly hurt my back on the job while there’s still time! :)
Good luck.
Take some time and clear your head, sir.
It is brutal, laying people off and closing a shop, even if a subset of people and the company survive. We were up to 115, now at 20. Maybe we will grow, maybe not. It is ugly out there.
Best of luck.
Take your time, we’ll(most of us I suspect) be waitin’.
Don’t let the Obama economy get you down. Have you considered getting a political position? I hear there’s going to be a bit of a ruckus in 2012. People are going to need help and there should be positions available. Should be fun.
If you need to talk anything through, I’m happy to help, if I can… I can’t give you any legal opinions in PA either, but I’d hate to see your future business not suceed. Best of luck to you…