Feeling defeated as I felt forced to give my two weeks' notice today.

Anonymous

June 8,2022 at 6:17PM UTC

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Feeling defeated as I felt forced to give my two weeks' notice today. Long story short, I called a meeting yesterday to discuss defining department responsibilities with my manager. Due to a restructure everything's been so fluid lately that the team is having difficulty understanding job responsibilities.

It turned into a meeting with HR where I was blamed for situations out of my control and weren't my tasks. I stood up for myself but soon realized that the toxicity displayed warranted giving my notice as we couldn't work together any longer.

I'm freaking out as I wasn't prepared for this as although I must acknowledge that I dreamed of the day I could find something more aligned with my background. That being said, I didn't think it would happen unexpectedly.

To make the best of a disappointing and unexpected scenario I'm debating moving to where there are more jobs in my field. I ended up in my current locale due to the pandemic and there aren't a lot of jobs in my field.

Although I have savings, those could be drained soon if I don't have money coming in to offset bills. Does it make sense to move or hope that something pops up in my current city? I appreciate your advice!

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Sarah Cleveland, SPHR, ACCJune 8,2022 at 8:01PM UTC
Not sure if you've already given notice, if you have not yet, there's no reason you absolutely have to. If they want to terminate you, there should be a reason (cause). If it's performance related, they should have clear documentation as to how you did not meet your performance objectives with documentation as to how they warned you about your performance.
If you work in a state where it's employment at will, they can fire you for no cause, however, it can be a little tricky.
If you have already given notice, then I would do the following (and also I would do this even if you have given notice to buy yourself time):
1) Network network network - contact your former colleagues and others you went to school with / former organizations - reconnect and try to have a catch-up chat to make them aware that you are in the market and you'd like to stay in touch on opportunities that may be a fit for you - and remember to think of ways you can help them for a mutually beneficial relationship
2) Brush up your resume and your LinkedIn profile
3) Are there any certifications or other education you can work on while you job search to keep your skills fresh?
4) Do some contract / temporary work - try to see what is available remotely so you can do this while you figure out if you want to relocate or not. This will help in several ways: providing income, building your network and keeping skills sharp, and give you some time so you can choose your next step wisely instead of feeling rushed to jump into the first thing offered
Good luck!
AnonymousJune 8,2022 at 9:20PM UTC
Very sorry this is your experience. Keep applying to jobs inside and outside your locality. Apply nationally to help give you a better sense of what regions seem to get more hits for your background expertise, you may be surprised. If the cost of living is low where you live, stay there and keep applying. However, if the cost of living is high, and where you prefer to move to has a lower cost of living, by all means do so.
AnonymousJune 8,2022 at 9:59PM UTC
Why not look for remote opportunities and for jobs in the new city — and other locations of interest to you — *before* changing your place of residence?
That way, you might be able to have the new company pay for the moving expense. In addition, you can plan for the transition rather than have to pull up stakes immediately.
AnonymousJune 10,2022 at 2:55PM UTC
Thank you all for your advice and thoughtful comments. Today is my last day as there are times when you can't take back what's said or that due to a toxic situation it's not a healthy place to work. While I'm still shocked at what transpired, I'm grateful to no longer be in that situation. I'm giving myself the weekend to recover and then starting on Monday, updating my resume and finding a company that values my work.