As you readers may know from my profile page, I am from the financial services sector where hiring and retrenchment can happen within a short time frame. The concept of having the same job till you retire is no longer relevant. In the beginning of this year, I receive news that the firm I was with had been acquired by a US private equity firm. Recently (9 months later), we received the dreadful news that some of us had to be let go.
The axe fell fast and swift, there was no time for handover. Those impacted had to leave on the same day, or given till end of week to exit. Although I am not impacted by this round of restructuring, I am sad and shocked to reveal that my line manager was. I decided to write this article because I had witnessed for the 1st time how crude reality can be. Brief background about my manager, she has been with the firm for more than 20 years, gaining extensive experience in her industry. Granted, she is an expensive hire but no mercy was shown when the parent firm decided to retrench her and the rest.
I will share what I have learnt from this experience and how can we survive being jobless/ unemployed in Singapore.