Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 12:18 pm
How I decided to vamoose
These last couple of weeks were pretty intense. Ever since my managing editor at TIME announced an open invitation for buyout volunteers, I've been a whirling dervish of pre-unemployment. What do I mean by that? I mean that no one in the history of buyouts has more thoroughly considered and weighed and analyzed and lost sleep over her decision.
You may be in a similar predicament. Not that I want anyone to agonize as I did — I don't actually think anyone is capable — but having arrived at my current Zen state, I thought you might want to know how I got from there to here. Here's what I did.
- I collected information. As soon as the meeting ended, I called HR and asked what my package would look like. In retrospect, I should have read the union document that gave me the same information rather than tipped my hand to HR. Had I decided to stay, I would have erred by giving management the impression I was weighing an exit.
- I did the math. Our union had negotiated severance of two weeks for every year worked. For me, that worked out to about six months of pay and health insurance. Not enough to throw away a good job.
- I made phone calls. Lots of them. To mentors, colleagues, former colleagues, friends. I learned something from each call: a friend coached me on negotiating tactics. One mentor warned me of the depression that follows the elation of leaving a longtime job. Another told me about possible legal moves. About half the people I called said I should make the leap; the other half urged me to stay.
- I negotiated. Though one colleague had suggested I do so through HR, I instead set up a meeting with my boss. Which got canceled. Then another, which got postponed. I kept pestering his assistant until he finally made the time. I was frank: though I still loved the institution and still felt excited about my job, I understood the realities and would entertain a package — if it suited my needs. I asked for the moon, and got a crescent. But it was better than the original offer, which made me feel like an old Japanese lady haggling successfully for a 10-yen discount at the fish market: victorious.
Throughout this process, I talked (and talked, and talked) to my husband. If you don't have one of these, I strongly suggest you get one before making a major life decision like quitting your job. Or at least a cardboard cutout of a sympathetic face with a giant ear.
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Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a New York-based staff writer at TIME. She writes about workplace, business and society trends for the magazine and TIME.com. Read more
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 7:46 am
Start your own blog. Your audience will follow you.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I heard a whisper in the corn fields, "If you blog it, they will come."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 4:54 pm
This is the start of something big for you, Lisa. Just think of it as the push you needed to lift yourself out of your 12-year rut (c'mon, you never would have left if this opportunity didn't present itself) and move on to bigger and better things. The world is your oyster! And I hope you negotiated for the right to call your new blog "WiP"
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I had a similar "push" and have been better for it. You'll be surprised at what's waiting for you out there. Good Luck!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Found you via Marci - love your stuff. Where's your blog? Please be sure to let me know the URL. You have a built-in audience....we're waiting....
Best,
Marsha
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 12:00 am
I'll agree with the other commenters that I hope you blog on your own, assuming that's something you even want to do. That said, having myself recently moved from blogging for a major media company to blogging for myself, I can tell you that in the near term I'm blogging a little less often now that no one is paying me to blog. I can also tell you that there is life -- and opportunity -- after blogging for big media. You'll be fielding some interesting offers, I promise. And you might just decide to follow all that career advice you've been giving and do something that surprises people. Whatever you do, please figure out a way to let your fans know. I'll really miss this blog, Lisa.
Marci Alboher
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 3:20 pm
If Time Inc won't let you keep the WIP blog. How about "Out of Work in Progress?" Keep up blogging, its cathartic.
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 3:22 pm
If Time Inc won't let you keep the WIP blog. How about "Out of Work in Progress?" Keep up blogging, its cathartic.
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Good advice Lisa...Where to now?
Kyle
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 10:07 am
[...] volunteers”. Maybe because of my work, I found that I could very much identify with her buyout-related tribulations - finding out from HR what the package would be, then realising her union had that information and [...]