- Former Chief People Officer Pav Stojkovic has laid off hundreds of workers during his career.
- He recommends trying to negotiate for better severance and requesting your employee file.
- Even if you're fired for poor performance, Stojkovic said you should still qualify for unemployment benefits.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Pav Stojkovic, former chief people officer of the sports publication The Athletic, the biotech startup Omeat, and other companies. He's now taking a career break to care for his newborn son. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I've worked as a chief people officer for over a decade, and I've had to lay off hundreds of people. I've seen layoffs go well, poorly, and everything in between.
There's an emotional component that comes with getting let go. Even if the company offers generous severance or pays for COBRA, the initial reaction for a lot of people is, 'I've put so much of myself into this job, and this is how they treat me?'
That feeling is valid. But you can't let that emotion drive you to do something irrational. I've been yelled at point-blank to my face. Doing that just opens you up to all kinds of issues. In that moment, I'm less willing to be flexible and meet you where you are. My job is to get you to sign a piece of paper and get rid of you as fast as possible because you've gone from a good actor to a liability to the company.
Don't bash the company
An example of an irrational move is publicly bashing the company. Your severance agreement might have a non-disparagement clause, so if you speak negatively about the company, you could nullify your cash severance, an acceleration of your stock options, or your health insurance for you and your family.
The same or worse could happen if you take confidential information with you, such as by forwarding an email from your work account to your personal email on your last day.
Say you post bad things about the company on your Facebook page. As a chief people officer, if I see it, I have an obligation to go to my CEO and say, 'What's the actual risk to us here?' Most employers are smart enough to know when employees are just venting. But it's always on a case-by-case basis.
You can and should negotiate
Don't sign anything immediately. I've seen former employees just sign whatever is given to them on the spot. Instead, say something like, 'Thank you. I'm going to take these documents, review them, and get back to you.'
You always have the ability to negotiate. As a chief people officer, I'm never going to say, 'You know what? Because you're negotiating, now you get nothing.' That doesn't make sense, because I want you to sign that document. I want you to release the company from any potential risk and liability. So you have leverage.
If you're asking for more severance, most of the time it's going to be a no, and there's a good reason. The company wants to be consistent across the board. The same can be true if you're letting one individual go. That's how I operate. At this seniority level, with this amount of time at the company, you get X amount. It's a formula. But there's no downside to negotiating, so you should at least try.
It's expensive to get on COBRA, especially if your former employer is not contributing toward it. But that is something that you might be able to negotiate. You can always say, 'What would be nice is if you covered 50% of my COBRA for the next few months,' or something like that. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Request your employee file
In many states, companies are legally obligated to allow you to inspect your employee file and make your own copies. Most employers will just send you a digital version and call it a day.
It might not be useful to you, but it's about you, so you should have it. Maybe you had some really strong performance reviews, and you were laid off as part of a reduction-in-force. It would be great to be able to showcase to a potential future employer that your layoff had nothing to do with your performance.
Having that file could also be important if you need to take legal action against the company for something like missing wages. Having access to all your pay stubs is one way to prove that you weren't paid properly.
Put your ego aside and get back out there
I think a lot of people don't bother to apply for unemployment benefits because they feel like that's not who they are, or that it's just for people who don't have any money. Put your ego aside and recognize the situation that you're in. Take advantage of those benefits.
An employer is only going to contest your unemployment if you were fired for gross misconduct, like stealing or sexual harassment. Not being great at your job is not gross misconduct. I've received countless claims for unemployment from former employees, and I've never contested a single one.
When we're let go from a job, we have this tendency to tuck our tail between our legs and feel like we've failed. But we've all been there. We've all experienced some type of traumatic setback in our careers. Don't feel like you're alone. Reach out to your network, to people who you think can help you find your next opportunity.
Go on vacation, or just don't think about anything work-related for some time — but not too much time. Get in the headspace of thinking about what's next. Then get back out there, and hold your head high.
