My Next Adventure Starts Here - New Job Offer

over 1 year ago (Edited)

Exactly a year after I was last retrenched, I was retrenched (again) in October 2023 just right after coming back from Las Vegas for the company kick-off. I touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Las Vegas on Sunday and took the following Monday and Tuesday working from home due to jet lag.

On Wednesday, I was working as usual and went to the office. Upon powering up my laptop, the first email that I received was from my boss. In the email, my boss informed me that he needed to see me in the office at 3 pm. I then replied to the email saying I was available and would be in the office at 3 pm for the meetup.

In the morning, I was working as usual, had an online meeting with the customer, and even had lunch with one of the distributors. At 2.30 pm, I went back to the office for a meeting with my boss. Exactly at 3 pm, I walked to my boss's room and knocked on the door.

He told me to come in and close the door. Before I sat down, I noticed that the Microsoft Teams had been projected on the TV in his room, and the HR was already logged in to the online call. Upon seeing this, I have a gut feeling about what is about to go on.

My boss started the conversation by asking how am I doing after a long trip to the USA, and he was hoping that I was feeling well that day. I just replied with a simple 'I am OK'. Then my boss proceeded to tell me that the reason HR was on the call was because she had something to inform me.

The HR, on the other hand, did not make any small talk and straight away said that the company di undergoing a downsize. I am unfortunately affected by the downsizing, and my last day working will be on the day itself. The HR did surprise me a little bit even though I had anticipated the management decision after looking at the country sales numbers.

I was expecting at least a one-month notice before being let go. Instead, I was served with a short 24-hour notice, and I was required to clear all my belongings by the end of the business day.

However, I keep my cool when receiving the news from HR. My boss complimented me for taking the news professionally. I'm honestly not sure what he meant by that. From what I know, the other affected colleague also took the news professionally.

During the first of week retrenchment, I was feeling down and frustrated. I spent three days doing nothing other than lying on my bed, watching movies, and browsing videos on TikTok and YouTube. I was thinking about taking a whole month off before looking for a new job.

This is because I was given compensation consisting of two months' salary, plus MYR4000 gratuity. Because of the compensation, I have some space to breathe and do not go into panic mode.

But after a week, I felt uneasy for not doing anything and I started opening a job-seeking portal to search and apply for a new job. What I was not prepared for was the rejection upon rejection from the company that I applied to. I started to question myself. Did I request too high of a salary? Am I not qualified for the position? and many more self-doubt about my abilities.

Even after a series of interview sessions, I did not get feedback or results from any of the interviewers. This makes me feel even more down. That is, until 10th Oct 2023, when I checked my email and received a piece of good news from one of the companies that I went to for an interview. In the email, it is stated that they wanted to offer me the position of Senior Solutions Architect. That email really made my day.

Fast forward, today is mark my 1st week working at the new company. So far I had a really good impression of the company culture, mission, and vision