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A businesswoman frustrated and working too much
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Got laid off recently and stayed professional through the entire transition period. A few weeks later, my replacement hire (lower position than mine) reached out to me on LinkedIn asking questions about some of the work I used to handle and asking for guidance.
Now I’m conflicted about what to do.
The employee, a young worker looking for career guidance, shared how they had been laid off from their job, and despite the blow they sucked it up and remained professional until the end of their time at the company. They thought that would have been the end of it, but were surprised when the new hire replacing them had the audacity to reach out to them on social media to ask for training and how they used to handle certain tasks. You know, the experience that they should have still been getting paid for having.
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A contemplative employee leaves the office building for the final time, their gaze cast downward.
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Part of me wants to politely help and stay professional. Another part of me feels like I shouldn’t be providing free training/support after leaving the company (especially laid off).
This left them wondering what they should do. I think a lot of us would be thinking about that reference that we might very well need in the not-so-distant future and would, thus, be worried about what our now ex-manager might say when they got that phone call from a prospective employer. In this way, it can be unfair to departing staff who feel like they have to keep putting up with those proverbial moving goal posts from an ex-employer, who might have unrealistic and increasingly unfair expectations. They might feel like they need to be professional and go the extra mile for an employer who did not treat them well and would never have paid them the same thought or respect in return.
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Stressed and focused and unsure what to do.
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I’m also debating whether I should send a quick heads-up to my former boss just letting her know new person reached out to me, not in a dramatic way, but more professionally since I still respect the company and left on good terms.
Or should I just politely decline, stay quiet, and fully move on?
What would you do?
I think here is a point where we conflate professionalism with being a people pleaser. Really, the professional thing here is to give a nice, neat but curt response that doesn't slam the door or burn any bridges but doesn't offer anything either. Just a nice, gentle, but firm, pushing of the door closed and listening for that latch to click into place.
This was well in line with the advice that they received from other professionals
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A laid-off worker laying on the sofa reading a message on social media from the person who got his job.
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umeboshiplumpaste writes
"[I would respond"]
"HI, X. Thanks for reaching out. As I am no longer with the company, I would defer to Person ABC for support."You were laid off. You do not work there. Saving the person or the job or the company or clients is not your problem. If the company did not create a proper offboarding procedure or knowledge transfer process--or anything else to capture what you did for succession planning, that's not your problem, either.
(Also, who gets a new job and reaches out to an ex-employee who got laid off for help?!)"
Twenty_6_Red writes:
"Nope. They laid me off. If they want to pay me as a subcontractor, show me the money. Otherwise, figure it out on your own."
md0320
This kind of happened to me - replacement was texting me, asking me questions while I was at my new job. Best not to. If your former boss can't help, then it's not your problem.
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