Here’s my story– i was let go after 2 years into Telecom consulting as a Senior Consultant in HP. The news came abruptly with no fore-warning. I was in the office on 22 AUG 2001 9.00am and was discharged from HP at 11am. Hardly a consolation that 600plus employees on the Singapore site lost their jobs on that day.
I was without a paying job for 12 months. For those who recall, that was the year of the dot.com bust. That whole period the top earner in my family of 2 kids and my wife was my then 9 year old daughter. She won a singing competition and got a S$ 35 award. A small group of colleagues stuck with me to become my life-long brothers, not just friends. Exactly one year later i was hired by a great guy called Paul Anthony into IPG. I was hired as a contract worker. I am eternally thankful to him and the leadership team who allowed me to grow from there on to being a people manager in 7 years. I left IPG as the HP-Canon Alliance Supplies Manager LES GBU to answer my higher calling i.e. corporate training, focussing on Sales, Leadership and Wellness. What i learnt from that experience was knowing how to manage a family in tough times. Its possible with some savings, never-say-die attitude, patience and loving and understanding friends and family.
