Found Out Your Employer Was Sold? Be Prepared!

If you just found that your company has been sold, your response should be action.

Companies are bought and sold every day. A change in a company’s ownership can happen in many ways, each with a direct impact on people’s livelihood. No matter the circumstances, when there is company ownership or investor changes there is a high probability that people from the executive suite to the mail room will lose their jobs. When companies are bought and sold large amounts of money are involved, and the sources of that money want their money back ASAP.

It’s best to be ready – here’s what you should do if you found out your company’s been bought:

 1.     Get your resume ready. Do not wait to find out your official fate. Heads may roll. Maybe your job isn’t on the chopping block, but that doesn’t mean you will choose to stay. You may not be fired, but your role and/or compensation may change in a way that makes you want to go.

2.     New owners mean new managers. The higher up the ladder you are, the more indispensable you believe you are. However, nobody is immune to the upheaval caused by an ownership change. Executives, directors, and managers are at the same risk, if not more than other employees.

3.     Cost cutting is on the way. One of the words you’ll hear when the ax is about to fall is “duplicative”. Once you hear that word, heads will roll. While the ultimate outcome may be beyond your control, you should still pile the sandbags before the storm surge. You want to be perceived as a revenue center, not a cost center.

4.     Be aligned with the new owners. Uncomfortable work is heading your way. You may have to train your replacement or report to a new boss, who was in a lesser role at the company that bought yours. You may have to fire your co-workers on the new company’s orders, or go around and scrub their computers the day they leave so there is no trace they had ever been there. Be helpful, no matter the task. Exit with grace, no matter the challenge. Do your best work until you roll out of the parking lot for the last time

5.     Prepare for the culture shift. Change is inevitable. Whether the change benefits you or handicaps you, there will be change and the free-floating anxiety that goes with life-altering uncertainty. Your daily duties, the way performance is measured, and to whom you report, are just a sample of the potentially impacted areas. The people who survive are people who adapt to a rapidly evolving situation.

6.     Don’t Rely on your traditional workplace relationships. After the ship hits the iceberg, people will scramble to save themselves. Pre-existing internal networks and relationships may not carry their former influence. In other words, it is possible few people have the ability to be your life preserver. Make things easy on yourself, and take direction from the new owners and leadership to understand what you are supposed to do.

7.     Understand your severance package (if applicable). When a company buys another company, they understand employees of the acquired company may not be aligned with their direction, culture, or mission. They may offer severance to people who decide to leave, and those are the lucky ones. While offers vary, think before you accept a separation package before you have another job lined up. It is better to start another job than accept a finite amount of money that may be depleted before you’re working somewhere else.

8.   It’ll be easy to explain in interviews. If you’re forced into the unemployment line or decide you need to move on, your company being bought is an easy scenario for people to understand. If you’re interviewing and your “reason for leaving” is a buyout by default recruiters and hiring authorities will understand your circumstances. Focus on what you’re looking for not what you’re leaving.

9.  Rattle your network. Work your professional and personal network. Get some leads. The sooner the better.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.