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BY petevanepps

May 4, 2020 | Career Management | Podcasts

Episode 96 – How to Survive a Layoff

Welcome back! In this episode, I’d like to introduce Nick Barlow. Nick is an Associate Product Manager at Zimmer Biomet. He is a former Army Finance officer who was branch detailed to the Armor branch for the first four years of his service as a commissioned officer. Nick was in the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program for 21 months in preparation for his transition to Corporate America. He was actually scheduled to attend an earlier Career Conference, but with the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, he felt the call to help and extended his service commitment in order to deploy for that mission. Interestingly enough, he went to work for Johnson & Johnson who, coincidentally, created a vaccine for Ebola. On the podcast, Nick shares his transition story and touches on how a company restructuring resulted in a layoff and, consequently, a new opportunity.

A Great Start

Nick started his career at DePuy Synthes, the orthopedic medical device company within Johnson & Johnson. He began his career in a marketing role and his primary responsibility was to manage the evidence campaign to demonstrate the efficacy of a specific line of implantable artificial hips. He specifically oversaw the creation, production and distribution of clinical evidence in the form of brochures, pamphlets and white papers. This marketing content helped orthopedic surgeons, payers including insurance companies and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO), and patients better understand the use and efficacy of the products he represented.

Transition

In July 2019, DePuy Synthes went through a corporate restructuring where the company decided to increase the number of field-based team members and thus decrease the number of corporate employees. Nick’s position was eliminated and he received a severance package. Before leaving the military, Nick said his biggest fear was losing his job. Within a month of the restructuring and layoff, Nick was hired in a similar position in a different company within the same industry. We talk through how these events unfolded and lessons learned. I think you’ll find his experience interesting and encouraging. Enjoy!

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