Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

Get in line with the thousands of people who were riffed and thousands more that want out from their new organization or leadership they are trying to escape plus people teying to progress. So is it just first come first serve?

I do know of a couple people who recently moved states away from where they were and just stayed in the same job. They worked with their manager and the manager didn’t care where they were since they were never colocated. Others knew someone in company that had a role open and moved into it. Unfortunately for people like me it is more of a social club than a performance based culture for any job movement but that certainly isn’t limited to verizon.

Ahh!

"If they had the time in role and the success, why did they need to interview for a new position? You would think you could just show you that you have the required skills needed and post for the job."

No one really thinks like this, do they? Just because you want to move somewhere else, doesn't give anyone a leg up on anyone else… The hiring manager where they want to move, has no idea who they are, so why would he just accept them as an employee. Just because you happened to have done the same work before, and managed to walk through the door. You can't “Show what you can do” without an interview?
Just because you can show you did it on paper, doesn't prove you are a good employee. For all the hiring manager knows, you could be a real pita to work with, that doesn't get along with anyone else (I've seen plenty of those)

PS: Every job that was ever posted in the area I worked, was filled before it was posted. A rec was usually submitted with a job description that nearly 100% matched the skill set the targeted employee could already show on paper. Then customary interviews were held, and everyone other than the person targeted was sent a “Thank you for your interest, but we are going with someone else” notice.

That's just the way it works BAU, except during reorg's & rif's when all bets are off.
Don't ever “expect” to get a job in another part of the country, unless you know someone within the job group where you are applying.

Well, if you do away with interviews, next comes the process of empowerment and enrichment to the employee and overall hiring process. Create equity and fairness by doing away with opinions and impartiality. Create requirements for job postings. Very unlikely that someone without experience could move into a major role.

Create a "job-level" that allows for entry and continued progression. Entry wouldn't have to always be at the lowest levels..

Empower employees to choose their path and find and work at positions that excite them vs being stranded in a role that they can't stand. No value to anyone in that circumstance.

Open roles could include open role, follow up role and possibly even third level role. If an employee on the team bumps up to the next higher position their role becomes open.. someone bumps up, their role opens up and so-forth.

So much potential and empowerment.. could probably turn Verizon around and be a huge motivator

so without an interview process, what is it, first come, first serve??

As far as getting into an area where you have no background, you need to find a director or above in that department and ask them to mentor you. That's how you solve the "and who you know".

If you do away with the interview process completely it would empower the employee. Job satisfaction would increase. People could move and learn new roles.

I'd love to try sales but can't get in. I don't know anything about retail.. would be interested in learning. And all the other channels and things Verizon does - who knows?? I just know it's unlikely I'll get a shot.

I'm not sure I understand why internal interview is needed? It's not like we don't have metrics showing performance. It's not like we can't see time in role, attendance, timeliness, progression... I don't understand what else is needed?

Hey, "Tell me about a time you did .... x,y,z"?
"Tell me about a customer you had that was... x,y,z?"

Tell me about a time when you researched, x,y,z..

Hello.. it's all right there. We already know all the metrics, all the times, all the research you did, the tough customers, the sales you had.

I don't get what's left to know? I thought we were one team and inclusion and cultural differences mattered. .. I'm bought in Verizon, why aren't you?

Where's the higher gear now?

In short, because there is no “surplus priority” to applicants who were given layoff notice, such as with CWA.

Now granted, we have absorbed people who were low - mid on the Senior Manager band, and they could keep their old pay as long as it didn’t break the upper limits of the job they were stepping down to. That might be converter to hourly if that role was a 7T. Of course bonus would be less.

this is the same reason you cant unionize. you have no skills and are not desirable

This is when HR has the ability to show their power. HR will ensure that the correct percentage of people from all segments of the population are included and receive an interview. If the manager conducts the interviews appropriately and selects the best candidate for the position, an offer is not immediately prepared for such candidate. HR will review how all segments of the population are represented within that team, group and organization. If they feel a specific segment is not represented or represented well enough by some unknown standards, HR will force the hiring manager into selecting someone of their choosing. Manager does not have the final word, they are only the ones spending hours conducting interviews, asking the id--tic required questions, then summarizing for HR to review. It is all one big joke and you can see during the last 20 years, the more power HR has garnered, the worse the company has performed. Coincidence, no such thing. No specific individual planned it to occur, but HR has it all working behind closed doors, while patting themselves on the back for a job well done.

“ No one makes a career here anymore, and that's the way they like it.”

I find it hilarious at times that they are pushing all these new changes of gps and the like because they want us to make a career here. At the same time they seem to be really pushing highlighting people who have been here a long time to show how it is working. How exactly did a policy this year make folks stay 30+ years? Maybe you can’t take credit for all that Sam.

This is why networking is important people. It isn't just what you know, it's who you know. And that's not unique to Vz. Your friend may be better served applying to jobs outside the company. No one makes a career here anymore, and that's the way they like it.

There was a time when internals poor performers were pawned off on other groups so managers and performance scores/reviews cant be trusted since most everyone gets the same rating and everything is kept positive. Also I have found many internal postings are already filled before they are posted and interviews are just for show.

Applying 80 different roles, does it mean 80 internal jobs ?
what skill does your friend has ? who can apply for 80 different roles.

in general, you never get a reply, even if you know the person for years (been there). No hard feelings though, worked out for the best anyway

Most times when roles are posted they already have someone selected. They waste everyone’s time and energy with interviews that are a complete waste of time. Promotions at VZ are very hard to come by.

I agree.. a horse is a horse is a horse. They're all the same. Let them run.

If you could show where the process we have now actually works and could say.. this person in this position is the best ever, we'll then maybe I'd say yeah, we don't need any change.

But I don't see that very much, do you?

If Verizon did open it up, I think you'd attract a lot of talent knowing they'd have freedom to move and gain experience

I agree with the OG. Why apply to a role? I already work for the company.

Applying for what? Your approval? Your opinion if I can do the role? Who are you?

Why is there competition? That's the problem. You are looking for whoever YOU think is best - and when you do that, there goes all of the effort, all of the time, all of the work I put into my current role. Here comes someone from outside the company who sounds good, looks good, has some qualifications but can't do the role I'm already doing.

Where was the external candidates performance measures in the previous role? Where is the time they spent in the previous role? You're coming from another channel? Great, let's see you preform in the rankings below. Why am I overlooked? Why does my time and qualifications not count? Was it because of your opinions? Were you able to test and prove I couldn't move up, or that I couldn't do the job?

Terrible. Empower the employees. Let them move based on meeting criteria for the role.

We are tired of opinion and politics holding us back. 30 years in the same role and 50 applications to try and move over the years. How do you justify that Verizon?

Just because they had time and success in their current role, does not meet they are a good (or the best) fit for the role they are applying to. Why do you think they should not have to interview for a new role? Depending on the role being applied to, there may be tons of competition. Jobs in their current role may not be available in the area to which they want to relocate.

Geographic area matters too. Even if they found a job in the same role in a lower geo area, while they typically would not take a hit up front, their salary may stagnate until the pay line for that area catches up.

As far as pay, all things being equal, if they accepted a role in a lower paying job, it stands to reason their salary would decrease.

Not enough info in this post to hazard a guess as to why this turned out the way it did.

I haven't looked in awhile, but I can't image there are too many internal roles being posted outside of retail. 80 different roles with job openings seems a stretch.

You don’t just cold apply when you want to move internally, you have to reach out to the hiring manager and start a conversation