For some, layoffs work

From...

By Lessley Anderson

The party guy

(IDG) -- Back in the dot-com boom days, Marcus Ronaldi crashed most of the launch parties.

But then firms started failing -- including NorthPoint Communications, where Ronaldi worked as a network project manager. Though he was laid off in December without severance, Ronaldi, 30, didn't complain; he just kept partying.

He and fellow party-crasher Patty Beron threw the first San Francisco Pink Slip party at a small club called Fuse. The idea was to help laid-off workers network with recruiters and each other in a fun, boozy setting. The party drew about 400 people and was so successful that Ronaldi hasn't had to look for a real job. He just keeps throwing Pink Slip parties each month, and they keep getting bigger -- a bash in March drew 1,300 people to the Sound Factory in San Francisco. With those numbers, Ronaldi and Beron have attracted paid sponsorships, which pay their salaries.

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"This is my job," says Ronaldi, who makes nearly as much working part time on the parties as he did at NorthPoint. "But if I decide to work full time," he says, "I have these contacts I made through the Pink Slip parties."

The negotiator

Jon Gordon knew it was time to go. Although he was employee No. 1 at a New York-based Internet wireless-device company, the 23-year-old realized he didn't have the experience to lead his own business unit. With his morale suffering and productivity waning, Gordon wanted to be laid off.

But there was a catch: He wasn't going to leave without two weeks' severance, even though he was essentially quitting his job.

The CEO first offered a week and a half of severance, but Gordon insisted he deserved the full two weeks. "The money wasn't what was important, it was the principle," he notes. The conversation turned bitter: The CEO brought up favors he'd done for Gordon -- like when he'd written him a recommendation for business school. "That's when I got upset," says Gordon. "I said, 'You made me write my own recommendation letter, and all you did was sign it.'"

Though Gordon got up and threatened to storm out of the meeting, he mostly kept pressing the point that he wanted two weeks' pay. The CEO finally caved in -- proving that persistence pays off.

The career changer

At a time when many dot-commers live in fear of the ax, Inke Noel saw the Internet shakeout as an opportunity to pursue other interests. So in April, the graphic designer volunteered to be laid off from Listen.com, a shrinking San Francisco online music company, in exchange for four weeks' pay. "I thought it was better to take control of my life," says Noel, 24.

Noel's boyfriend, an indie filmmaker, was directing a short about an uptight computer programmer who develops a rare mental syndrome. Noel had an interest in film titling, so she offered her time and talent for "1061 Knapsack." By being frugal she was able to live off the severance for three months while volunteering long hours in a film-editing studio. "Even though you might not even notice them," says Noel, "titles are what tie it all together at the end of the movie."

The payoff for Noel goes beyond seeing her titles on screen at the Roxie, a popular art house in San Francisco. With an offer from another filmmaker, Noel sees a new career emerging. "I was talking to a friend about finding another job and she said, 'Inke, what you're doing is a real job,'" Noel laughs. "Yeah, I guess it is!"