[stackdestroyer]

Several times. The first two times were in the span of two years - 2001 and 2003, in the last gasps of the dot-com bust in the Bay Area. Both were due to the companies either going out of business or extreme restructuring to avoid going out of business. I was a middle manager both times. The hardest part was not having saved enough money during the good times, which is a lesson I've never forgotten.

The third time was later in my career and was something of a relief, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I had been in an executive leadership role, overworked, stressed out, and had become ineffective at executing because of the pressure and stress. Being let go didn't hurt as bad as it could have because I had learned the lesson of saving and investing from my previous layoffs, and even though it wasn't a stress-free period, I was able to take about 6 months to decompress, look for work and enjoy the time with my family.

Overall, I'm grateful for the lessons in each of the occasions I was let go. Two key lessons for me were: Save money while the times are good, and work to live, not the other way around. I'm a more balanced person as a result, and I've "grown up" in ways I don't think I would have without these episodes.