My story, for what it's worth...

Got laid off in March. Went on active duty with the Air National Guard 3 weeks later, so that took me out of the job search. Now, I'm two weeks from going home and I'm starting up my job search.

I've sent out my resume, made a bunch of phone calls and I've found a few possiblilites. I live in the Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN area, which wasn't killed by the Dot-Com meltdown. So that is a good thing but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm expecting to have to put in some serious work and time to get my next job.

One thing I have noticed is how many SQL Server positions here in the Twin Cities want someone with OLAP experience and of course I don't have any (But I would love to learn!)

One thing about getting laid off...companies do use it to clean house, but many times it may have nothing to do with you. Even if your boss really likes you, if he has less power than his peers, you could still be out the door.

Diane