By Joan Passarelli

Town Crier Correspondent

Transitions

Brian Crumrine, 30, a quality assurance manager, had been laid off in September. After a diligent job search, he had a new job offer with the salary he wanted.

Then, a few days later, the phone call came.

The company had lost a major customer, which cut their revenue so much that they couldn’t afford to hire him. The job was gone.

“It was like having a carrot dangled in front of my face and then snatched away,” said Crumrine.

This is happening all around Silicon Valley. Laid-off employees apply for jobs, go through the interview process and land a job offer, only to lose the new job before ever working a day.

“At first I was upset, really angry,” said Crumrine. “Now I’m worried. I’ve heard this has happened to a lot of people.”

Susan Slakey, 41, was well aware of this phenomenon when she began her last job search: it had happened to her three times already. So she was especially wary as she began her fourth round of interviews.

“I asked each of the four people I interviewed with how secure the company and the job were. I asked all the right questions, and I got the right answers, so I accepted the job. But it evaporated like all the others,” she said.

Slakey has a theory about why this happens. “Companies are in such a tough financial situation that they’re cutting their expenses so close. All it takes is a flutter in their income, and suddenly they can’t afford an employee.”

Did Slakey feel she was lied to?

Not really. “Top executives are keeping their information so close to the vest that the interviewers don’t know how bad their company’s situation is,” she suggested. “There’s no way to know whether this job is really there. It’s a crap shoot.”

Crumrine and Slakey are members of Transitions, a support group for those in big life transitions, especially changing jobs. Transitions meets Thursday evenings, 6-8 p.m., at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 2094 Grant Road, Mountain View, free of charge, and open to all.