Fired for Now: Getting fired, laid off, and hired again

This video is all very, very top-level stuff, but still nicely produced and a good check-list for the newly laid-off; Courtesy of Howcast. However, apologies to Canadian readers: the legal references are all from a U.S. POV.

I read a sobering article this morning that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times. If you’re a boomer, be forewarned. It may not be pretty reading.

It’s about a job fair that was held in New York this week that saw more than 5,000 people show up at a venue able to accommodate only 1,000. People paid $20 for a chance to drop off a resume and steal a minute of face time with 40 employers, and many waited more than 2 hours in line to get in. The … Continue Reading

Job interviews are not pleasant. Anyone out of steady work is instantly buoyed by the possibility of a job offer, but I don’t know anyone who looks forward to the actual interview.

The entire task is to convince someone that you’re competent, talented, motivated, intelligent, a good investment, and a good ‘fit’ (an amorphous quality linked to the often equally-amorphous culture of that particular workplace). They always represent an unequal power dynamic. Their structure makes it hard to avoid being in defensive mode. That’s because the entire proceeding is about proving … Continue Reading

There’s an article floating around the web. Actually, it’s not just one article but one theme with about 10,000 variations. These articles are usually called something like “What to do when you’re laid off”.

And here’s the thing: I think they’re written by someone who’s working.

That’s because so much of what’s flogged as helpful advice to the recently-axed is anything but. In fact, some of it can be downright dangerous.

It runs the gamut from minimizing the impact, to making unrealistic expectations, to being completely out of touch with life on Planet … Continue Reading

1. The pre-Oscar spike in non-surgical procedures at Hollywood plastic surgeons is down. Watch for a few more lines and thinner lips tonight. Except on Angelina Jolie.

2. The usual line-up of stars will be missing from the pre-show red-carpet gawking. To boost ratings and attract advertisers, ABC has yanked presenters off the red carpet and you’ll only be able to see them as part of the actual awards show. Organizers believe that viewers who are mainly interested in Oscar fashions tune in only … Continue Reading

I’m now half-way through my 3-month contract. Aka my 3-month let’s-see-if-we-like-you-and-your-work-cuts-it-and-we-might-keep-you-longer contract.

Today was another hurdle passed. It’s called the Client Presentation. In advertising terms, the Client Presentation is a big deal. It’s when you get to present the concepts you’ve been preparing for weeks, or sometimes only days, and sell them to the client. At least you hope to sell them.

A whole lot rests on the Client Presentation. It’s one thing to sell your creative director on your ideas – and that is absolutely a big deal too, since he … Continue Reading

A condo developer here in Toronto has gone to the mat to increase confidence in a gun-shy buying market. Purchasers can get their full deposit back if they suffer “involuntary job loss.”

It’s a bold move that follows in the footsteps of Hyundai who crashed the Superbowl this year with its no-questions-asked offer of returning a car should you lose your job after leasing or financing a vehicle.

In fact, Robert Falus of the Brownstone Group got the idea after seeing the Hyundai spot. Falus believes “there are a lot of … Continue Reading

It is such an enormous decision that I’ve been coming to it slowly. But I realize now I can’t avoid making it. I’m going to sell my house. Of course, I’m lucky to own a house. Well, me and the bank. And that’s the problem.

I moved into this house when I was pregnant with my first child. This past fall, my third and youngest began university. With that much time passing, you’d think I’d be in pretty good financial shape vis a vis housing. After all, that’s a lot of … Continue Reading

Image by Anthony Suau

The photograph I’ve uploaded here is the winning entry of the 2008 World Press Photo of the Year announced on the weekend. It’s a disturbing image, not so much because of what is evident at first glance, but because of what isn’t.

The image isn’t of a drug bust or a violent domestic stand-off. It’s a picture of an armed sheriff moving through an American home after an eviction due to a mortgage foreclosure. He is checking for squatters. Interestingly enough, this … Continue Reading

A collection of cartoons from The New Yorker dating back to 1992.
Yes, we’ve been here before.

Published in The New Yorker 2001

Published in The New Yorker 1996

Published in The New Yorker 1994