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

Yesterday, I met my first prospective tenant. I’m making a big change in living arrangements in order to avoid making other changes – like selling my house.

So I’m giving up my privacy. My sense of self-containment. My freedom to act, behave and express in any way I want at any time of day or night — well, within the limits my family will accept. It’s certainly not as big a change as others have had to make, and it’s probably radical in the view of some others.

What adjustment … Continue Reading

When I was laid off, my children knew right away. I’m not good at hiding things and I sometimes wear my heart on my sleeve too much for my own good. Plus, my kids are big. Like young-adult big.

So when I lost my job, I felt a deep sense of shame in telling them the news. I felt like I had failed them. I wasn’t the parent they could be proud of. No child boasts about a parent who spends their days at home in sweat pants, on the phone and net in between reruns of Law and Order … Continue Reading

I have a confession to make.

I have to admit to a small-minded, not-so-pretty response to hearing the news that 16 more people were just let go by the company that laid me off last November.

Without question, my heart goes out to those affected. But there’s something else going on. While I hate what’s happening to the individuals, I also feel a sense of satisfaction at the news.

Okay, now you must think I’m some awful cruel-hearted monster. But no, what I’m feeling is a sense of vindication. And I think that … Continue Reading

I’ve never taken a class in economics and my eyes glaze over at a page of tables and numbers, so anything that helps me make sense of the current economic mess is appreciated.

When it explains that mess so thoroughly, at a pace that makes the minutes disappear and entertains as well, it’s a not-to-be-missed documentary for our times. That’s the film I.O.U.S.A.

Some critics have said I.O.U.S.A. is to the U.S. economy what An Inconvenient Truth was to the environment. It’s taken the dry subject of economics and cogently explains how the … Continue Reading

It’s no secret that job loss can lead to depression and despair. When things seem unmanageable with no end in sight, it can also lead to a tragic ending. Yesterday, the Associated Press published a story about two brothers, third-generation car dealers Gregory and Randolph Graham, who are now dead following the slow collapse of their car dealership in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

As the article explains, “Gregory, 61, went out to the dealership lot in the middle of the night last month, set fire to some of his vehicles and died of a heart attack next to the burning wreckage. Then, over … Continue Reading

About three weeks ago I wrote a post about Google’s $6.3 million payout in bonuses to their senior management team. At that time I took some major heat for putting them on my wall of shame – not here, but on Open Salon where I also occasionally post.

Many felt that my outrage was unwarranted given the success of Google. The majority felt that since Google has been so successful as a company – and certainly in no need of government assistance – the bonuses were fair and reasonable.

But something’s … Continue Reading

Today launches the first-ever LaidOff Camp taking place in San Francisco. And yes, it’s free.

The one-day event promises to be a morale booster and network builder not simply for the unemployed, but for the alternatively employed looking to start non-traditional ways of earning a living. That would include freelancers, consultants, entrepreneurs and start-ups. And there are plenty of new ones around who are now either fed up with being at the mercy of an employer, or are using their laid-off circumstances to follow a dream.

LaidOffCamp was started by … 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

It’s a nice gesture for a fast-food chain, but my “is-this-really-altruistic” antennae is way up. California Tortilla (with locations in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virgina and Pennsylvania) is offering a Burrito Elito card to anyone who’s been laid off since November.

The card will get you one free burrito — all you have to do is mail in your proof of termination to the company headquarters by February 27th.

Now I don’t want to in any way diminish the goodwill of a company trying to help out those … Continue Reading