And, yup, I'm a card carrying member. I was canned at 9 a.m. on 2-09-09, so now I'm leery of nines!!
I was cannedMan, how often have I read this during the last months on BM? Much too often :(.
I remember you telling about a collegue of yours getting fired recently and that you went to lunch(?) with her to offer some comfort. Hope you had at least someone doing something nice for you on this day (even if it's only a small comfort).Actually, I was not alllowed to even speak to anyone. An HR person stood in the doorway of my office until I had all my belongings packed up (it took several hours, since I had been there six years) and then a security guard escorted me out of the building!
I only have to offer some virtual flowers :-\. And since it's Valentine's Day, I chose red and pink:Thank you very much, friend!! :-*
For you!
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/blumenstrauss.jpg)
Sorry to hear that, Lee, David and Laura.
I wasn't officially canned, since I've been freelancing for 12 years, but I've been looking for something more steady with no luck whatsoever, and am finding freelancing gigs harder to come by these days, too. Can I be a semi-official member?
Actually, I was not alllowed to even speak to anyone. An HR person stood in the doorway of my office until I had all my belongings packed up (it took several hours, since I had been there six years) and then a security guard escorted me out of the building!Thank you very much, friend!! :-*
You bet, friend! We need all the friends we can get here!!
...we were the most experienced people with the highest salaries. So, let that be a word of warning to you if you have clawed your way to the top of your organization. You may be toppled!!
Step right up all ye Brokies who have recently or not so recently joined the swelling ranks of the canned, and let's form the BetterMost Can Club! Of all the canned people of the world, we are the BetterMost, and if we stick together, we'll have some high time entertainment!!
And, yup, I'm a card carrying member. I was canned at 9 a.m. on 2-09-09, so now I'm leery of nines!!
Actually, I was not alllowed to even speak to anyone. An HR person stood in the doorway of my office until I had all my belongings packed up (it took several hours, since I had been there six years) and then a security guard escorted me out of the building!
I tried to find out why I was selected out of everyone in my department. In talking to other colleagues who were canned, we discovered that we were the most experienced people with the highest salaries. So, let that be a word of warning to you if you have clawed your way to the top of your organization. You may be toppled!!!
Here I am! Present and accounted for...canned, though it wasn't stated quite so baldly. No, the euphemisms that Blue Cross used were 'eliminating my position' and 'restructuring during this period of uncertainty'.
.. So we are dependent on one income, and I worry for it.
Here I am! Present and accounted for...canned, though it wasn't stated quite so baldly. No, the euphemisms that Blue Cross used were 'eliminating my position' and 'restructuring during this period of uncertainty'.
::)
This is a very good idea for a thread. I cannot believe how many BetterMostians are currently unemployed or underemployed at the moment! And if you look at us across the board, there's a helluva lot of talent here!
Tell you what, tho. This weekend in NYC was very good for me, mentally. In between the fun times, I updated the resume and cover letters and applied for 22 jobs. As Roux pointed out to me, it's pretty easy for me to apply for jobs because IT jobs are typically posted on specific websites and you can apply online, which makes the process much easier.
Still, I am 99% sure that without the Brokie support (and commiseration) this weekend, I'd be at home trying to decide which season of Buffy I wanted to watch next.
;) :-\
I discussed this job situation with my ex, Price, who most of you know I consider a trusted friend and advisor. Given the economy, he thinks I should embrace the volatility, focus on finding short-term assignments, not get too attached to anywhere geographically (like St. Augustine, sadly), and ride it out. In this way I can probably pick up some new skills in different environments, perhaps squeeze in some additional training, and be prepared for when the economy does pick up again.
Good wishes to everyone in this not-so-exclusive boat. Let's support each other so we come out of this better than when we started, hunh?
8)
((Lynne)) I'm so sorry you joined the club, too. It sounds like Price gave you some good advice - but, of course, I know that everything is always easier said than done.
Quite understandable. There was a headline a few weeks ago in my morning paper: "Anxiety is the New Normal."
Marie
Still, I am 99% sure that without the Brokie support (and commiseration) this weekend, I'd be at home trying to decide which season of Buffy I wanted to watch next.
((Lynne)) I'm so sorry you joined the club, too. It sounds like Price gave you some good advice - but, of course, I know that everything is always easier said than done.
Quite understandable. There was a headline a few weeks ago in my morning paper: "Anxiety is the New Normal."
Marie
Yikes, Lynne! weren't you just posting on my blog that you were well situated with a long-term contract and prepared to ride out the storm? How rapidly things change!
And when are you going to visit next, Crayons??
Katherine - I thought about you in NYC every time I spotted someone reading the NY Times. I guess it may evolve, but I do not see the denizens of NY giving up their daily paper.
End Times
Can America’s paper of record survive the death of newsprint? Can journalism?
I was laid off from my job of 24 years on Jan. 17th.
Those that had only been there a couple of years didn't !!!!
Hmmmmm...............
There is no security or loyalty in the work place anymore.
Sending out resumes seems like a waste of time because I never hear anything back.
Ya gotta know someone to get a job.
>:(
Yikes!!! that is a long time to hold a job, though, Karen! Hang in there. I only get jobs via resume, so keep on trucking!
This sure isn't where I hoped or expected to be at my age....but........... :-\
Yes, I'll put a few in the Globetrotting BetterMostians thread.
I've got two interviews this week -- one today and one tomorrow. The first in well over a year! More later. Gotta go get ready for today's.
Sorry and best of luck to all others who don't have it as lucky as I, during these horrible times. Maybe people can post what careers they had or want to have in future, just in case some of the rest of us know of openings outside our own personal line of experience?
I say a week, Lynne, if it is in IT recruitment.
Lynne, I'm sharing your excitement. Mostly, because you might come to Boston! Yay!
Yay Katherine!! :D I'm interested to hear what kind of jobs they are.
Either would be lucky to have you, Katherine. You can use the word fecund in a sentence! ;D ;)
One is writing/editing articles for a trade pub, the other is writing/editing general-interest lifestyle articles for a marketing company that sells them as website content or newspaper advertorials.
They pay about the same -- not bad, not great. A little less than I was earning 12 years ago, when I left newspapers. Both are in sort of bleak buildings located in suburban industrial parks.
The marketing one has much better benefits than the trade pub -- much better than I ever got in my newspaper jobs, in fact. It's also in a better location for commuting. So I'm rooting more for that one.
I won't know more for at least a couple of weeks. Neither job really sets my pulse racing, as you can probably tell, but the prospect of a steady decent income is nice. Neither are jobs I would have considered applying for in my 30s. But back then, newspapers were going to last forever and there wasn't an economic crisis and I wasn't something of a displaced at-home mom. I just read a NYT article about people who've gone from six-figure executive jobs to hourly-pay work, including one in a janitorial job, so compared to that I'd feel lucky.
Tomorrow is the big interview day for the job I think I really really want.
Please send me some mojo...
O0
enjaRouxB
good luck!!...they would be lucky to have you agree to work for them!
;)
Tomorrow is the big interview day for the job I think I really really want.
Please send me some mojo...
O0
I´ll be out of a job in about a month from now. I haven´t been canned but my contract only lasts until then. So now I´m applying for jobs but it´s not as many jobs to apply for as it used to be. I´m just gonna keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Welcome to the club, everyone! I'm interested in hearing about the new experiences many of us are all having. I went back to my old company today for the first time in about three weeks to meet a friend for lunch. My friend had to come and wait for me in the lobby because he was told that I wouldn't be allowed to go upstairs to his office. A security guard has been hired to keep ex-employees from entering the building.
Worse yet, I found out that my ex-boss and others at the company spend their time speculating on where I'll work next and what my pay will be. My ex-boss has told people what my salary was and bets I'll earn less than half at the new place.
I've been escorted off the property before. Several times in fact. It's highly embarrassing. The last time it happened to me, somebody stood watching me as I put my personal belongings into a box, then walked me down the hall, out the door and followed me to my car. >:(
oh please...he was checking out that fine behind and wanted to see what kinda car you were driving... ;) ;)
I hope he got a good look. Because that was the last time he ever saw my ass. I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn't steal something that didn't belong to me. Like a pencil or pen. Or an eraser. ::)
Oh please...he was checking out that fine behind and wanted to see what kinda car you were driving...
:laugh:
Check this out, yall. A Denver advertising/design blog was having a 'hire these people' kind of thing and was posting different a person's work up each day. Yesterday was my turn. This morning got an email... from a Wall St Journal reporter asking if he could talk with me on the phone about "creative people affected by the recession". I spoke with him later, but whatta thing to have to be interviewed about...
::) :(
It was just samples of each person's design work. The whole reason the blog was doing this is that designers have been hurting lately, along with everyone else. I guess the reporter guy happened to spot it on the day my work was featured.
(And some anonymous commenters [probably other designers, or maybe just one guy pretending to be different people] trashed my work. Assholes! >:( )
It was just samples of each person's design work. The whole reason the blog was doing this is that designers have been hurting lately, along with everyone else. I guess the reporter guy happened to spot it on the day my work was featured.
(And some anonymous commenters [probably other designers, or maybe just one guy pretending to be different people] trashed my work. Assholes! >:( )
How did you get on Roux?
I think the interview went really well. This is my eleventyeth interview with this bank and they seem to want to hire me but...
The job is a good fit for me though I will need to brush up on my financial analysis skills. I should know by the end of the month. Hopefully they will be ready to just get on with it and make an offer Monday.
If nothing else I looked damn good 8)
I think the interview went really well. This is my eleventyeth interview with this bank and they seem to want to hire me but...
The job is a good fit for me though I will need to brush up on my financial analysis skills. I should know by the end of the month. Hopefully they will be ready to just get on with it and make an offer Monday.
If nothing else I looked damn good 8)
If nothing else I looked damn good 8)
>:( >:( >:(
those who can't, trash those that can; don't let it get to you. They aren't worth the time!
This is my eleventyeth interview with this bank...
Maybe I need to start a "Bettermost Retirees Club" :)
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg232/brokeplex/natural%20feelings/Cat202620Rocking20Chair.jpg)
I have quit some jobs in my time, but was never canned.
I am now retired, so I guess its too late.
Still-not-quite-belated good wishes to all! Roux, I can't even imagine how damn good you looked, since you always look damn good.
;) You're lucky, dude.
I had an interview today. It's with a publisher of new-age media (books, CDs, etc). They have their pets in the office and a very casual atmosphere. The work would basically be just putting together sales emails and stuff. Potentially boring, lots of coding, and not as creative/visual as I'd like, but I do like that fact that it's a laid-back place... We'll see.
Welcome to the club, everyone! I'm interested in hearing about the new experiences many of us are all having. I went back to my old company today for the first time in about three weeks to meet a friend for lunch. My friend had to come and wait for me in the lobby because he was told that I wouldn't be allowed to go upstairs to his office. A security guard has been hired to keep ex-employees from entering the building.
Worse yet, I found out that my ex-boss and others at the company spend their time speculating on where I'll work next and what my pay will be. My ex-boss has told people what my salary was and bets I'll earn less than half at the new place.
I had an interview today. It's with a publisher of new-age media (books, CDs, etc). They have their pets in the office and a very casual atmosphere. The work would basically be just putting together sales emails and stuff. Potentially boring, lots of coding, and not as creative/visual as I'd like, but I do like that fact that it's a laid-back place... We'll see.
I think the interview went really well. This is my eleventyeth interview with this bank and they seem to want to hire me but...
The job is a good fit for me though I will need to brush up on my financial analysis skills. I should know by the end of the month. Hopefully they will be ready to just get on with it and make an offer Monday.
If nothing else I looked damn good 8)
Sounds like cool people to work with, though. Keeping my fingers crossed. ... :)
I've got a 2nd interview tomorrow!
Good luck to you, dear friend. And Roux and Lynne, please keep us apprised of your progress on your respective Coasts. Maybe one coast or the other will lead the rally.
I was offered some consulting work last week, but they seem to be backpedalling this week.
Well, we had a snowstorm here in Colorado yesterday, so my interview got postponed. The lady's out of town all next week, so it'll be a while... apply for other stuff in the meantime just in case.
Any news with yall? Crayons? RouxB? :)
Hope it works out Monika.thanks, and I´ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I should have a decision back on my situaion by the end of the month. :-\
I should have a decision back on my situaion by the end of the month. :-\
Hay, I like being a lady of leisure for a change! But oddly, I am busier than when I was working! When you have a job, you have a built-in excuse to get out of things you don't want to do. Plus, now my friends call me up and say, "Since you have extra time on your hands, would you..." and it's hard to say no!!
I'm enjoying catching up on life. There is a whole world out there that I've been missing while I've been so busy working. Life and death things happening, and I was wasting my time thinlking constantly about how to enrich my employer! I was so misled!!
Today, I was shopping at Goodwill and as I finished suddenly realised that a freak storm had happened. Snow was flying horizontally thru the parking lot. I ran to my car, cursing that I had put off getting gas and would have to do it in the storm. As I went to the gas station, I passed a bus stop and saw a young person standing waiting for the bus, turning his or her back against the wind, as I had seen horses do in Wyoming. It was just miserable looking. As I gassed up my car, I decided to go back and offer the person a ride. But, as I drove up, I saw a bus there and I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to play Good Samaritan. But when the bus left, the miserable figure was still there. I stopped and called out, "Can I give you a ride?" and the young man ran toward my car, crying out, "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" He jumped in my car and gave directions to the county courthouse where he said he was due in 5 minutes in order to get some work. The boy could not have been over 20 and may have been as young as 16. As I dropped him off, he said triumphantly, "I'm right on time!" and then told me "God Bless You." I have felt great all evening with that "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" echoing in my ears!
I'm enjoying catching up on life. There is a whole world out there that I've been missing while I've been so busy working. Life and death things happening, and I was wasting my time thinlking constantly about how to enrich my employer! I was so misled!!
Today, I was shopping at Goodwill and as I finished suddenly realised that a freak storm had happened. Snow was flying horizontally thru the parking lot. I ran to my car, cursing that I had put off getting gas and would have to do it in the storm. As I went to the gas station, I passed a bus stop and saw a young person standing waiting for the bus, turning his or her back against the wind, as I had seen horses do in Wyoming. It was just miserable looking. As I gassed up my car, I decided to go back and offer the person a ride. But, as I drove up, I saw a bus there and I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to play Good Samaritan. But when the bus left, the miserable figure was still there. I stopped and called out, "Can I give you a ride?" and the young man ran toward my car, crying out, "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" He jumped in my car and gave directions to the county courthouse where he said he was due in 5 minutes in order to get some work. The boy could not have been over 20 and may have been as young as 16. As I dropped him off, he said triumphantly, "I'm right on time!" and then told me "God Bless You." I have felt great all evening with that "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" echoing in my ears!
I will be resigning from the can club effective April 25th!
yippppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I can buy those boots I coveted last time I was in NYC! And I already told them I have Brokie engagements that I will need to take off for in the next few months. And they will be paying me considerably more than I was making at my old job. And I still get 4 weeks vacation. And my 401K eligibility kicks in immediately. And I can walk to work. And I am waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy happy!(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/merylmarie/thHappyDance.gif)
This calls for a Happy Dance!!!
I will be resigning from the can club effective April 25th!
yippppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm enjoying catching up on life. There is a whole world out there that I've been missing while I've been so busy working. Life and death things happening, and I was wasting my time thinlking constantly about how to enrich my employer! I was so misled!!
Today, I was shopping at Goodwill and as I finished suddenly realised that a freak storm had happened. Snow was flying horizontally thru the parking lot. I ran to my car, cursing that I had put off getting gas and would have to do it in the storm. As I went to the gas station, I passed a bus stop and saw a young person standing waiting for the bus, turning his or her back against the wind, as I had seen horses do in Wyoming. It was just miserable looking. As I gassed up my car, I decided to go back and offer the person a ride. But, as I drove up, I saw a bus there and I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to play Good Samaritan. But when the bus left, the miserable figure was still there. I stopped and called out, "Can I give you a ride?" and the young man ran toward my car, crying out, "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" He jumped in my car and gave directions to the county courthouse where he said he was due in 5 minutes in order to get some work. The boy could not have been over 20 and may have been as young as 16. As I dropped him off, he said triumphantly, "I'm right on time!" and then told me "God Bless You." I have felt great all evening with that "YYYYEEEESSSS!!" echoing in my ears!
I will be resigning from the can club effective April 25th!
yippppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations, Lynne, Rich and Roux!!! :D :D :D
Hey, wait a minute! I musta missed something. Did Rich get a new job, too? :D
I heard about it second-hand, so I can't swear to it, although my source is very reliable. I don't know if Rich has posted about it. Sure hope that's one rumor that's true!
8)
I just discovered this thread. I lost my job at the end of February, and am searching for something, but so far nothing. I've applied to dozens of jobs, and get nothing in return. Actually I did have one interview a couple of weeks ago, but they gave the job to someone else. I worked for a land development company, and business is just so slow around here, they told me they had to let one of us go: me, in my mid 50's, or my co-worker - the 21 year old blond, shapely, pretty young thing. Being that most of my co-workers are middle aged males, guess who they let go? Not the 21 year old. They let me go - the one with the 30 years' experience doing this type of work, and who has seniority over the 21 year old. It's just not fair, and it's scary out here without a job! Just venting. Thanks for listening you all.
That's poop, Dobie1018. It sounds like discrimination. Had you been with that particular company longer than she?
I'm sorry to hear it and wish you the best of luck in getting a new job. I heard a report on the radio today telling about all the people who'd been laid off--and a large percentage are finding jobs--and several of those have found jobs that pay more than the ones they were laid off from. Let's hope that's the case for you!
{{{{{{{{{{Dobie1018}}}}}}}}}}
I just discovered this thread. I lost my job at the end of February, and am searching for something, but so far nothing. I've applied to dozens of jobs, and get nothing in return. Actually I did have one interview a couple of weeks ago, but they gave the job to someone else. I worked for a land development company, and business is just so slow around here, they told me they had to let one of us go: me, in my mid 50's, or my co-worker - the 21 year old blond, shapely, pretty young thing. Being that most of my co-workers are middle aged males, guess who they let go? Not the 21 year old. They let me go - the one with the 30 years' experience doing this type of work, and who has seniority over the 21 year old. It's just not fair, and it's scary out here without a job! Just venting. Thanks for listening you all.
:-\
Thats terrible. Why would they let the one with all the experience go?
:-\
Thats terrible. Why would they let the one with all the experience go?
It's not at all a good justification or fair, but I'd bet that the one with the more experience probably had a higher salary. That could be a factor... deciding to cut the one they'd have to pay the most money. That seems to be something of a trend I feel like I've heard about a lot lately.Thanks atz. You are probably right, I did have a higher salary than the other girl, but if you could see the way the guys kidded around with her, and acted goofy around her, and the way they would watch her and comment to each other as she walked away from them . . . . I don't know, probably my imagination. She also has a part-time bartender's job at night, and the guys would very often go to the bar where she worked and hang out there drinking until late at night. She's young, and likes to party, and so do they. Anyway it is what it is. I have to think positive, and think of it as an opportunity they have given me to find a better job.
{{{Dobie}}} I'm so sorry about your situation Bud.
Thanks for sharing your story FrontRanger. It certainly is similar to my situation. I have a feeling the same thing is happening at my old job, with young person in it, trying to do it all, now that I'm gone. Oh well. Sorry if I'm grumpy and grouchy around here lately. I'm just going through a lot of emotions these days - anger, sadness, desperation, hoplessness, sometimes even happiness that I'm not at that job anymore, and actually enjoying searching for something new. If I knew that I wouldn't eventually run out of money, I might enjoy job searching even more! I'll keep searching.. . . . . and searching.
you'll see, Dobie!! you'll get a new job and will wonder why you even cared about the old one at all. It will all work out in the end, don't be afraid. Take good care of you and be kind and forgiving to yourself, you have a right to feel all this stuff...
That bothers me sometimes too. I was out to lunch with a friend the other day and he complained that his raise was only 5%. I definitely had to bite my tongue then.
Oh, well, I think I finally said, "Care to trade places with me?" and that put it all in perspective!
That bothers me sometimes too. I was out to lunch with a friend the other day and he complained that his raise was only 5%. I definitely had to bite my tongue then.
I created this space for us to be miserable together if we need to, so hold forth all you like!!
Just wanted to report that I finally landed a job! It's with a law firm that I worked for about 4 years ago. I maintained friendships with the other legal assistants who worked there, and told them a few months ago that I was job-searching. Lo and behold, one of the girls decided to leave and look for a new job in the Orlando area. She got a new job very quickly and the office manager at the law firm phoned me to asked me if I was interested in coming in and speaking with the attorneys about stepping in and taking over her job. Of course I said yes, and they agreed to hire me on. That's it! I am now officially employed! I started there last week, and now I have to get back into the swing of working again, after being off for three and a half months! Thanks friends for your support and words of wisdom and encouragement!