Friday, January 16, 5:15 PM, conference room: I was laid-off. It happened. The news wasn’t lying about the economy. I’ve never been laid-off before. This was a new experience and I thought I’d spend the weekend letting the ones I care about know what was going on. Because of that, I thought I’d share what I appreciate but didn’t help:
1. Oh that sucks.
2. Really? I’m sorry.
3. F**k.
I know all of the above. While restating it to me can be a way of both us to commiserate and while those are great, comforting, emotive statements, I am past that. I was past that at 5:30 when I left the conference room.
Secondly, letting me know the economy is hard right now and everyone is struggling also does not help. And by help I mean it’s more likely to make me stab myself with a blunt object then go onward with my job search. All forms of media are a friendly reminder that it is a tough market and you are not alone if you are unemployed. I don’t need to hear it again. I remind myself that multiple times a day.
What is helpful is offering suggestions for where to look for jobs, being open minded and avoiding the phrase, “go get smashed.” While I would like to go get smashed, I think I’ll wait when I have a bit more cash unless of course it’s your treat.
This blog is a way to deal with being recently unemployed. I’d like to invite anyone else who is recently unemployed to add their voice, suggestions and enable a network of support because current economy, you made me unemployed.
