The call . . .

When I heard the phone ring I could tell the call was going to be important.  The ringtone was the same it had always been.  There was no difference in its tone except that for some odd reason it just sounded important.  Like my phone was saying. "Answer this moron! It's critical that you do so!", and so I did, and indeed it was.

The person on the other end of the line turned out to be a friendly recruiter.  I almost cried.  Well no not really but you get the point.  I was excited and the call definitely caught me off guard.  I mean I was here checking out the latest Google News while I enjoyed my morning bowl of rice crispies, not the real rice crispies, no i can't afford those, I was eating the imitation brand from Winn Dixie which I find is just as good, or at least that's what I tell myself.  Whatever, so there I was eating my cereal and this recruiter calls me from out of nowhere.  Let me give you some perspective on this.

I have been looking for new employment ever since late last December.  I have applied for dozens upon dozens of positions and it was not until two days ago that I got my first phone call for an interview.  Needless to say, I was starting to get a little ancy about the whole thing and yes even a little depressed.  Now I know this is just an interview but man it sure feels good to know that someone is interested enough in your skills that they are willing to pay you for them.  It feels good to know that you are still useful and viable in this mess of an economy we are living through.

So there I am speaking with this friendly recruiter for a company that I had applied to several times before and basically she informs that I would have to be flexible with my hours and that the pay they were offering was . . . ahhhhh . . . well let's say I would be making less than half of what I was making before.  And you know what?  I really don't care.  I need a job.  I need an income.  I need to pay my mortage.  As you all well know it's not all about salary.  This is a highly reputable company with excellent benefits and from what I can see my job would be pretty secure there.  What else could you ask for?

You see these are things that many folks in my position have had to do.  Ego is not something we can afford right now.  Sometimes you just have to take it where it hurts for the sake of survival and for the sake of your sanity.   Since I was laid off I was given a new perspective on things.  I've seen that keeping things simple is very important because it's easy to spend money that you don't have when you have a steady stream of income but when you're not sure where your next paycheck is going to come from, well then things change a little.  You learn to cut the fat in your spending.  You learn how to get by on less and in the end you have a better appreciation for things.

So let's see what happens.  My interview is scheduled for the 9th of February.  I'll let you guys know what happens.  Till then keep your hopes up and keep it simple.

Coming soon!

Hello all!

That is if there is anybody actually reading this thing. Either way I just would like to inform that I have a couple of things I'm working on that I will be posting very soon. So keep your eyes peeled. If you look to the right panel of this page you will see a nifty little news feed I added to keep all of you informed of the happenings in the employment world. I apologize for not posting sooner but I've been tied up with school work. Stay tuned.

It's starting to get a bit crowded: It seems I spoke too soon.

Today has been a very ugly day for the job market as many big-name companies announce massive layoffs across the country.  The tally, as I've been able to gather form different sources, is as follows:

Home Depot -               7,000

Sprint Nextel -             8.000

Caterpillar -                20,000

Texas Instruments-    3,400

General Motors-          2,000

Pfizer-                          19,500

Philips-                          6,000

ING-                              7,000

Corus-                           3,500

--------------------------------------------

GRAND TOTAL        76,400 Jobs lost today.

Here are a couple of links to the articles I used get these numbers:

Financial Times - http://tinyurl.com/b4mzcl

New York Times - http://tinyurl.com/dzqgey

As far as I can tell from news reports that I have read, there is no foreseeable ending to this downward trend.  Experts are saying there will be more to come and that 2009 is not going to be pretty.

In the meantime, families are at home gritting their teeth and shutting their eyes while they wait for the next painful blow.  

It's starting to get a bit crowded. 8,000 lose their jobs @ Sprint/Nextel

Here is a story I found on the Marketwatch.com website with details on some of the latest to join the ranks of the unemployed.  Brace yourselves though, I only fear there is more to come.

Living La Vida Unemployed: Scared but Hopeful

In all of my years as a member of the workforce, I have never been without a job for more than a week.  I started working right out of high school and ever since then I have had a constant stream of employment that has kept me busy and my wallet not so empty.  I worked hard and long hours.  I was "taking care of business".  I was "workin' for the weekend" and all of those other clichés you can think of.  Work was never lacking and as I left one position for another with more responsibility, my income increased accordingly.  Not once did I ever have to take a job for less than what I was currently making.  Not once.  But my oh my how times have changed.

The markets have taken a nose dive into this seemingly bottomless pit of a recession.  People are in terror of losing their jobs, so they hold back and don't spend as much.  As a result, businesses begin to cut back because their revenues drop.  Stores close, plants shutdown, whole divisions of companies are either dismantled or scrapped and along with all that employees get sent home; pink slip in hand.  I am no economist and I'm pretty sure there's more to it than this but you get the picture.  It's a vicious cycle that feeds on itself and its main by-product is fear.

This is the fear that is brought about by uncertainty.  No human likes to be on shaky ground.  No one likes not being sure if they'll able to pay their mortgage next month.  No one likes having to make the choice between paying their light bill and buying the medicines they need.  No one likes having to take money from friends and relatives without having the slightest idea when or if they will be able to pay them back.  No, no one likes any of this stuff but it’s the reality that many of us are living today, myself included. 

We live in a world that totters between fear and hope.  Fear of what is to come, and hope in that what does come might be better than what we have now. 

Thanks to all for reading.  Good night and keep your hopes up.  I’ll try my best to do the same.  I’ll let you know what happens.

Greetings!

Hello all!

First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit my little corner of the web. I have created this blog in order to share with all of you my experience as someone who has been recently unemployed. I say recently, but actually, on the 28th of this month, I will be "celebrating", not really, the one-month anniversary of that all too memorable day when my boss walked into my office and uttered the words, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go." It will be an anniversary of sorts but not one I'm particularly looking forward to.

This current recession has hit many hard-working individuals and families very hard. In my particular situation, it has been tough for my wife and I to make ends meet, but with God's help and the generosity of our family and friends, we have been able to cover our costs. We are very grateful for all of the help and support we have received, and I honestly don't know where we would be right now without it. Our best wishes go out to those families who are enduring these very difficult times. Hopefully, things will get better soon.

I sincerely hope that those who decide to follow this blog can take away something from it. Maybe a little perspective. Maybe some helpful information or maybe just some entertainment. In any case, it will give me something to do while I scour the job boards in my frustrating quest for new employment. So stay tuned. Who knows. This blog might be something worth reading. Goodnight!