So, as pretty much everyone knows at this point, I am unemployed. I spent my first day as one the fallen pretty much doing nothing. Ok, I picked up the house a little bit, did some dishes, started some laundry. But that really isn't much. But I did start to think about my potential attack plan for my job search, which I plan on kicking off in grand style on Monday. That got me to realize the age in which I live, the age of blogs (duh), MySpace, and Facebook. Employers in Silicon Valley have proven themselves to be quite a savvy lot; not only will an employer take the time to check out your resume and call each and every reference, personal ad work-related....but they will "Google" you as well! Your on-line persona, pictures posted, blogs subjects, et al, can and will become fodder to be used in any decision to hire or not. One can never be too careful.
That said, I have begun to edit myself. I cannot help those blogs I have already posted which may contain foul language, but I am relatively certain that none contain anything that might be considered risque. In checking out my much older MySpace page, I did decide to eliminate some questionable "friends" as well as the standard drunk pictures that everyone on MySpace seems to have in their profiles at some point. I have to be more aware, more responsible, more of an (ugh) adult.
Another sad aspect of this whole unemployment thing is that I have to delay my gratification in purchasing a few items I had already been drooling over for the better part of a year, namely a bass guitar and amplifier. I simply cannot justify that sort of purchase in light of my current situation. It will have to wait until new employment is secured. Same goes for any new tattoo work (I was planning on completing my right arm's full sleeve and starting my left arm). Oh well.
Like I said....I hate being a responsible adult.....
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.....
Yesterday, I joined the ranks of thousands of other Americans who are unemployed as a result of our dwindling economy. For the past number of months, I had watched the reports on the morning and evening news about this company and that company laying off hundreds, even thousands, of people at a time, all in bids to save their sinking ships. Perhaps naively, I had felt that my company was somewhat insulated against this trend; we had enjoyed at least three years of positive results, meeting and exceeding all goals set forth in each year's business plan. My group had already been carved down to essentially a skeleton crew of sorts, scrambling at various points throughout the year to make sure we completed our assigned projects and each deliverable was available on time, on or before (more often before) the date requested. I thought our hard work - recognized by all and garnering us rather decent bonuses each year for the past several, as well as highly positive performance reviews which in turn awarded us with generous wage increases - would provide us with some semblance of protection against what I saw happening in the world.....
I was mistaken.
I will not use this - or any other forum - to speak badly about or otherwise denigrate my now-former employer; it serves no real purpose and doesn't change anything. And, the truth is, I truly enjoyed working there. However, I think it is understandable if I am a wee bit critical of the seeming motivations. While the company did indeed enjoy several years of positive numbers, the view of the executives is that the economy is tanking SO badly, that they have no choice but to implement what they themselves described as a preemptive move to protect the company as a whole and cut costs through a reduction in force. It wasn't that we were already doing poorly and need to "shore up" anything; it was purely a business move based on what they saw occurring now and what could potentially happen in the future if the economy and business climate continues in the direction it seems to be moving.
Now, Amy and I have spoken about all of this at great length, obviously. Some of our frustration - and even anger - stems from the seemingly obvious questions of why was a reduction in the workforce regarded as the first option to implement? I know for myself, and other also laid off - as well as many left behind - that had the company offered the option of, say, no pay raises and no bonuses for employees this year in order to put that money back into the company and keep our jobs.....it would have been agreed to. There is also the question of travel costs; while the company has tried to curtail travel as much as possible, it still occurs, racking up thousands of dollars in expenses each month. In this day and age, with the access to technology that I have from home - let lone what any actual company may have access to - traveling to meet anyone is not necessary. Web meetings, phone meetings, etc., should absolutely be the order of the day. But for whatever reason, that simply does not seem to be getting through to a great number of those who should really know better. I know these things are fact because I know those who set-up the travel, the hotels, the lunches, the dinners, etc. I know what gets spent and what could definitely be cut out. It is frustrating. I watched people who had worked there for 20 plus years have to pack up their offices. People cried. Morale is going to take a very long time to get back to anything even remotely close to what it had been prior to this event. And the rumor is that this was just a first round, one of perhaps several which may be occurring in the coming months.
Again, I do not want to denigrate the company; it - as a whole - serves a noble purpose and I truly enjoyed working there, loved my co-workers, had made many friends, was recognized for the good job I always did. But it should be understood how difficult this is to swallow, knowing that layoffs were not considered the last possible option but rather the first. It hurts to think that no one took the human factor into consideration.
And I know I am not the only one affected by something like this; I certainly do not expect any violins to be playing solely for me in the background. These are tough times for everyone. But we will make it through. Everything happens for a reason, when one door closes another usually opens, however slowly it may creak to allow us entry.
That said, I am going to take a decidedly Zen-like position on all of this, enjoy some time with my family, brush up on some skills (and perhaps learn some new ones), and roll up my sleeves to begin the arduous task of seeking gainful employment elsewhere. It does no good to sit on my ass and feel sorry for myself, now does it? And that said, I have to also say I feel for each and every one of my co-workers - those laid off like myself and those left behind to sort out the remaining pieces - and wish all of them, including the company as an entity (believe it or not!) good luck and good fortune. Onward and upward......even as trite as that may sound!
I was mistaken.
I will not use this - or any other forum - to speak badly about or otherwise denigrate my now-former employer; it serves no real purpose and doesn't change anything. And, the truth is, I truly enjoyed working there. However, I think it is understandable if I am a wee bit critical of the seeming motivations. While the company did indeed enjoy several years of positive numbers, the view of the executives is that the economy is tanking SO badly, that they have no choice but to implement what they themselves described as a preemptive move to protect the company as a whole and cut costs through a reduction in force. It wasn't that we were already doing poorly and need to "shore up" anything; it was purely a business move based on what they saw occurring now and what could potentially happen in the future if the economy and business climate continues in the direction it seems to be moving.
Now, Amy and I have spoken about all of this at great length, obviously. Some of our frustration - and even anger - stems from the seemingly obvious questions of why was a reduction in the workforce regarded as the first option to implement? I know for myself, and other also laid off - as well as many left behind - that had the company offered the option of, say, no pay raises and no bonuses for employees this year in order to put that money back into the company and keep our jobs.....it would have been agreed to. There is also the question of travel costs; while the company has tried to curtail travel as much as possible, it still occurs, racking up thousands of dollars in expenses each month. In this day and age, with the access to technology that I have from home - let lone what any actual company may have access to - traveling to meet anyone is not necessary. Web meetings, phone meetings, etc., should absolutely be the order of the day. But for whatever reason, that simply does not seem to be getting through to a great number of those who should really know better. I know these things are fact because I know those who set-up the travel, the hotels, the lunches, the dinners, etc. I know what gets spent and what could definitely be cut out. It is frustrating. I watched people who had worked there for 20 plus years have to pack up their offices. People cried. Morale is going to take a very long time to get back to anything even remotely close to what it had been prior to this event. And the rumor is that this was just a first round, one of perhaps several which may be occurring in the coming months.
Again, I do not want to denigrate the company; it - as a whole - serves a noble purpose and I truly enjoyed working there, loved my co-workers, had made many friends, was recognized for the good job I always did. But it should be understood how difficult this is to swallow, knowing that layoffs were not considered the last possible option but rather the first. It hurts to think that no one took the human factor into consideration.
And I know I am not the only one affected by something like this; I certainly do not expect any violins to be playing solely for me in the background. These are tough times for everyone. But we will make it through. Everything happens for a reason, when one door closes another usually opens, however slowly it may creak to allow us entry.
That said, I am going to take a decidedly Zen-like position on all of this, enjoy some time with my family, brush up on some skills (and perhaps learn some new ones), and roll up my sleeves to begin the arduous task of seeking gainful employment elsewhere. It does no good to sit on my ass and feel sorry for myself, now does it? And that said, I have to also say I feel for each and every one of my co-workers - those laid off like myself and those left behind to sort out the remaining pieces - and wish all of them, including the company as an entity (believe it or not!) good luck and good fortune. Onward and upward......even as trite as that may sound!
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