The Laid-Off Life: How I Got Here From There

“This was what could happen to you: you could end up this far from where you thought you were going." - Wally Lamb, She's Come Undone

Most blogs on career sites are your standard ‘How To Find a Job’ types. You know, “How To Utilize LinkedIn”, “Ten Tips On A Winning Interview”, “How To SEO Your CV For HR, ASAP”. Well folks, that’s unfortunately not me, because were I an expert on those subjects, I wouldn't be writing this particular blog. I’m not here to tell you to treat your job search like a full-time job or on what type of paper to print your résumé. Conversely, I’m like many of you: out of work (a victim of the economy, as they say), reassessing career choices, and looking for a job. And looking. And looking some more. Like Sawyer said to Sayid, “He’s our you.”



Ten or so months ago, I, along with an assortment of my coworkers, came down with a terminal case of “sudden employment amputation”. The company for which I was working, in a job I just loved, became a statistic in the economic downturn, forced to sell to a larger, out-of-state competitor. After the new owners wrung a couple months of transition work out of us, about half the workforce was kindly asked not to return on Monday. Thank you for all your hard work, good luck, and may we please have your keys. Cue the ‘crud, now what?’ moment.

I’ve had numerous jobs in my life, in a few different careers, but I’d never been laid off. I had no idea what to do. How does Unemployment Compensation work? Do I qualify for COBRA? Is my résumé still in Word 95? And most importantly: how the heck do I find a new job? I know a lot of you can relate. It stinks. There’s emotional trauma inherent in the transition. And practical trauma. And of course, financial trauma. I applied for Unemployment. I updated my résumé. I checked my LinkedIn page for the first time in like a year. I scoured CareerBuilder and HotJobs and Monster. I asked my friends for leads and connections. I posted for help on Facebook and, lord help me, even MySpace. Then I was out of ideas.

Fortunately, I had friends with knowledge I did not possess, and that, young Skywalker, makes all the difference. I learned how to use Twitter as a job-search tool. I got advice about LinkedIn groups and résumé organization. I found freelance work on Craigslist. I got tips about “talent placement” agencies. I subscribed to blogs and followed the right people on Twitter and read e-newsletters. I got leads, I got interviews, I got call-backs. I even got a job, and then lost it before I even started (more on that another day). But yet I sit here with you, comrades, still amongst the 30% or so of unemployed and underemployed Americans.



And that’s why I’m here. Thanks to one of those knowledgeable friends, I discovered PhillyJobs.com, and I’m confident (hard to type with my fingers crossed) that I’ll find something wonderful around the corner. But until then I’m here for you. Rather, I’m here with you. Each week I’ll share with you my trials and errors of a year on the open market, weathered potholes and pristine Macadam along the Job Hunting Highway. I’ll share stories of where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going, and hopefully you’ll share back with me. And if you have a job for which I’d be perfect (or at least competent), drop me a line. I’m not afraid of a little self-promotion. Or groveling. Call it what you wish.

My point in all this? The reality is that I’m not, and you’re not, alone. My story is one of thousands around the Delaware Valley and millions around the nation. And that, in and of itself, is the saving grace. I can keep my head up and stay positive because I know many people — friends, colleagues, neighbors — in the same boat. I know it’s not me. And it’s not you. We’ll find what we’re looking for, it will just take patience and persistence. And a little fortuitousness. That’s the formula.

Now I must ask my boss for the afternoon off so I can watch the Phillies game. Oh wait, I am the boss! There are some advantages to the Laid-Off Life.



Michael Hochman  ◙  LaidOffLife@yahoo.com  ◙  twitter.com/PhillyPartTwo

Michael is a Copywriter, Creative Marketer, and Broadcasting Professional still in search of full-time employment after 10 months of full-time job hunting, thanks to an “involuntary career sabbatical”. A Philly native and Syracuse graduate, Michael will gladly accept any job offer you may have for him. Any. Really. Please give me a job??