Lost my job today
 

This was my first job out of college and I had worked there for about 5 and a half years. I was doing so well in my old department and had even gotten rewarded but then at the end of July I got moved to a department where I was just constantly butting heads with managesment to the point where I was written up a couple of times in September. Try as I might I could not get moved to another department. Needless to say it was one of the most unpleasent work environments I've ever been in. Well around 3 today I get pulled into the VPs office and got canned. It's kind of a relief because I knew I wasn't fitting in very well with the managers I worked under. It was stressing me to the point where it was affecting my life outside of work. At the same time waking up tomorrow and not having a job freaks me out. i worked all through college and immediately found something after graduation. I was already looking for work while I was employed but it's hard to find time to schedule interviews when you are working all the time.

I'm not used to not having a job to go to. I signed up for unemployment already and have a little bit of money put away. I'm confident I'll find work but the uncertainty of when I'll get hired scares the **** out of me. What if most employers aren't hiring until after the holidays? Anyway just curious how some of you guys dealt with temporary unemployment.

Update: Finally Got a new job. I start tomorrow.

Good luck man. I was unemployed for 2 years, but it was in San Diego which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. You have to just keep looking.

**** man. Sorry to hear.

If I were you, I'd go find a farmer that will pay you in cash. I think there is still some work being done down there. Look for a job in the morning and make cash at night.

Most farmers will probably work with you. Finding temp help is a bitch and most guys at least around here anyway would pay fairly well in cash.

Yep. Just keep plugging.

Sorry to hear about it but glad it gave you an out to go to a place where you might like it better. Good luck.

Sounds like a sign that you need a new opportunity if you had problems that kept bothering you after work.

You'll be fine bro. Just keep your head up and be ambitious in your search and you'll have a new opportunity in no time.

Happened to me once a few years back when the company I worked for filed bankruptcy and sent everybody a certified letter on December 23 letting everybody know their job had been terminated. We left work for "vacation" being told we'de be working overtime after the holiday, only to find out mid vacation there wasn't a job to go back to. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much and I made looking for a job a full time job for 6 weeks until I found one.

Somebody gets re-elected and you lose your job. This country is in good hands. IT'S A JOKE! **** OFF!

Sorry man. Do you know if you have options at this point?

Sucks dude. I was laid off May 1 and am still looking. Hopefully your job hunt doesn't take as long.

sorry to hear it but it will work out 4 the best

You will land on your feet. Good luck.

What skills do you have? Maybe the planet can help?

Do you have kids? Because if you don't have kids, you could arm yourself to the teeth and go back there and blow the manager's and vp's heads off. That's always an option. If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. Bloody, bloody lemonade...

Eh, sometimes a push out the door is the best thing for you.

You're in Texas? You won't be unemployed long.

Trust me, this is a true blessing. I was in a very, very similar situation just earlier this year. At least you were written up. I was called into managment and was told "we have concerns about you being happy". When I asked what brought said concerns I was told "We aren't going to discuss specifics". Talk about bullshit. This happened twice before I finally started pushing back some which I knew was just writing my eventual exit.

I was working a shitload of hours, I was stressed to no end and there were no signs of it getting better. The day we agreed that I should part ways I was down about not having a job. It took all of 2 days before I realized the stress of not having a job wasn't half as stressfull as it was working at that place.

Office politics. I'm so glad I don't deal w/ that crap anymore.

You seem to be looking at this as being a blessing in disguise though. That is a good sign. When Gonzo got laid off, it was tough, but we survived. You will do the same if you stay sharp and motivated.

Take a little time off, regain your focus, and you'll find something that will be a better fit for you.

I hope you're right. I'm a veteran and there is a big push to hire veterans down here. It's just been a really long time since I lost a job.

If you're persistent, nobody can stop you.

per·sist·ent/pərˈsistənt/
Adjective:
Continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Now go get them bud!

Keep learning skills and stuff while you are unemployed... Learning is the key to continual career growth... and not just college courses... free online courses... keep reading... keep growing.

You have to sometimes evolve with the market...

I lost my job in CO, and was unemployed for a year before I decided moving to Texas wouldn't really be that bad, and started looking down here as well. I got a job almost immediately.

Sorry to hear about anyone losing a job. Like others have said. Keep on keep-en on & it will work out for the better. When work comes home with you in a bad way. Its time to move on.

she is right ...
get drunk
get laid
get to lookin' for that next job

Hey now...only 3 people call me Peter...

1. My Mom when she is mad at me
2. My Wife when she is mad at me
3. My Grandfather who is no longer with us.


So you just watch yourself or you'll be number 4!!! :p

Lost mine yesterday.

Dam this thread is depressing.
My trade is becoming more depressing with every passing day.
Seriously thinking about firing myself after this house is done. Parking all my equipment at the farm, & jumping on the GOV bandwagon.

I hear Obama will give you a free phone!

**** his phones. If I could have 6 or 7 free Mexicans like everyone else I have to compete against I would be just fine.

Sorry to hear that man.

I lost my job 3 weeks ago. I had been at the company for 5 and a half years. It was my first job after college graduation as well.

To start, I have a BA in Psychology from a private college and accumulated a mountain of debt attaining it...stupid...stupid...stupid. I didn't make wise decisions back then, I was ****ed up all the time. I discovered very soon that well-paying jobs are difficult to come by with Psych degree. Anyways, I went back to college this semester to pursue an RN degree. I figure this will complement the Psychology degree well. I am intending on eventually becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I am in 4 classes this semester and 3 of them are online. The one regular class I have did not conflict with my work schedule. And my numbers and performance at work was pretty good despite being a full time student and being a father of 2 daughters ages 23 months and 5 months.

So about 5 weeks ago, everyone in the company was informed that they had received a 5% pay decrease due to cash flow issues. I was pissed, not only for my sake, but for the employees that I supervise. They were making miniscule amounts of money prior to the company wide pay decrease. And of course, I had to be the bad guy and inform all of these people of the decision...a decision in which some of them thought I made.

As fate would have it, my 5 month old daughter became sick the night I was informed of the 5% pay decrease. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with pertussis. I requested 2 weeks PTO (I had 225 hours racked up) so I could be with my daughter. My supervisor refused to grant it because in the handbook it states that they are not required to grant PTO under any circumstances if it has potential to affect business operations. I took it a step further and filled out a FMLA leave form (which my supervisor/company can not deny or control in any way) and had a doctor sign it. I filled it out for a leave of 3 weeks. According to our handbook/policy, my company is not supposed to contact someone on FMLA leave under any circumstances and it wasn't even an hour before I had my supervisor calling me and basically just whining because she had to perform some of my job tasks. Normally all she does is sit around her office resembling Jabba the Hut (she reminds me of a cross between Jabba the Hut and Bill Lumberg...has the Lumberg voice and way of approaching you), call people on the phone to discuss stupid shit and set up meetings where stupid shit is discussed and the glaring problems that she is blissfully unaware of are neglected. So she was required to do my work for 3 weeks, for in the county I worked in, I was the only Service Coordinator and the regions only auditor. Therefore, nobody was qualified to cover my shit except for her. It was presumably the first time she had been put in a situation at work in which she had little to no control over in a long time...probably 4-5 years. So she called me multiple times per day despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to and I ignored every one of her calls. Man, that felt good. Her voice mails were always concluded by her begging me not to tell anyone that she was trying to contact me, for she knew it was against company policy. She also disclosed many of my clients' names on her voice mails...due to HIPPA (which I audited for the region) she was not supposed to do that either. She was supposed to use their initials when referring to them. She would catch herself doing that and would conclude the voice mail with begging me to delete the voice mails in which she disclosed the clients' names.

Ok, so the 3 weeks were up and I plain and simply did not want to come back to that cesspool. I considered quitting. I had money saved up and had attained by CNA. I figured I could work for low pay as a CNA until I receive my RN. It would give me good experience. It was just...coming to that place was probably the most depressed I had ever been in my life. I had incompetent, cronified superiors, non-dependable staff who called in constantly and worst of all, clients who were 100% dependent on me in terms of every aspect of life....which contradicts the "mission" of the company which is to "empower" individuals with mental illnesses to "recover" so they no longer need to utilize us. Shit, they engraved the mission statements deep inside our craniums, but trained us to contradict the mission statement, for if clients truly did "recover" and no longer needed our services, we lost business. I felt more like an "enabler" of irresponsibility, unaccountability, dependency (on other people), people trying to score more government help than they reasonably "need," etc. Other than my auditing gig, I hated everything I represented in my position in that company. I am too proud of a person to not let these types of things get to me.

So I received a phone call from a co-worker who informed me that the whole program had gone to shit while I was gone (I had SHIT for backup) and that I had all sorts of emotional ruts to dig clients out of and structural ****-ups that took place during my absence which was now my responsibility to fix. On a regular work day, the shit is piled high. However, on this day, mountains of shit were piled on mountains of shit. So I called in. In my 5 and a half years there, this was the 2nd time I had ever called in. I had been sick many times, but worked through it because I didn't want to deal with the accumulation of bullshit when I came back. There was one day in 5 and a half years prior to this day where I was too sick to come in. I followed this by accessing my work email and submitting my two weeks notice.

After my supervisor received the email, she stated that she wanted to meet with me the following day because she had a plan in place in an attempt to work things out. I agreed to meet to listen to what she had to say. They gave me an ultimatum. I could either a.) accept a promotion to Regional Service Coordinator Team Leader on the condition that I drop out of nursing school. This would come with a pay increase that would put me conveniently .02/hr more than what I was making prior to the company wide pay decrease. or b.) stay in nursing school and accept a demotion to CSS staff that would essentially cut my pay in half. I told them to stick both offers up their schemish bungholios. I packed my shit, returned my keys and walked out.

This happened on the 16th and oddly enough, the human resource manager (who I was tight with, I had recently gotten her husband a decent-paying job at a factory where my father is general foreman) somehow talked the core team, which consisted of my supervisor, her supervisor and our billing specialist into paying me until the 29th of October, since that is the date in which was 2 weeks after I gave my 2 weeks notice. Somehow, they agreed to this, so I was paid for doing nothing from the 15th until the 29th of October along with the 3 weeks FMLA prior to the 15th. ****'em. I had 200+ hours of PTO racked up that I never used because I never could because it was never granted because my absence always seemed to "affect business operations." They ate shit with that small portion of the situation and I don't freaking care.

I saved a nice chunk of change prior to this, so I am doing ok for the time being. I want to get some midterm stuff done for school before going full-fledged in terms of prowling for jobs.

My main concern is health insurance. I received a letter from COBRA that stated that in order to continue my current health insurance plan, I had to pay $500 + per month. What can I do in regards to health insurance? There has got to be a cheaper way to be covered. It isn't even a family plan for my fiancee (baby-momma) will not be married until March. Not to mention, all I want covered is Dr. visits and prescription refills. That's it. I'm not worried about anything else. Anyone have any advice?

Sorry in advance for any disorganization... I didn't proofread and didn't intend on rambling about as much as I did.

Sorry buddy, got to be tough in Iowa w/ the sparse population.

I wish you the best Rico

I'm used to it. I've already got a line on a job in Missoula working on firefighting planes. Emailed the resume. Should hear something tomorrow.


Get to say I lost my job on the day Obama got re elected.

Thanks dude.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, Mr. PunkinDrublic.

But it sounds like this is going to be a net positive for you. The most important thing you can do right now is focus on self-improvement ... health, education, art, whatever ...

It's sounds crazy I know, but life events like this seem to be highly purposeful ... if, that is, you take advantage of them. What seems like a step backward today into a world of uncertainty is probably simply a way to free your mind and attitude in preparation of something far better. That's why it's so important to stay focused on your goals even in the face of perceived adversity.

Good luck, man.

FAX

He didn't get laid off he got fired. Dumbass comment.

Hang in there bud!! Being unemployed is very worrisome and tough.

So what do you or what can you do? I live in the area and I work at a VERY large company with many opportunities. Maybe I can help you find something.

Sorry dude, Just go get your 99 weeks and start looking

Good luck in you job search. Suffice it to say, when you break through and have a better job, I hope you can look back on this and realize you're better off. I know bad management, I deal with it every day. I know know spineless leadership, I'm subject to it daily. I know weak people, they hide behind bad and incomplete decisions and solutions and claim they're forward thinking. Trust me, in this day and age, weak leadership is more pervasive than ever.

Good luck man....

Go Chiefs (next year!)...

Horrible ****ing advice.

Go get a job, any job even if it is not in the field you want to end up in. It looks much better to a perspective employer if you are working somewhere rather than sitting on your unemployment benefits.

Its much easier to find a job when you have a job. Trust me. Dont milk the unemployment or the gap in your employment is going to look worse and worse.

I know what I am talking about on this.

Very sorry. Good luck and Prayers to you.

Those days are long past.

You know, I see this a lot, and as a guy who's been on both sides of the fence let me say something without you personally taking offense to it, because it's not directed at you.

People tend to overvalue their own worth, and undervalue the worth of others they work with. It's a natural thing for people to do, and is a part of the human condition of me first. No one is invaluable. There is always someone who can do what you do, and often times are willing to do it cheaper. That's not to say that your statement is invalid. Of course it's valid. But you hear a million times more people saying this, versus what can I do to better this company, and my role in it? How can I make my bosses job easier?

And I'll be honest, the ones who do the latter, tend to move up and become those "ineffective poor leaders" that everyone else talks about.

Again, not directed at you Glorydayz, just a general observation.

I've never been unemployed in my life. The main reason is you have to know when to kiss ass and you have to know when to kick ass. Timing is everything.

This. Even if someone is a butthole, you can't butt heads with bosses or leadership. You'll lose every single time.

I was axed after 19 1/2 years. Thank god actually because everything has been great since. 1 month, new job, new house, new car. It was a great day

What line of work are you looking for?

That advice depends on how hungry you and or your family is...
We don't know his whole situation.

I'm sorry man and I feel fo you. I was in a similar situation and got lucky enough to tranfer. However, when I was working for the asshole, I sometimes wished I would get fired to be free.

You are free!

My wife worked for Nationwide Insurance for 10 years and lost her job. She has a four year Bachelor's degree from UGA. She went on unemployment for two weeks and then took a job at Lowe's for $10/hour working the paint section. She worked there for six months. There were times when her hours were cut back to the point she was making less than she would have with unemployment.

The whole time she kept applying for stuff and finally she got hired at an eye clinic. She isn't using her degree but she works for good people, has solid hours, and makes $14 /hour. We still aren't making what we used to but it's better than nothing. Three years later she is still looking for jobs in her field.

My advice is to get out there and work and continue to apply for jobs until you get a break. It will keep you busy and will look better on your resume. Just think outside the box and be open minded dude.

Hang in there!

Sorry about getting canned, that is a terrible feeling. At least you aren't butting heads with anyone anymore.

Department stores are hiring like crazy this time of year. At least that would get you through the holidays.

Ever deliver pizzas? You can make good money doing that and it's easy. You would also only work a few hours a night and you would have time to apply for jobs during the day. It's a good short term job.

About to head out. I've got a job fair to go to at 11. Resumes were posted last night. Really sucks that first night, I couldn't sleep. My situation is I'm 35 single with no wife or kids to take care of. For the past 5 and a half years since I finished college I've worked in the Mortgage industry. I started off doing collections and then moved up into foreclosure prevention which is a lot of helping borrowers with the government loan modifications and determining whether or not they could afford to stay in their homes.

Basically when I finished school in 07, the economy was so shitty that I took the first job I got offered from my colleges career fair.

I did that as a kid, just make sure you are packing heat... They will fire you if you have to kill someone but atleast you will be alive.

My dad just lost his job. 47 years with the company. No notice. Joined his weekly scheduled conference call, they fired him. Well, not just him.....41 people in his position, 27 of them were fired that day.....but he was one of 3 people in the company with 40+ years. One of those 3 is my uncle, the other is a guy in Chicago.

It's been hard on him. Not sure how a person goes from doing the same job for 47 years to having nothing to do in a day.

How old is your Dad?

68.

Well, I retract my previous statement about opportunities at my company. We don't do anything related to that AT ALL.

Sry you lost your job, Punk. Stay motivated and keep looking. This sounds like it could very well be a blessing in disguise. Good luck, man.

Mr. Plow,
That sucks for your dad. Just curious, has he considered retirement?

Do you mind moving? You'll probably be most likely to find something here since things are pretty good here, but be prepared to go where the work is. Don't rule out the Austin area - things are booming there.

Not ready to hang it up and enjoy life?

God love my dad, but he would not know what to do with himself. He used to travel 3 weeks a month and just in the past 2 years dropped down to 1 week a month. He's constantly working. When he isn't working, he finds a job to do.

Fortunately for him, he has my mom's business to fall back on. Unfortunately for me, I have him riding my ass now. LMAO

I wish man. He's already talking about doing something he's wanted to do for a long time....getting a golf membership. So, his Xmas present from me is going to be just that and I'm going to force his butt out to play. Hopefully he'll learn to relax and enjoy himself.

Love him and keep him busy, what I would give to be able to hang out with my Dad, Mine died when I was 15 years old and it's cruel how time makes all the things you remember about people fade away after a while..

I hope so man..... Get him to sign up here, That will keep him busy LMAO

You can't keep a good man down. I've been fired numerous times. Most of the times from constant back stabbing from fellow employees to management about me. I guess management gets tired of hearing it and fires me. Well, anyway those tattle tails still work at those companies and I have moved on down the line to bigger and better things. When I look back on it what it hurt more than anything is my ego. Every time I got fired I got a ended up getting a pay raise. There's alot of negatives though. My resume looks like I'm a job hopper. I've had to cash in 401k's and I don't get any retirement from any company. I have progressed from repairing CNC mills and lathes to programming $144 million dollar combustion turbines. The worse part is the unknown. Just pick yourself, wipe the dirt off, put a smile on your face and step into a much better situation. I have headhunters calling me constantly and If I get fired again whoopee. The name of the game is marketable skills.

The one good thing is he is a craftsman. He likes building things, repairing things, flooring, walls, etc etc etc. We ironically just bought a new building for my mom's business and totally gutted it and are building it back up. So, he's been down there working and driving me crazy. LMAO

Sorry to hear this but often times this turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Maybe not right away...

here is hoping it turns out that way for you. Sending good thoughts your way.

Fired on a ****ing conference call after nearly 50 years of service? What lowlifes. :shake:

And good luck, PunkinDrublic. Things aren't great out there, but they're better than they were.

That is bullshit they would not move you back where you were. Best wishes and hope you find a job soon. I do hear things are better in Texas then other places as far as jobs are, though you still have to bust ass to find one.

Sorry to hear it PnD.
Tough times out there but I’m sure a guy of your character will land on his feet. :thumb:

I feel ya..keep your head up....at least you aren't fifty with twenty years as a self employed artist....I'm having trouble getting past the ONLINE application.

Cool, I got the job. Pays better than this one did. And being on older aircraft, I get to fab parts more often. I love fabbing.

Awesome, and same here I just wish I were more creative with it.

Sorry to hear.

Take a long weekend. Go get drunk, raise hell, have a couple/three one night stands, and then hit the job trail hard on Monday.

Sounds like youhave a good work ethic, so that will pay dividends. Good luck.

The MOST important thing is to keep a POSITIVE attitude about your situation. The good thing is it appears that you have a good work ethic and you're young and jobs for you are out there. Keep trying to get a new job. If you keep trying, you will find one.

Take a little time off to calm down, do not appear panicked when looking for a job or desperate even if you are.

Figures you're from Colorado.

Sorry to hear it.

I know three people who have had their positions eliminated in the past 2 days.


I wonder what recent event could spark a frenzy of job cuts.

Well this story has a happy ending, I start my new job tomorrow. Being on unemployment for 3 months is not fun. I missed having a routine. November and December were especially rough because most places weren't hiring until after the holidays. So glad I had money put away to tide me over until my unemployment got approved. It got pretty deflating at times. At one point I got rejected from three straight places I interviewed for, not to mention all the places wanting me to start at $11/hr. There were so many times I bombed on my interview because I was so stressed out about finding work I couldn't sleep the night before. Anyway I'm ready to start my new job.