Ever since getting laid off from the bad place, I work in fear of getting one of those "mandatory staff meeting" emails. Nothing makes my stomach more uncomfortable. Take for instance, Monday morning. I came in to work early, opened up my email and there was a message from one of the managers that came in late Friday evening - it said "staff meeting on Monday at 10am." Grrrrrreat - now I have 2 hours to worry.
10am rolls around and we have said staff meeting...about time off and the upcoming holiday. Wow. I mean, WOW. Couldn't you have sent a frickin' email about that?! In this economic climate, couldn't you have said "Monday meeting about the holiday"? Is it too much to clue people in - especially one who's 2 weeks away from getting health care and is in fear of getting laid off again?
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tales of the Unemployed Pt. 4
Alright, this should be my last words about this topic, but this is a more fun post than the others. (Sorry for that, btw.) In my experience, the most useful job searching website is Indeed. It works like Google - you type in a job title and zip code, and it pulls searches from CareerBuilder, Monster, plus dozens of other job websites you've never heard of. My second favorite job board site is Craigslist, just because it cuts out a lot of the bullshit of job boards.
In my recent experience, I think the most bizarre job interview I had was with PTM Images in Pacoima. The posting on Craigslist was kind of vague but sounded exciting, so I submitted my resumé. I got a response from the President who told me to come in "anytime between 9am and 3 pm." That sounded odd...so I wrote back and said, "I'd like to come in at 11. Can you confirm that?" to which he responded "yes." I got there and there were 8 people in the waiting room. All there to interview for the same position. And there were only 6 chairs. I had to fill out some paperwork, at which point 2 of the people walked out and didn't come back. Yes, the herd was thinning! And I get a chair!!
After about an hour, I was moved into the company's lunch room where I waited with 8 people (the original 6 plus 2 others). Apparently, this dude decided to crank out as many interviews as he could in one day by just telling everyone to show up. So, my actual interview didn't happen until 1:15 and it lasted less than 3 minutes. All because his job posting was vague and I didn't have the skills he was looking for. Thanks, asshole. The sad thing is that I, along with most everyone, would probably have walked out of the interview if we knew about the shenanigans, but when you need a job desperately, the employer has all the power. Sad, but true.
I think one of the most fun interviews I had was with Sport Chalet in La Cañada. They were really cool, and they have sports memorabilia all over their offices. The lobby had signed snowboards, jerseys and helmets, and it also featured a organizational poster dubbed something like The Most Important People at Sports Chalet. At the top (most important) were the sales associates that work in their stores, then the store managers, then the regional managers, then the corporate office people, then at the bottom, the president. I thought that was really cool of them. Even though I still won't shop there because their stuff is overpriced.
In my recent experience, I think the most bizarre job interview I had was with PTM Images in Pacoima. The posting on Craigslist was kind of vague but sounded exciting, so I submitted my resumé. I got a response from the President who told me to come in "anytime between 9am and 3 pm." That sounded odd...so I wrote back and said, "I'd like to come in at 11. Can you confirm that?" to which he responded "yes." I got there and there were 8 people in the waiting room. All there to interview for the same position. And there were only 6 chairs. I had to fill out some paperwork, at which point 2 of the people walked out and didn't come back. Yes, the herd was thinning! And I get a chair!!
After about an hour, I was moved into the company's lunch room where I waited with 8 people (the original 6 plus 2 others). Apparently, this dude decided to crank out as many interviews as he could in one day by just telling everyone to show up. So, my actual interview didn't happen until 1:15 and it lasted less than 3 minutes. All because his job posting was vague and I didn't have the skills he was looking for. Thanks, asshole. The sad thing is that I, along with most everyone, would probably have walked out of the interview if we knew about the shenanigans, but when you need a job desperately, the employer has all the power. Sad, but true.
I think one of the most fun interviews I had was with Sport Chalet in La Cañada. They were really cool, and they have sports memorabilia all over their offices. The lobby had signed snowboards, jerseys and helmets, and it also featured a organizational poster dubbed something like The Most Important People at Sports Chalet. At the top (most important) were the sales associates that work in their stores, then the store managers, then the regional managers, then the corporate office people, then at the bottom, the president. I thought that was really cool of them. Even though I still won't shop there because their stuff is overpriced.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Tales of the Unemployed Pt. 3
I thought I was done blogging about this but just wanted to mention a few more things. I think one of the hardest things for me the last few months was not really having anyone I could really relate to and talk about things. Quite a few of my former coworkers found a new job within a few months, and some others were able to keep busy with freelance work to bring in some money. So if you, or anyone you know, gets or is laid off anytime soon, feel free to pass along my contact information as someone to talk to.
I remember one night in particular I wanted to crawl under a rock and just not come out again. I think I'll avoid getting into the details but just keep my offer in mind.
My only other piece of advice or whatever, if you get laid off, is to consider an incredible range of careers. I never thought I'd be applying for a job doing porn design or going on interviews in El Segundo, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I remember one night in particular I wanted to crawl under a rock and just not come out again. I think I'll avoid getting into the details but just keep my offer in mind.
My only other piece of advice or whatever, if you get laid off, is to consider an incredible range of careers. I never thought I'd be applying for a job doing porn design or going on interviews in El Segundo, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tales of the Unemployed Pt. 2
When I first got laid off, my job search was very narrow. I wanted to still be a graphic designer, make exactly or more than I was making at the bad place and have a reasonable commute. That changed - as evidenced by the interview I had with MySpace for a customer service position. It's in El Segundo (about an hour away) that paid $15/hour. I was even considering applying for a cook position at Baja Fresh figuring at the very least, I'd be bringing home tons of free food and that's kind of like saving money. So, if you ever become jobless, my advice is to consider tons of positions. Especially in this economy, I think it's going to be tough to find a well paying job and do exactly what you were doing before.
The job I started recently pays about $10k less than I was making before, is about 45 minutes away and is kind of a mindless, production artist job. But that's okay with me. I'd prefer to have benefits and a steady paycheck than try to find my dream job in this current state.
Even within the graphic design field, I applied for a range of places - everything from toy design to porn. I actually had an interview with an "adult" company and got paid to do some sample work for them. I really had to think hard about that one. A job is a job and at least it would be more honest than doing spam. Luckily, they never offered me anything.
The job I started recently pays about $10k less than I was making before, is about 45 minutes away and is kind of a mindless, production artist job. But that's okay with me. I'd prefer to have benefits and a steady paycheck than try to find my dream job in this current state.
Even within the graphic design field, I applied for a range of places - everything from toy design to porn. I actually had an interview with an "adult" company and got paid to do some sample work for them. I really had to think hard about that one. A job is a job and at least it would be more honest than doing spam. Luckily, they never offered me anything.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tales of the Unemployed Pt. 1
It's been a while since I was laid off and now that I have a full time job again, I feel like I can share some of the thoughts and feelings I went through during this period. Some of the next few posts may not be cheery, because it was hard to maintain a positive attitude throughout all of this. I'll try not to be too depressing.
The first thing I thought when I was told we were being laid off was "This can't happen to me." I'm a college graduate! I'm working for a company with offices in France, Germany, Sweden, England and Spain! I go to weekly meetings where I'm told my division is doing fine and the company is happy with us! Then we were called into a "mandatory meeting" and given our walking papers.
It was a completely miserable feeling made worse by the fact that I carpool with my fiancee. We got laid off around 11am and she wouldn't pick me up 'til 5pm. Luckily, they were pretty gracious with us and let us back into the building if we needed to. I grabbed lunch with a friend and exited the building around 2pm. I sat in the park across from the office for about 3 hours until she pulled up to get me.
One kind of sad things is that I will probably never trust a company again. I will always keep my resume up to date and be checking job boards every so often just to see if there are better opportunities out there. It was one of the worst feelings in the world to have the carpet yanked out from underneath me.
As I was saying goodbyes to a few people at the bad place, this one dude came up and we had a conversation that kinda went like this:
Dude: "Oh, you should enjoy your time off."
Me: "What?"
Dude: "Yeah, relax, take a trip. Go to Europe."
Riiiight, because last minute trips to Europe are dirt cheap and I can surely afford one over the next month when I won't be making any money. Brilliant idea, jackass.
The first thing I thought when I was told we were being laid off was "This can't happen to me." I'm a college graduate! I'm working for a company with offices in France, Germany, Sweden, England and Spain! I go to weekly meetings where I'm told my division is doing fine and the company is happy with us! Then we were called into a "mandatory meeting" and given our walking papers.
It was a completely miserable feeling made worse by the fact that I carpool with my fiancee. We got laid off around 11am and she wouldn't pick me up 'til 5pm. Luckily, they were pretty gracious with us and let us back into the building if we needed to. I grabbed lunch with a friend and exited the building around 2pm. I sat in the park across from the office for about 3 hours until she pulled up to get me.
One kind of sad things is that I will probably never trust a company again. I will always keep my resume up to date and be checking job boards every so often just to see if there are better opportunities out there. It was one of the worst feelings in the world to have the carpet yanked out from underneath me.
As I was saying goodbyes to a few people at the bad place, this one dude came up and we had a conversation that kinda went like this:
Dude: "Oh, you should enjoy your time off."
Me: "What?"
Dude: "Yeah, relax, take a trip. Go to Europe."
Riiiight, because last minute trips to Europe are dirt cheap and I can surely afford one over the next month when I won't be making any money. Brilliant idea, jackass.
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