Unemployment is an epidemic. Seems everyone knows someone without a job. Without a job because their company felt the need to tighten their belts. Because their company felt like they needed to make more profit. At one time companies would make less profit for a time in order to do the right thing and take care of their employees. That time is over.
I found my self on the business end of a layoff this year. At the time, I was somewhat relieved as I was beginning to hate my professional situation. Politics, favoritism and a general lack of vision made much of the work activity useless and without purpose. I received a severance package, I had the potential to get re-hired by another department, I was in a company-sponsored program to find a new job, I was fine.
2 months later, I am still looking for a new job. The company-sponsored program ended up being not much assistance, the re-hiring still hasn't happened and the endless sending out of the resume seems to be a dead end. I know there are a finite number of jobs out there and many people after each one. It is going to take time. I have to find the one company ready to give me a chance. Trying not to get down in this time is hard.
Financially I am okay. I applied and received unemployment benefits. I know that it will only last for so long, so I am looking every single day for a job. Looking for the job that is right for me. As much as I need work, this is an opportunity to get in a professional situation that is right. I honestly can say the last year at my last place of employment, I was not in the right place. It showed in my work. It showed in my motivation. You can only force it and fake it for so long. I know something is just around the corner.
What plays on your mind is that there have been millions of others who thought something else was just around the corner as well. They were wrong, found themselves out of a house, on the street and losing everything. It is reality. That is gnawing at the back of my mind. The fact that I might not find another job for another year. The fact that bills will pile up. The fact that I might lose my drive, my motivation, my will.
