Unemployment

The Stupid Evil Bastard is looking for work:

Now the job hunt begins in earnest.
My office phone rang as I was wrapping my scarf around my neck to head home at 4PM today. It was my representative from the contract house I work for. He asked me what time I get off of work and when I said I was just about to leave he asked if I could swing by his office, but wouldn’t say much when I asked what was up. This naturally set off my spider senses and I knew before I ever made the five minute drive what I was in store for. As I walked in his office it only took a glance at his expression to confirm my suspicions. My contract was being terminated.

I've been wanting to do a post about my bout of joblessness and this seems like a good time.

In the spring of 2001 I started looking for work back in Ottawa because two plus years working in Toronto was enough for me. I missed my family in Eastern Ontario, my friends, and the city. I found work and we moved back in June. For the next seven months I had my dream job, then on Jan 2nd, 2002 I was laid off. The company was small and business was horrible as all our customers basically froze in place after Sept 11 of 2001. With no money coming in, sacrifices had to be made and I was one of them.

It was a devastating blow but I bounced back quickly. After all, I had good work experience in a hot field and great references, I figured I would be back to work in a couple weeks. But after a couple months of few leads and few interviews I started to get worried. Employment Insurance from the government would only last for about 6 months and it paid a pittance compared to what I was making previously, Kim's job did not pay much money, and the savings for the house we wanted to buy started to slip away as time passed. As I entered the third month of job searching depression and frustration mounted and I started thinking about alternatives such as working at Walmart or worse, going back to Toronto.

Every once in a while I would get an interview but it would not pan out. I cam very close once but was beaten out by someone with only a few months more experience than I. That was one of the lowest points. My parent's started giving me advice on my resume and interview skills; that was another low point. All in all it was the worst time of my life, filled as it was with uncertainty for the future and frustration for the present, mixed with a good dose of regret for the past. If only I had not left my secure job in Toronto, if only I had worked harder at my last job maybe they would have cut someone else instead of me.

By the fourth month of being unemployed I had lost all confidence in myself and my abilities. I looked for work that was at a much more junior level than my experience would dictate in hopes of getting a job, any job. I applied anywhere where I thought it was possible I could do the work even if I had little experience or desire for it. Desperation is now a word I can understand.

At the end of the fourth month of unemployment I got an interview for a position that was junior level and I had only some experience for. I was fortunate that I came through the interview very well and did technically well enough in a second interview to beat out the other applicants. They offered me a job and I took it with a huge sigh of relief. After 5 months of unemployment, I started working again with a $13000 pay cut in technology I was only partly familiar with at a junior level I had not been at in over 2 years. It was a humbling experience, as if I was starting completely over and that the last two years had been a waste.

I made the most of my new position and I am still with the same company. I've risen from the junior level to team lead, gained the respect and friendship of my peers, and have lots to look forward to with a large degree of job-security. But I will never forget the dark days of the first half of 2002.