It has been a very surreal day that I will remember for a long time.
With the combination of loss of revenue and loss of clients, layoffs were inevitable at the company I worked for. But I wrongly assumed I was invincible and too valuable to be let go. Being highly paid doesn’t work to your advantage in corporate layoffs.
As of 10:00 this morning I am officially unemployed. Not a good feeling. Especially with the state our economy is in.
I am located in such a small city, the jobs at my level are completely non existent. In the interum I will be opening my own graphic design and marketing company. I have a few freelance clients and will build from there.
The news hit me hard, but I’m trying to have a positive outlook.
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
–Albert Einstein
Tags: Corporate, Decline, Economy, Layoffs, Pink Slip, Revenue, Unemployed
June 1, 2009 at 4:58 pm |
Sorry to hear the news… but welcome to the club. I have been unemployed for the past six months…. WWJD ?? HA!
I have been enjoying your site. keep it up even during the lay-off… It is good for you.
June 1, 2009 at 5:09 pm |
That is a very good question. What would Jesus do if he was unemployed? You may have incidentally just inspired a new blog post.
I guess I’ll have more time to upset people and start ridiculously huge discussions. My post on leaving Christianity just broke 1,000 comments. Unbelievable. If only my employer found me so interesting.
June 1, 2009 at 5:36 pm |
Well, he had the whole carpentry thing as a fall back in case the whole Messiah thing didn’t work out. Even the Son of God has a Plan B. Truly, every facet of his life is a lesson for us all.
In all seriousness, I’m sorry about the layoff. I was laid off in August 2007 from a job I couldn’t have cared less about and was unemployed with no prospects. I actually had to canvass a little with a local non-profit. By a little, I mean like 7 months.
Luckily, a friend of mine worked at an association management company and they had a part-time opening for some data entry.
Before they knew it, I was fixing security issues in their network and streamlining the whole operation. I got a full-time position there and have been steadily increasing my work load to editing quarterly newsletters, putting on 6000 person conferences, graphic and web design and so on and so forth.
It just goes to show that sitting in our comfort zone is nice, but getting forced out of it can lead to some pretty amazing discoveries and unknown opportunities.
Besides, you’re e-popular now, what do you care?
June 1, 2009 at 5:31 pm |
You are a graphic designer?
June 1, 2009 at 6:18 pm |
Yup. I’ve been doing it professionally for 11 years now. I was a Group Creative Director at an advertising agency. Now I’m just some guy that needs to update his resumé.
June 1, 2009 at 6:16 pm |
Sorry to hear that. Sux.
I really enjoy this blog and wish it could be rolled into something bigger, something that you could live off of. Maybe design an iPhone app that gives you an alternative to WWJD.
I got laid off in October of ’08 too, have kids, got freaked out. I found something in a few months. As long as you’re not an auto worker, you’ll probably find work.
June 1, 2009 at 6:56 pm |
Fortunately I have a decent chunk of money saved and worst case scenario my wife can go back to working full time.
I have been very successful in my career, but I live in a very small market and the economy is terrible. But I’m pretty sure the sun will come up in the morning.
This will actually give me some time to write a few songs. I haven’t written a song since I walked away from Christianity. Every song I’ve written in the past always had religious inspired lyrics. So maybe there will be some good to come of this.
June 1, 2009 at 6:54 pm |
Sorry to hear about that! My girlfriend is a graphic designer and she just found a job after about 7 months of unemployment.
I, myself, am a web developer, so if you ever are in need of someone, I do mainly free lance stuff. You can check out my site for how to contact me (I think you may have my email too.)
And now is as good a time as any to start selling add space on here. Try projectwonderful.com
June 1, 2009 at 7:26 pm |
Ha! You have only been laid off one time? You’re one ot the lucky ones. Try five times in six years . . . with child support payments . . . then eventually one in college. But guess what, my God (yes I am one of those Christians) took care of me each and every time. Now I have decided to lay myself off. I’m retiring at the end of this month even in this lousy economic environment. But I know that He will take care of me and my wife as He always has. And all we have to do is believe. Sorry to hear that you walked away, apparently in disgust. You may not believe in Him any more, but He still believes in you. I’ve put you on my healing and provision list regardless. Keep in touch as I am considering publishing a blog here on wordpress.
June 1, 2009 at 8:20 pm |
Sorry to hear you were laid off. I hope you find something soon. Did you design the banner of this site? It’s very nice.
June 1, 2009 at 8:34 pm |
Thanks. I did design the header and the RSS icon. It is a metaphor for the recent change in my life as I gave up my religious beliefs. I talk about the header design more in depth here:
http://thebeattitude.com/header-design/
June 1, 2009 at 8:42 pm |
Nice. Gorgeous work. I really need to redesign my personal blog. It’s gotten kind of messy.
http://merelyadequate.net/
June 1, 2009 at 8:21 pm |
I wish I had some great thing to say. I’ve been there myself and know that no matter how much one is prepared, it’s always a shocker.
I will say that I love your blog, your writing style and the content. Perhaps you’re at the starting point of something entirely new!
June 1, 2009 at 9:39 pm |
Hey BeAttitude,
For what it’s worth, I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your job. I hope good things for you and your family. And I hope that this loss leads to a greater gain in the future.
Glad to hear you say you have a bit of savings to get you through. I know you don’t believe in prayer anymore, but please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love,
-Andrew
June 1, 2009 at 10:00 pm |
I’ve been unemployed since January, so I dig what you’re going through. Reading your posts reminds me of ME! I had the exact same questions and have since moved on after figuring out that it’s all a sham, nothing more than a Santa Claus-ish story. I stumbled upon Advaita, which seems to actually make more sense even though it’s difficult to grasp. Have you ever heard of it? If not, maybe you could check it out for yourself. Christians will never be able to answer the difficult questions. It’s all so ridiculous, and I applaud your willingness to break away when your wife is still so dedicated. Same with me. Makes it uncomfortable sometimes.
Anyway, if you want to, look at my blog. There are some links in my blogroll you may find interesting.
June 1, 2009 at 10:06 pm |
Your talented and this things are temporary… you be on track sooner than you think.
June 1, 2009 at 10:31 pm |
Let me know when you’ve got your design site up! Hang in there, this could be a great opportunity for you.
June 1, 2009 at 11:37 pm |
My sympathies to you.
With all the publicity you’ve gotten lately and your skills, I am sure you will be successful.
June 2, 2009 at 12:52 am |
Sorry to hear about the job. Many times I thought your site looked great, but I never bothered to comment. The title, the the logotype (is that the right term?) and the illustration all work together very well and reinforce the focus of the blog. It’s profound without seeming forced or pretentious. The color scheme’s great, muted without being wimpy, serious yet life afirming.
Good-luck in finding something new.
June 2, 2009 at 6:33 am |
I know what you mean. Not sure how old your post is but I too got laid off recently. This is the second time in a year – supposedly all due to the financial crisis. I’ve got a four month old and a wife so it’s hard. I’m trying to stay positive and trying to network as much as possible. The way I see it is – this might be the opportunity to really do what I want to do. To really find that job. And if it takes me a little longer, then so be it. I just need to ride out this storm somehow.
Let me know if I can help.
June 2, 2009 at 7:38 am |
The post is very new. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since I was laid of yesterday.
I am meeting with a freelance client today for a brochure project and going to a networking luncheon this afternoon.
As you said, all you can do is ride out the storm. I was less than happy at my previous job, so in the end I hope this leads me to better things.
June 2, 2009 at 7:50 am |
That reminds me, I’ve worked with an American Advertising Federation (www.aaf.org) local affiliate and they had luncheons and networking events all the time. Ad companies always need capable graphic designers.
I don’t know if doing ad work is your thing, but it might pan out.
June 2, 2009 at 7:39 am |
Aw, you poor thing. Maybe this is a time when you could take a step back and re-evaluate things? Perhaps go into a different career path, or see where else your graphic design can take you. Good on you for keeping going and not letting it get you too down, though!
June 2, 2009 at 7:54 am |
You also might want to sign up at http://www.linkedin.com/
June 2, 2009 at 8:06 am |
I signed up about a year ago, only not under “the BEattitude”.
I have a feeling that would hurt my chances on a job opportunity with a Christian employer. Exactly why I still blog under a pseudonym.
June 2, 2009 at 8:12 am |
Yes, especially if you linked to your blog here.
June 2, 2009 at 8:15 am |
Sorry to hear this news BEattitude, and hope things are soon looking up for you. I just couldn`t believe that some of these smug bastards would use the post as an opportunity for sermonizing – but then they`ve got no shame, have they?
June 2, 2009 at 8:41 am |
Welcome to the group, this happened to me somewhere late 2002.
Some of my reasons match with what you have like 3, 7, 10, 15, 17 and the only difference being, I am Hindu who wished to walk away from it.
One of my important reasons was “God helps those who help themselves…”, so what does God do after I have helped myself, CLAP?
I was getting increasingly dependent on this stuff so I decided to relieve myself of carrying God in my mind and on my shoulders, and let me assure you now I live light-weight.
I do go ahead and do the stuff that good people do, I follow the ARK principle from the movie ‘Evan Almighty’ one Act of Random Kindness to keep myself happy.
June 2, 2009 at 8:48 am |
Sorry to hear, but I’m sure you’ll do fine. You seem to have a good design eye. Also, you’ve found an interesting way to drive traffic to your site. Maybe think about some adsense out here as a nice way to build residual income. Also, freelance would be fun — the freelance market is a healthy one.
Congrats on the *thousands* of comments, by the way — very impressive.
Keep seeking.
June 2, 2009 at 9:19 am |
A good resource for freelance work is, http://www.elance.com. You’ve probably already heard of it… some friends of mine were able to get some good opportunities using this site.
June 2, 2009 at 10:32 am |
Sorry to hear about the job loss. At least with the economy the way it is, there shouldn’t be any shameful feelings of failure and inadequacy. These are just tough times. Still, there’s the family to feed.
June 2, 2009 at 12:04 pm |
I lost my job that I’d had for 10 years in 2003, landed another immediately. Then I lost that job only 19 months later. Took me 6 months to find another (‘Twas a tight time in my biz.). Happily I’m still at that last one and approaching 4 years. Great little company. Great people.
You might want to look into working remotely. That could allow you to look in other towns without having to face moving.
Permit me to suggest that you purchase the book “Knock ‘Em Dead” by Martin Yate. I used it in all my job hunts and have suggested it to many friends. All who got it, were glad.
Best of luck to you.
June 2, 2009 at 4:21 pm |
Blessed are the jobless…
Just kidding. Sorry about that. I was kinda in the same boat and was out of work for over 4 months. I’m now living in a hotel and working 180 miles away from my home so I have income other than unemployment.
Glad you have some contingencies!
Mixter
June 3, 2009 at 7:07 am |
Sorry to hear it Be, but I also hope that it can be a new opportunity for you. It’s scary times out there, but there are lots of opportunities for good graphic designers.
June 10, 2009 at 12:47 am |
I am sorry to hear that you were laid off. My husband, with years of experience with computer programming and several computer books in his resume can’t find work. I am picking up a little here and there as a writer but the prices are dreadful. Hope something comes through for you.
June 10, 2009 at 7:50 am |
Sorry to hear you’ve gotten the pink slip.
Now that you’re working for yourself, you know it won’t happen again!
June 10, 2009 at 8:02 am |
Yes. But I know from personal experience that being self-employed has its downside. Does anyone else remember the Roseanne episode where they started up in self-employment, and she said (in her usual laconic drawl!): “Being self-employed sucks. You don`t have anyone to steal from”!! It was brilliant!!!
October 19, 2009 at 8:44 am |
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