The Job Warrior: My Experience Losing a Job and Getting Another During a Hiring Freeze

I walked into my job a few weeks ago and was informed that I was unemployed. Pretty much that was it. Merry Christmas and good luck paying rent and buying groceries. Without getting into particulars, I went from being the top salesman to being a former employee. Not an easy thing to walk home and tell my wife when just about the entire country is on a hiring freeze. The first thing I did... in fact, the same day, I went to see my previous employer, a man who had not wanted me to leave in the first place. In fact, the only reason I left was because I was working both jobs at the same time, and the assistant manager making the schedule couldn't or wouldn't reconcile the two schedules. But what I did was leave on good terms with plenty of notice, and I kept in touch and on friendly terms with the previous employer. Granted, it was easy, because the previous job was in a supermarket. But my wife and I talked to the manager, a great guy named Matthew, like a friend. Sometimes it was no more than a greeting, a 'How are things, Matthew?', but my wife and I both kept him in our orbit. Part of the family. We genuinely like Matthew, and he has always been a friend regardless of the job. At the same time, I knew that my first responsibility when faced with unemployment was to get another job. And the obvious first move was to go back to the man who said that he'd love to have me back. So I put on some smart clothes (as my wife really taught me well, put your best foot forward. Dress for what you want to be) and went to see Matthew. I didn't try to BS Matthew. I didn't beat around the bushes. I told him I needed a job. He said that the company had a district-wide hiring freeze, but that he would see what he could do. He said I should come back in a few days and talk to him. At that point I have to admit I was let down. I'd walked in figuring I'd walk out with a job. Then I had to assumed that the hiring freeze would be non-negotiable. So I went home (I even stopped on the way home to try to pick up an application. No dice. This place that had a help wanted sign wouldn't even let me apply because they weren't hiring) and got onto Monster.com. I updated my resume and started searching for jobs that I am qualified. 'Retail' and 'customer service' were my keywords. That's because for the last 18 years I've been in the retail/customer service trenches. I have extensive experience in that arena, and most of those 18 years in fastfood, which is, to my experience, the most challenging customer service arena. My wife and I even considered leaving town while we had some savings to work with, but we were also concerned that we wouldn't find the job situation any better where we went. We settled on giving our town a week or two before we gave up on it and left. With that in mind, I opened up my job search parameters for some places we considered moving to. With all of that in mind, I set about applying for jobs via Monster.com. I should note that before I started job hunting, I got up early, had a good breakfast, showered, shaved, and dressed as if I was going to work. I thought it was important to approach the job search as a job itself. It might be tempting to sleep in and give up shaving and sit around in sweat pants and a ratty old shirt, but that is too much vacation mode for the serious work of job hunting. I also set a minimum of four applications filled out each day before I stopped. Discipline was vitally important for my motivation and mindset, and was necessary to get another job quickly. And I knew that I had to get another job quickly. And something else. I was told by many friends that I should apply for unemployment. Maybe I should have, but to be honest, I didn't want to ask for any kind of financial assistance unless I absolutely needed it, and at that moment I didn't think we did. I was paid for vacation time that I had coming (almost a week), plus a paycheck, plus a bit of savings. If we hadn't had that, or if it had taken too long to get another job, it would have been different. But I thought that to apply for unemployment would also have been bad in a motivational sense. And, to be honest, pride got in the way. It wouldn't have remained in the way for long, but it was there at that point. I didn't want to see myself on the news as part of the huge number of jobless claims making headlines.So, on to the job search. Monster.com showed (what was for me) a surprising lack of opportunity for retail/customer service specialists. What I had failed to take into account was that one of the hardest hit sectors of our economy is retail. People are simply less and less encouraged to go out and spend money if they don't have to. And of course, especially close to the end of the year, companies don't tend to hire full-time, permanent people. I did get a quick response from a local advertising firm, and dressed up nicely and took 3 buses to get to their office for an interview. It turned out that they were hiring people to sell things from booths (I won't get any more specific, as I don't want to identitfy the firm in question) on a strictly commission basis. That is okay for some, and they said that people could make quite a bit of money doing it, but I have regular bills and a family that depends on me. I need a regular paycheck that I can depend on. But the point is, I tried. I put my best foot forward. I went to a bit of effort.At this point, the few days that Matthew had said to wait had gone by. I called the supermarket to make sure he was in, and dressed nicely again and went to see him. Then the really bad news. Matthew said that the hiring freeze was still on. He couldn't hire me. I was pretty disappointed at that point, but I thanked him for trying and tried to not show my disappointment. That was really the worst moment of the job search, because I'd put a lot of hope in getting that job back. Ah, but then two days later, I found out that Matthew hadn't given up. He went to bat for me with human resources and managed to arrange to bring me back as a rehire rather than a new hire. To start, I would actually have to take an almost 4 dollar an hour pay cut, but after the first of the year there should be a departmental manager position opening that needed to be an in-house promotion. It was just important that I get my foot in the door. I took the offer without hesitation, and my job search that really had me scared only lasted one week. I was very lucky. I know that people have spent six months or more looking for work and not found any. I know that there are lessons to be learned from my situation. First and foremost, don't burn your bridges. Give plenty of notice, treat employers with respect, and don't be afraid to go back to them. Treat your job search like a job, not a vacation. Listen to your spouse. They are intelligent and resourceful, and can help you. I know mine helps me. I wouldn't take this world on without her. Don't dismiss jobs that you think are below you. There is no such thing as a bad job if it is honest and supports your family. For example, I was prepared to go back to fastfood if I had to. I wasn't enthusiastic about the possibility, but I was prepared to do it anyway. Pride is important, but you can't support a family on pride. In fact, Matthew was concerned that I might not want to take the pay cut and come back as a courtesy clerk (among other things, we bag groceries and retrieve shopping carts). My wife and I both said that I'd take anything. I'm happy to have it. And one other thing. If you have the opportunity to go to college, take it. Get yourself a degree in a subject that interests you but that is also marketable. I was in the military, but failed to sign up for the G.I. Bill, and I have regretted it ever since. I'm not saying that my professional life would be better if I had a degree (because there are plenty of unemployed college graduates), but I certainly would have had more opportunities.

Summary of Events Stardate 1208.21

Summary of Events
Stardate 1208.21

TNG Era:

Ambassador Endara Khan has released the USS Guadalcanal from assistance duty at the Ocampa Homeworld. The USS Exeter will continue in its support role, as Ambassador Khan follows the Kazon Ogla First Maje Jabin into Kazon held space for further negotiations. She advised the diplomatic corp that her consultations with the Kazon leadership are 'ongoing and open-ended'. Starfleet has assigned the Exeter to extended duty, for as long as Ambassador Khan requires. While acknowledging the cost and resources required for assigning a starship to such open-ended duty, it is intended to demonstrate the importance to the Federation that the diplomatic initiative succeed. In the meantime, the USS Guadalcanal will resume its investigation into Romulan activity in the vicinity of the Oshionian, Keloda, and Jibalia systems.

A convoy of four Federation Norway Class frigates carrying a shipment of dilithium to the Archer system was attacked by a lone Klingon Vorcha class battlecruiser. One frigate was destroyed, but the surviving ships attacked and destroyed the attacking ship. It should be noted that the battlecruiser ignored all attempts at communication. Aside from this incident, there have been relatively few confirmed hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire since the incident involving the C.S. Horizon more than a month ago. There are, however, unconfirmed reports of pirate activity within the Empire. That is seen as either attacks of opportunity by renegades, or attempts by more radical elements within the High Council to take advantage of political instability. There has also been a marked decrease in signal traffic coming from the Romulan Empire.


TOS Era:

Starfleet Command reports that there has been no contact with the Fast (Penetration) Cruiser USS Xerxes since it left for a mission to the Archer system. Despite assurances from the Organians, there have been isolated incidents along remote frontier areas that the Klingons insist are the work of random elements, in no way authorized by the High Council.

The Klingon battlecruiser LIng'taH left Qo'noS orbit on undisclosed maneuvers near the Romulan border.

Command College

What Are Your Orders, Captain?

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point. Think of it as a correspondence course while onboard ship.)

"Crippled Enemy"

In the mid twenty-third century, the Fast (Penetration) Cruiser USS Xerxes found itself behind Klingon lines and cut off. When hostilities broke out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, centering around the planet Organia, the Xerxes was ordered to cross Klingon territory to reinforce the outpost in the Archer system. Days later, when opposing fleets were immobilized and a peace treaty imposed, the Xerxes was cut off. Trapped and alone in the remote Rura Penthe system, the Xerxes comes upon a derelict Klingon warship. Scans indicate that the crew is alive, but systems are failing. Captain Lionidas sees two obvious choices. He can either:

A: Trust in the imposed terms of the Organian Peace Treaty and beam over. If his engineers can repair the warship's failing systems, it could help to strengthen the peace. Or he can...

B: Take advantage of the warship's distress to escape the area and either proceed to Archer or return to base.

Take into account that the warship has probably sent a distress signal. While the Klingon fleet will take some time to investigate, it might assume that a Federation starship caused the damage and open fire. Choose A or B, or a third course of action and write a brief explanation.


"Captain's Log"

(Expand the following into a log entry of at least 100 words. Members post answers to the yahoogroup or the 'comment' feature on the blogsite. Lurkers feel free to leave comments on the blogsite)

"This is the first time that such a weapon had been used by such a ship."


Developer's Notes:

The initial convoy raid playtest really highlighted the difference between a freighter and a frigate, and the unpredictability that the dice roll puts into the game. It also pointed out the need to apply advanced tactics to any scenario. It also convinced me that it was time for shuttle/fighter rules, different grades of weapons (including defensive phasers) and tractor rules. That should complete the heavy combat rule set. Thank Goodness. And Merry Christmas, everyone.

Kapact

What is Fantasy Trek?
Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas

Folks, there is a project I've been associated with for a few months now, called "The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas". Rather than trying to explain it myself, I am going to paste a release of sorts that the organizer Kirok of House L'Stok wrote.

 

The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas has started for a second year, when we celebrate the traditional Season of Goodwill by giving away twelve "presents" from the Star Trek fan production community. In a way it's Christmas all year round for them since fan productions are only allowed by the copyright owners if they are provided to the public for free. Accept them as our tribute to the original actors, writers and production crews, to maintain interest in the originals, build support for future professional productions and extend on the Star Trek universe with our own creative visions.

On the first day of Christmas, Star Trek gave to me ... a Fan-Made Audio Book! <http://www.twerponline.net/12days2008/day01.html>

The present for The First Trek Day of Christmas is "Fatherhood", the second episode from the audio book series, "Tales of Death and Honour". Designed as a trilogy, the series started off earlier this year with "Motherhood", an original tale of love and loss on the Klingon homeworld, and this episode extends on that life and death struggle with a rescue from an unexpected source! It is produced by Silvertongue Productions, the audio productions group of The House of L'Stok, an experimental multimedia production house for the creation of fan and smallscale Indie productions. For more information about this and other productions of the House of L'Stok, checkout the website at http://lstok.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, in the best tradition of fan productions it's late! But by way of an apology for keeping you waiting, and to wet your whistle
for the new episode, we offer you the new series trailer for Tales of Death and Honour which is available on the TrekUnited Audio Centre
at ... <http://www.scifitube.com/trekunited/audio/DAH-Teaser1.1b.mp3>

 

I have two submissions..... One (On Day Ten) is a Fan-Made game called Fantasy Trek that you can preview at http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com/

The other (On Day Eleven) is an ebook of three "Enterprise Virtual Season" episodes... and they can be previewed at http://startrekenterprisevirtualseasons.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

KBF-Kapact

IKS tIQghoB
"Surrender or be des-"
{sound of explosion}

Klingon Black Fleet
"...laughing, undefeated..."

What is Fantasy Trek?
Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com/
http://houseabukoff.blogspot.com
http://kapactsrant.blogspot.com/
http://startrekenterprisevirtualseasons.blogspot.com/