Autumn Marathon

Five Months & Counting

Yesterday marked five months since I received notification that my employer, Sun Microsystems, would be eliminating my position.   For the first couple months after my layoff, I attended some family events, drove my car back from California and positioned myself for what I hoped would be a very brief interruption in the career track.  In the meantime, a sputtering economy has stalled out spectacularly in the financial implosion that marked September and early October.  The New York outplacement office has filled up with discouraged legions from financial services.  A couple of promising early leads to jobs and/or consulting contracts have evaporated.  It is proving very difficult to even land initial interviews.  On a positive note, it has been rewarding to be able to spend more time with my teenage children - to actually feel like a participant in their lives as opposed to an itinerant, often “absent father” (to use their words).

What has become clear in the past month is that the cliche “Me, Inc.” is really true.  In the current US economy, no one is going to look after a worker except for the person himself and his family.  Also, once you are untethered from a corporate salary and benefits, it is unclear whether it is advantageous to seek full-time salaried employment or whether it makes more sense to go into business as a self-employed consultant or entrepreneur.

Bottom line: I haven’t earned a dime since being laid off.  I’m going to have to earn in order to support my family and myself.  I have been talking to a lot of people, sending out resumes and have a lot of “irons in the fire.”  Will this baby fly?  Let’s find out…