Thursday, February 12, 2009

Just When You Think Things Can't Get Worse, They Do.

"It's always darkest before it goes pitch black." -- Connie Winkler

Well, it turns out they're closing our division in a few months and laying everyone off. Granted, I had one foot out the door anyway, but a. I'll never last long enough to get severance, and b. All my coworkers are now my competitors for this kind of work. And this area leads the country in unemployment rates already.

So the big question is, do I try to hang in until the bitter end, or should I try to get out ahead of the pack? Do I want to look for other positions within the same company, or do I want to start over again at the bottom somewhere else, at age 57?

I wonder if Walmart needs any new greeters.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh crap..I am so sorry..I don't know what to suggest...We had a new Kohls opening here and they had hundreds of people applying..it is horrible..I don't know what to tell you....Michelle..

Anonymous said...

That just sucks. Which is putting it mildly.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

But. You're creative and I bet you can come up with something fabulous. In the meantime, I'd say hang in there as long as you can for the paycheck and start looking. It sucks, but it's money. But then, I discovered a long time ago that the price of my soul is $20/hour. I figured that out when I refused to leave a shit job until they laid me off because I was making that kind of bank.

Good luck to you as you figure out how to weather this.

Phill said...

Oh, that sucks. However, you're smart and clever. You'll get a plan together. If it were me, I'd bolt and get out there ahead if you know you won't last long enough for severance. As you say, it is tough out there though. We're moving to a new area this summer so we can be on our land, and we're already preparing ourselves for Walmart and convienience store-like jobs if we can't find anything in field.

Deb said...

I wish I knew what to say...Sending you warm wishes that life takes a turn for the better soon.

Anonymous said...

Whatever you do, don't quit. You can't collect unemployment while you're looking for something else if you quit... and that little something is better than nothing. Good luck to you!

MyMaracas said...

Michelle, It's the same here. Any kind of job at all attracts hundreds of applications.

Sally, My soul came much cheaper. Actually, it's the benefits that are going to be hard to replace.

City Mouse, bolting is so very tempting. It's what the hubby would like me to do, but with a new mortgage I may not have the option. Good luck to you in your job search, too!

JC, you have a good point there. I've never been fired from anywhere in my life, and sticking around waiting for it is almost unbearable. Almost. Financially, I may just have to suck it up. I'm hoping against hope to find something else before that happens.

Deb and everyone, Thanks for the luck and well wishes. It means a lot to have you guys stopping by.

Sylvia K said...

That does indeed suck! There were 1200 people applying for the same job at some company here in WA! I'll hold good thoughts for you!

Lori @ Purple Snapdragons said...

You could put your resume out there and see what happens. Can't hurt.