One Month Today...

[RavenousWolf]

Today represents a full month since I have been fired from my job. However, I in no way disagree with the course of action that my employer pursued; if someone cannot do his or her job (depression, etc) then he or she should not be there.

I will not reveal my health condition to any employer since my cognitive faculties are still working. And I won't use it as an excuse so this is just a learning experience for me and I use it as such.

[rocky282]

Good for you

I had to quit my last job because I was unable to complete my duties. My employer knew I had MS as I was diagnosed while working there and had to call off over 3 weeks total in the 7 months I was there. In the end he would have kept me, but when I couldn't see the computer screen or hear the customers on the phone, it was a matter of quitting before it came to firing. I would rather go out as the good employee. It takes alot to continue working until they have to let you go. I was not that brave. Cudos to you!

[RavenousWolf]

Not only have I gone all this time since I was fired from my job but I have gone all this time without a single interview.

However, it is the same story as in the job that I was fired at; a job requisition is immediately closed after a couple of days because the employer is swamped with a few hundred resumes. Employers do not have the time or resources to sift through a few thousand resumes; so they narrow it down to a few hundred - for just one job opening.

And my unemployment is not for lack of trying. I already submitted my resume to hundreds of positions. It is easy to find a low paying job; it becomes very difficult to find a medium paying job and next to impossible to find a high paying professional job.

But I will keep moving forward even if I have to take a few steps back.

[RavenousWolf]

I now have passed the milestone of being unemployed for three months. And I know I should not be complaining since there are so many people who have been devastated by this recession. However, this is the first time in my professional career that I have been unemployed (like for more than a week).

In the past when there was a RIF I was able to quickly get a job because it was a good economy and I was a few rungs down in the corporate ladder. But the higher I am up the corporate ladder, then it is increasingly difficult to find a new job even while tremendously reducing my salary expectations. In fact, just having an interview would be nice (and I have had so few of those).

I know it is unrealistic to ask for anything near what I was making before in my salary expectation but this recession is far more awful than I ever imagined.

And having this disease tremendously complicates matters although that is something that I can keep hidden and as a secret.

[Jules A]

Good luck with your job hunt. This disease just adds so much stress to the equation.

[Leola Stotts]

For those that are still trying to work, I know there is a way. Keep trying. Don't give up hope. Praying that a job that is perfect for you will show up.

[RavenousWolf]

A couple of hours from now represents four entire months that I have been unemployed. And this is the longest unemployment that I have experienced in my professional career.

Granted, when I was entry level or a few notches above entry level, employment in my career path was a given.

And I still had no concern as I was rising higher in the food chain. But now I would feel so fortunate if I did find something that is one half less of what I was making exactly one year ago; that is because half less is still better than what I am making right now which is zero.

However, as I learned from many people who faced adversity, keep moving forward.

[Redwings]

Hi Wolf:
You might be interested in reading Who Moved My Cheese by by Spencer Johnson, MD. It was a best-seller back in the late '90s. If you read it then, it might be interesting to read again from the viewpoint of the current economy.

You can get it from your local library, but it's such a short book you can probably read it in one sitting at the library.

Many years ago I was a technical editor and writer when aerospace was king, especially in Southern California. Back in 2002 I got a university extension certificate in technical writing, hoping to upgrade my skills and knowledge of the industry and get back into technical writing. I was quite surprised to find out that tech writers, who used to be valuable, were passe.

There were a couple of people in some of my classes who were writing technical materials for a software company and a pharmaceutical company who were administrative assistants with no real technical background. They enrolled in the program hoping to get some training. That means that they were already doing technical writing with no qualifications. Well, maybe I should say that they were qualified by virtue of their willingness to work for less than half the compensation of "real" technical writers with technical and communications backgrounds.

I even rejoined one of the technical communication societies and networked at the local meetings. I didn't last long with that because there were no jobs available, even as far back as 2002. I guess I don't need to say that I never found a job in technical communications in spite of a good background and several years of trying.

It could be that the field of tech writing will never be what it was and only the best-connected writers will continue to work in the field. It's hard to find new cheese when there isn't enough to go around.

[RavenousWolf]

It could be that the field of tech writing will never be what it was and only the best-connected writers will continue to work in the field. It's hard to find new cheese when there isn't enough to go around.

Redwings, I consider you (and Snoopy) to be one of the most inspirational and insightful members of this site for me; there are plenty of such people on here but Redwings (and Snoopy) have had the biggest impact on me.

Actually, not only did I read that book in the late nineties, my employer at the time showed us the animated version of it. And that was the time when I was a low paid Technical Writer.

Yes, the aerospace industry has been turned upside down (which has turned me upside down). In fact, some managers I know (who have degrees in engineering) have moved to business development to save their jobs; thus, they found a new source of cheese. Aerospace outfits and engineering firms are always going to need people to do sales so these engineers didn't hesitate for a moment to look for new cheese.

For years I was feasting on the mother lode of cheese as a Technical Writer/Editor for federal contractors.

Thanks Redwings for your inspiration. In fact, I have to admit that it is a little scary on how you offered me such insight to my personal situation. However, after the initial surprise, I was not frightened; rather, I was so relieved for someone who could relate so well with me.

Again, thank you so much for your insight!!!

[Redwings]

Hi Wolf:
I hope you've been monitoring this forum from time to time and will see this. I'm so sorry I missed your last post. (I think it's because this section of the forum doesn't come up automatically at log in.) I hope you and your family are doing well, or at least as well as can be under the circumstances.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you were able to find some things to think about based on my experience.

What I admire about you so much is your grasp of reality. There have been times when you were obviously overwhelmed with your situation and struggling, but you never slipped into denial or "happy talk." You always faced reality and dealt with it.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the decline of the tech writer. And I was wondering, would you be interested in trying to write freelance? Maybe not hard technical copy but maybe something like white papers?

Michael Stelzner is the guru of white papers. Maybe your local library has (or can get) his books about white papers, and you can google him to find his blog. He's probably the best place to start to see if writing white papers is for you.

I'm intrigued at the prospect of writing white papers, but I don't have the temperament to work freelance -- having to self-promote and self-market. But if you do, it could be something to get into while you're finding another job in tech pubs.

[RavenousWolf]

I finally got a job!!!

It was a sobering reality to get paid so little because only 18 months ago I was making three times what I make now. However, what I make now is better than what I have been making for the past five months; which was nothing. It is also a huge step down for me because my employment is with a temporary agency with no benefits.

Hence, for the first time in years I am an hourly and non-exempt employee and this outfit has absolutely no flex time either.

But my disease is still a secret and the value of that is priceless.

And I have one year left to find an employer who can hook me on to their insurance before my COBRA benefits run out. But everyone on here, especially Redwings, has been an awesome inspiration for me. While my world was falling apart, I found solace in this message board.

[Redwings]

Ta da! Congratulations, Wolf! You rock!

[angela25]

Hey...really informative thread..thanks for sharing with us.

Soooo....
Got any updates since your last post? How is the new job working out? I hope you are well.

[RavenousWolf]

Soooo....
Got any updates since your last post? How is the new job working out? I hope you are well.

Since it was with a temporary agency the job ended real quick. I explained to the agency that I can document engineering process, software, etc but that I am not a drafter or a designer.

The first thing that their client had me do was drafting. Fortunately I can read and interpret schematics but that is the limit of my knowledge base; and I don't want to enter a new profession since there are tons of drafters out there with so much more experience than what I have.

However, the real breaking point is that I had to duck out of work quite often to go to interviews for the type of medium paying jobs that I was after; forget the high paying jobs since they don't exist anymore because of the recession.

And that was so bothersome to me for getting paid so little for doing rather complex work; electrical engineering for a huge customer of theirs. Toss in a divorce, fighting the foreclosure of my house, etc, and I have way too many issues to deal with.

I am still doing a heck of a lot more interviews now but so many outfits have tons of experienced people competing for the same job. There are more interviews now than ever before but employers have to sift through tons of people before doing an interview.

Many are now screening people first with telephone interviews before doing an interview in person.