Day 2: These are a Few of My Least Favorite Things
Peter Fitzgerald is chronicling his process of navigating from losing his job to a new and brighter tomorrow. To read other posts from the series, see “Job Transition: A CareerSherpas’ Odyssey”.
Much as Day 2 saw a lot of the same activity as Day 1 (contacting leads, reconnecting with people and thanking everyone) there are some realities one has to deal with.
Day 2
Re-Planning Finances
If I can call it “Part 2″ of my plan, dealing with the realities of re-sizing my budget to fit within my newly-diminished means is my least favorite so far. Trying to decide what is essential and what needs to be cut isn’t easy, but I knew I needed to start quickly.
So, for the “easy” stuff first:
- Monthly parking – I’m not going to use it and I can use the money. (Thanks to the Marten Ramp in Minneapolis for being understanding and cheerful!)
- Credit cards – Okay, so I’m not “getting rid” of them, but making arrangements to limit payments and try to get on whatever programs are available is an immediate action that shouldn’t be put off.
- Mortgage – Well… I didn’t get hold of someone today, but I need them to know the situation sooner rather than later. Again in the “not getting rid of” bucket, but managing it is going to be essential.
- Utilities – There are great programs for help with utilities. If you need them, find them and use them now.
Much, much harder:
- Horseback riding lessons – My eldest child’s 7th birthday present… she’s had two including today.
- Pre-K – This is a tricky one at best. As you can imagine we’re heartbroken over having to make any cuts here, but I need to talk to the school and see what we can do. (Day 3 has me thinking that maybe we should keep something here. My wife and I have a strong bias for educating kids well, so this might be something we “splurge” on to keep.)
- Applying for unemployment – When you haven’t been out of work in a while, there’s a certain sting in having to apply for unemployment benefits. As someone who has talked people through layoffs before I cannot stress enough: Do not put this off. Many of the assistance programs either need you to have applied for unemployment benefits or become a lot easier to obtain if you’ve already applied.
Retrieving Belongings from the Office
One thing that I still needed to do was to recover the rest of my belongings from work. Aside from a slight confusion in the morning, I was invited to pick up the rest of my stuff in the morning. This was instead of “outside of work hours” as previously stated, and I have to thank the Labor Day weekend (more on that in a weekend post) and the HR Director for providing that option.
I had the kids in the car with me. They’re pretty clear on what is going on, but were excited to visit “Daddy’s work” since both of them have had positive experiences coming into the office. Aside from a tantrum over using the whiteboard in my old cube, their presence was very comforting.
It’s always awkward going back to a place you’ve been excluded from, particularly when people are straining to say something and don’t feel comfortable talking. There are a number of things that made the visit easier for me though, and part of it was the number of folks who made a point of stopping to shake my hand. Some of the stops were very emotional, and it was difficult not to feel for people who were feeling the strain.
What I was most impressed by, and incredibly thankful for, was the dignity I was allowed in the process. In many organizations the death march is surrounded by negative responses and chiding, but I am very grateful that this was not the case for me. As much as it was an emotional exit, being allowed that dignity made the situation much easier. I know I learned a number of lessons in humility and human decency in the process.
All in all, not an easy day but far better than it could have been.
Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.