Well, my life suddenly got more interesting...

As of this past Monday, Aug. 1st, I am no longer employed after 28 (!) years behind the scenes in the news/media biz.

It was not exactly a surprise. Now that I think about it, I had a front row seat to watch the American newspaper business fall apart in slo-mo over the past few decades.

For those who don't know, I've been employed by a certain large newspaper/media conglomerate (I'm not gonna name them, but here's a hint: if you re-arrange the letters, you can spell "Tangent") since 2016, which is when they bought out my previous employer, where I'd been since 1997. So in other words, the job I've had for my entire adult life.

Back in May they held an all-hands pow-wow (which is never a good thing) via Microsoft Teams for everyone who worked in layout/pre-press/etc. and informed us that most of our jobs were going to be "off-shored" (i.e. sent to India). Therefore we were eligible for voluntary severance packages, with the unspoken message being that if enough people didn't take them, the next round of severances would not be so voluntary, if you catch my drift.

So I hemmed and hawed about it for a couple of days (cuz I haven't been happy there for a while anyway) and then I got word that one of the weekly publications I worked on was being discontinued, and I took that as a sign. So I said "fuck it, I'm out."

Fortunately the package I was offered was fairly generous so I'll be OK in the short term, but now I gotta figure out what I wanna do with the rest of my life... which is funny, cuz I just turned 52 and I still don't know what I wanna be when I grow up.

In the interim, I've just taken a part time seasonal/temp gig with Spirit Halloween, just to give myself something to do while I look for a more permanent solution. Besides, I had to get out of the house. I've been working via remote for the past two and a half years, so the four walls were already starting to close in. If I had nothing to do but look at job listings on the internet all day, every day, I was gonna lose my fuckin mind.

Spirit seems like a fun place to work (I've only done two days so far helping to set up the store prior to its "soft opening" this weekend) but I don't think I'm gonna be making very much extra cheddar with it, cuz my supervisor (who I have not even met in person yet) just texted the schedules for the next two weeks and I'm on for four hours one day, then nothing for three or four days, then four hours again, etc., etc.  It's very strange.

Meantime, I have been busy setting up profiles on all the major job hunting sites like Monster, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc., so I'm now getting constant e-mails from them with suggested openings, all of which have been utterly irrelevant, or too far away, or both, so far. (I'm like "Hey, ZipRecruiter, I'm glad you think that I'm a "GREAT MATCH!" for this job as an oral surgeon, but I think I may be just a tiny bit under-qualified...")

So anyway, that's the story, just wanted to throw it out there in case I suddenly disappear or don't come by the forums as often as I once did. I'm not dead, I'm just lookin' for work. Wish me luck. Thanks.

Well that certainly sucks, sorry to hear dude. Who knows maybe it’s a blessing and you’ll find a better gig. I’ve always had good luck in indeed. Monster seems like a scammers paradise to me. Good luck and happy hunting. Good news is seems to me lots of employers are hurting for employees. Seems there is a wave of laziness sweeping the nation where people don’t want to work anymore, so hopefully that means more jobs for the non lazy folk.

Sorry about the loss of your job Fred. I know you’ll find something and land on your feet!

May I suggest working as a driver at Hertz or Avis… they are currently paying $16.25 (soon to be $17) under the new union contract. Well that’s here in OC California. I have no idea about NJ… but it’s not too bad for the short term. You just transport cars from one location to another. And you get to drive a wide assortment of cars and trucks with the wonderful a/c and sometimes satellite radio. Just an idea for you to consider.

I work near a airport so we usually have plenty of hours available.

Speaking of driving, ever thought of getting your cdl? If you have a free month to spend going to school, you can get one. Drivers are in high demand, local and long haul. You’ll make no less than sixty grand a year, and once you get a couple years under your belt, there’s lots out there where could make six figures. Not a bad gig, but can be stressful depending on where you land.

Thanx for the suggestions, guys. Dunno if driving/CDL would really be my "thang" (tho I kinda like the idea of simply being on the road all day, listening to metal, haha)... I dunno, I've always been an office drone, never really thought about being much else.

Quote :

Monster seems like a scammers paradise to me.

I'm already starting to feel that way about Monster, haha.

Shoot, ten or twelve years ago I put my info out on Monster just to see if I'd get any bites cuz I was getting bored with my then-current position. I got a lot of "be your own boss!" offers to join Multi-Level Marketing scams, and not much else.

I did get a breathless phone call from some fly by night "marketing" outfit who'd seen my into on Monster and they were so impressed with my resume that they wanted me to come in the next day for an interview, they thought I'd be a "perfect fit," that I had "management potential," etc,. etc. -- they were kissing my ass so hard that it set off my bullshit detector right off the bat, haha. Went home that night, Googled the company name, and found out that their idea of "marketing" was "dropping you off in shitty neighborhoods with books of coupons to try and sell vinyl siding." Needless to say, I didn't show up for that interview.

Damn, that sucks mate... Sorry to hear that. Good luck in your job search!

Good luck to ya Freddy! That sucks after all those years but I’m sure you’ll find something soon. Hey you could always make Tik Tok videos! Lol!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Thanx for the suggestions, guys. Dunno if driving/CDL would really be my "thang" (tho I kinda like the idea of simply being on the road all day, listening to metal, haha)... I dunno, I've always been an office drone, never really thought about being much else.

The driving I’m talking about isn’t CDL. You simply work for a rental car business moving cars. It’s as simple as it gets!

Another idea is delivering parts for a auto dealership.

I hope you find something that you enjoy. I switched careers after 25 years & found it exciting. Hopefully you will feel the same.

Hope the best for ya Kieth...

Heard the USPS is looking for help
On a side note, have ya considered doing your HubPages via webcam? There are various platforms to put that type of stuff on.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dunno if driving/CDL would really be my "thang" (tho I kinda like the idea of simply being on the road all day, listening to metal, haha)

Could not do worse than DB

I may be in that same boat soon. I work for a small hardwood flooring supply company and I am getting a bit bored with it myself. Its a rather long commute, with a ton of construction going on and after 15 years, it's starting to wear on me. I haven't really done anything about searching for a new job because of the comfort zone I'm in but that's going to be changing here soon. My boss just informed me on Monday that he's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, so the future of the company is in doubt.

Fingers crossed that you find a new job you like. I changed careers at age 37 and it was the best thing I ever did. Good luck!

Security guard jobs are always in demand. Depending where you are stationed, there tends to be a lot of downtime to read books or write your online reviews. It’s not hard work.

Well, I may not know what the hell I'm gonna do with myself yet (thanx for all the suggestions and best wishes, though, fellas), but I gotta say, right now I feel like a frickin genius for accepting that buyout, cuz this morning my former employer released their 2nd quarter earnings report and it was absolutely disastrous.

Their stock took a massive dive overnight and one of the big wigs was quoted as saying there will be "necessary but painful reductions to staffing" (i.e. layoffs) in the pipeline.

Wow! For once, timing was on my side!

Quote :

On a side note, have ya considered doing your HubPages via webcam? There are various platforms to put that type of stuff on.

You mean, like an OnlyFans?

But seriously... my kid has been telling me for a while that I should start a YouTube channel, where I could talk about and show off cool stuff from my CD/music collection (kinda like what Scott, Trog, and a few others are doing), but I have a face for radio.

Gay porn.

I'm telling you.

Lari wrote:

Gay porn.

I'm telling you.

I'm not nearly attractive enough for that.

Good luck bro!

You have work ethic on your side. You'll be fine.

Have you used indeed.com? I have an account with them as I'm getting geared up for my next phase as well.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Have you used indeed.com? I have an account with them as I'm getting geared up for my next phase as well

Oh yea, I'm set up in Indeed, Ziprecruiter, Monster, CareerBuilder, etc, etc. I'm still learning how to tweak my search preferences on each of them, hopefully sometime soon I'll start getting results that are actually somewhat relevant...

Fat Freddy wrote:

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Have you used indeed.com? I have an account with them as I'm getting geared up for my next phase as well

Oh yea, I'm set up in Indeed, Ziprecruiter, Monster, CareerBuilder, etc, etc. I'm still learning how to tweak my search preferences on each of them, hopefully sometime soon I'll start getting results that are actually somewhat relevant...

You forgot the Home Depot parking lot. No interview or resume needed.

Sorry to hear that.

I am sure it is for the best and that a better opportunity will come up soon.

Glad you got a good package deal. You got lucky !
28 years there ? That’s super looking on a resume.
But you have to add in the age factor. Just saying.
Companies simply love young, dumb, and good looking individuals out of college.
I always thought of you as being a record store owner. Seriously.
Maybe it’s your intense overall knowledge of music - lol.
Good luck. I’m nearing the same thing…HOPING for a package deal.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Lari wrote:

Gay porn.

I'm telling you.

I'm not nearly attractive enough for that.

There is a fetish for everything