Greetings family, friends, associates, and readers!
You are receiving this because you are important to me, and I thought it was time to bring you “into the loop” as to what has going on with me recently.
This year has been an interesting one for me so far and it is likely to get more interesting as it progresses. The company where I work recently announced the decision to enter into a new partnership with a company that will streamline delivery methods and enable them to react more quickly to ever-changing market demands and provide a more robust product line.
With the news of this partnership, however, there also came news of deep, worldwide staffing cuts. A large percentage of the company is now being laid off or having their functions outsourced. I fall into the latter category. My last day at Harris will be at the end of May.
Rest at ease, though, because I am doing well and when all is said and done, I am sure that I am going to be fine. I have started a career transition plan which involves updating my resume and looking for opportunities which are either directly or tangentially related to what I have been doing for the past twenty years, and this is where you come in.
As part of these efforts, I have been building my network on LinkedIn.com—a professional networking site. If you are already on this site, I would really appreciate it if you would link into me. You never know how the “6-degrees of separation” will play out.
If you hear about an opportunity in the field of Business Analysis (in the broadcasting, broadcast automation, or a field you feel may nicely play on my experience in those areas), or you know somebody who I should be speaking to, please let me know.
I would welcome the opportunity to learn about any career opportunities that you may know of; to discuss with you any information you may feel that I could use in my search, or preparation for interviewing; or just to reconnect with family and friends I have neglected to be as close to as I would have liked recently. And please do not limit this information to positions in Denver. I am more than open to the possibility of relocation for the right opportunity.
Please be clear, this is not a request for direct employment. All I am looking for is information and connections. The old adage goes “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” but I beg to differ. In today’s job market, I believe it is both. You count on your network to find the contacts to get you in the interview seat, and after that, it is all what you know!
I thank you all in advance for any information, and words of support you have to offer. It has been an adventure, and I am sure that the future holds great things for all of us.
Sincerely,
• • • • •
4 comments:
You are definitely not alone in regards to what is happening to your job. I live hundreds of miles away from you and companies where I live are making the same sorts of cost cutting moves as what you seem to be experiencing. Where I live a lot of people are either losing jobs or getting their hours reduced as companies make moves to cut costs. You seem to be calmer about what is going on than a lot of the people who have been impacted by corporate cost cutting. I know from having followed your blog that you are very pragmatic. That is perhaps why you stay calm in difficult situations. The pragmatist knows that when one door closes another one opens. But pragmatists also know that things are always changing so maybe these days different rules apply. Maybe these days you have to make your own door. I don't know.
Anonymous Reader
Dear Anonymous Reader,
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! (And of course, thanks for reading and commenting on my blog!)
Yes, the times are tough and all over things are bad. But there is, in my humble opinion, no reason to panic. It is also not a time to be negative. We’ve had a number of layoffs at my company over the years and I say about this one, the same thing I have said about the others. It is a business decision on the part of the company. It has nothing to do with the people affected. It should have no affect on the way they think about or do their jobs.
Life is a journey, this is merely a detour. I would no sooner change the way I do things because of this than I would cancel my trip to the beach house because of construction on I-40. I’d just find another way.
You call me “pragmatic.” Yes, I guess that fits. But what is the alternative? Being unreasonable? Living in some fantasy world? Sure, dreams and argument have a place in life, but if you cannot put them into practice, they are simply a distraction.
And I do not mean that in the negative sense. I mean that in the sense of an entertainment; a diversion. Necessary and good in their place, but not what you should be basing your life or philosophy on. Here, too, I suppose I am a centrist. Feel free to take your place on the spectrum, but if you go too far in either direction you’ve gone too far regardless of which direction you moved in.
As to your comment that I seem to be taking this calmly, that is just the way that I deal with things. There is a poem by the English poet Rudyard Kipling called If. Look for a copy of it some time. The opening lines of the poem say:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too
It goes on to say that this is what makes one a man. They were sexist back in those days – this is what makes you a person. The important take-away from the poem (from my humble point of view) is that you cannot control what is going on around you, you can only control your reaction to it. I believe your comments about making your own door is your way of saying essentially this same thing.
So I have chosen to look at this practically and react to it in a positive way. Others may choose to have another reaction. That is their choice.
Thanks again, Anonymous Reader, for your kind comments!
Don
I've heard the part of the poem about keeping your head while those around you are losing theirs but had not heard the part about them blaming you. That is the part of losing a job that has always been the hardest for me. Even though it probably would not have happened if the company had managed to avoid the difficulties that led to a decrease in the demand for their services, some people will unfairly point to the weaknesses of the person who lost their job and infer that those weaknesses were actually the reason. Everyone has weaknesses and strengths and all of the people who avoided the layoff and kept their jobs still have their weaknesses but they are not being criticized for their weaknesses as much as person who lost their job.
Layoffs are also tough on relationships. A counselor once noted that when some men lose a job their wife might start to distrust him.
Thanks for your insights on this. It is hard to keep your confidence up and keep focused on your strong points when you feel that people might be blaming you for the problem you are trying to deal with rather than trying to encourage you during your time of difficulty.
Anonymous Reader
Dear Anonymous Reader,
Thanks again for reading and commenting on my blog. You are correct, that changes to employment status can cause tension in a relationship. I seem to recall hearing once that finances are the number one bone of contention between couples.
It all still comes back to the concept my mom used to espouse: nobody can make you unhappy; you cannot control the circumstances, only your reaction to them.
I believe I saw this put most succinctly on a bumper sticker: Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down!
A fine personal motto!
Take care, AR and have a great day!
Don
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