Date: Wednesday April 20, 2016
Time: Feels-like-the ass-crack-of-dawn (a clock would likely place it right
around 7:00am…I’ll pause for those readers currently possessing children sufficient
time to roll their eyes)
Location: The sole bedroom of a downtown Minneapolis, MN apartment
Location: The sole bedroom of a downtown Minneapolis, MN apartment
It’s early, but the Uber-X will be arriving soon for the
silent 20-minute haul to the airport.
This is not unusual. In fact, seven bells is quite a bit later than normal
for me to head out for a flight. As I
throw together my standard carry-on survival items (noise cancelling headphones,
Clif Bars, last week’s Sports Illustrated that I will read cover-to-cover
before takeoff, a book I won’t read at all, and a fresh pack of Orbit Wintermint), it is currently the 15th week of the year and,
according to the Delta app on my phone, this morning’s flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix marks the start of my 13th round trip of 2016. I
turn 33 in a week and, after nine years of going in to an office each day, the
new job I started last November has been a welcomed change – working from home
when in Minneapolis, but on the road most weeks flying to such exotic
destinations as Edison, New Jersey and Broadview Heights, Ohio to sell the
financial advisors of Big Ten territory (minus Maryland and Nebraska, so the real Big Ten) on the
wonders of individual disability income insurance and motivate them to
incorporate it with more prevalence into their client’s financial plans. It’s been a challenging but fun and rewarding
few months getting things started, but it’s time for a break. A spring break, as it were. So I can’t wait for this 9:30 flight because
once I land in Phoenix, I’ll head to National car rental, pick out the best
minivan in the lot, pop in the “Van Tunes” mix CD I made last night (spoiler
alert: it’s mostly Van Halen), pick up Ben and Katie when they arrive from San
Francisco, drive to the Airbnb rental in Scottsdale, acquire and consume a
beer, wait for the rest of the adult spring break crew to arrive, sit
on/in/around the pool, and repeat for four days.
And then my phone lights up with a text from my boss:
“Mandatory call today. 9am. I know you’re on vacation, but
you need to dial in.”
Fast forward a couple hours.
That tall guy staring out at the window along the corridor leading up to
gate G20 at the MSP airport with earbuds in as the first class and diamond medallion passengers
(I’m only silver for those concerned how much of a Clooney scene from Up in The Air this resembles) walk past
him to board the flight to Phoenix? That’s
me. And those earbuds? They have been broadcasting dead air for the
five minutes that have passed since the conference call ended. They’re calling my zone, so I put the phone
away and muscle memory kicks in to execute another flawless boarding process
(with the assistance of every flight attendant who has ever greeted my entrance
to the aircraft, I have become expert-level at watching my head), but my mind is
still staring out that window with white noise spinning on repeat in my
ears. About a half-hour in, just as the flight attendants start their ginger ale slinging, I snap out
of it, buy the in-flight Wi-Fi, download the email that was sent after the call
ended, and use the complimentary Star Tribune from the Delta lounge (Clooney
game strong here) as scratch paper to calculate my severance pay. In two months, corporate restructuring will render my position terminated and
I will be unemployed for the first time since graduating from St. John’s in
2005.
Would I care for a beverage?
I would.
(admittedly less Clooney)
Date: Monday April 24, 2017
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Same Minneapolis apartment
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Same Minneapolis apartment
It’s been a weird year.
Not necessarily good or bad, but definitely weird. The most common phrase that I’ve used over
the past 52 weeks has been “if you’re going to get laid off and you live in
Minnesota, get laid off in the summer.”
And while my short game, sun tan, and bicycle all saw at least 10 times
more attention last July and August than in any prior, not having a job still
sucks. Even though I had two months of
advanced notice and a more-than-fair severance payout, striking the proper
balance between “enjoy this and take some time to figure out what you want to
do next” (see above photo) and “get a job, sir” proved to be incredibly challenging. All those hours sitting in a cubicle on beautiful
summer days thinking “if I could just get a chance to start over and do
something I REALLY love…” were calling my bluff. Here it is: my big chance to hit reset and use
the layoff as leverage to meet with a ton of
different people and, in the process, find my dream job.
Well, that didn’t really happen. I did a good job of networking (my coffee and
happy hour games have never been sharper) and was blown away by how many people
– most of whom I hadn’t spoken to in years or had never met at all – took time
to talk with me and actually cared enough to make further introductions and provide
really good advice. As I moved through
the process, I started realizing that maybe my dream job or some other massive
life-altering opportunity may not show up – even if I look really hard for
it without the shackles of active employment.
Now that might sound depressing, but it felt just the opposite. As someone who has always fought the notion
that the grass is always greener (I believe the youths call it “FOMO”), being
forced to actually go inspect some other lawns started to give me more peace of
mind and confidence that even if my dream job isn’t sitting out there waiting
for me, I’ll be OK.
I started working again in October of 2016 and, while not it’s
not exactly the life of an MLB relief pitcher (think about that gig for a
second...seriously, think about it, I’ll wait…that is the best job on the
planet, right?), I took a bit of a chance.
After ten years of working for massive corporations, I accepted a
position working as a sales rep for an employee benefits consulting firm
employing exactly six people (myself included).
I’ve traded the Delta Sky Club for Casey’s General Stores while driving all over the state to meet with public sector entities (cities,
counties, school districts, etc.) in an attempt to show them why working with
our firm will improve their insurance costs and employee relations. Is it the
earth-shattering dream job that I always thought could be out there beyond the
cubicle walls? No. But it’s challenging, fun, and rewarding, so along
with the much-welcomed return of providing an income, it certainly checks
enough of the important boxes.
Despite what has been by any measure the most thoughtful and
perspective-building year I have spent on this planet, I know that I’m always
going to be looking over the fence trying to see if I can find something
better. And I’m OK with that. What’s gone now is the underlying sense that
if only I could take a month off to re-group, re-set, re-evaluate, and
re-connect, that perfect job and answers to all of my problems and professional
anxieties are just sitting there waiting for me around the corner. It’s highly likely that realization isn’t
exactly earth shattering for some reading this, but it was for me and I’m
grateful that I was given the chance to figure it out (…and work on my short
game).
I’m certainly not the first person to get laid-off (not even the first person to get laid-off who has written a post on this very blog), and
I don’t have any wise pearls from the experience that are going to
change anybody’s life. But I think that
all of us still question our professional situations pretty frequently, so it’s
something everybody deals with from time to time. Healthy skepticism and motivation to improve your situation are two of the best
attributes that I learned from my time at St. John’s and growing up with my
fellow contributors to this project. And
as we get older, those evaluations and potential actions thereof take on much
more profound consequences, so hopefully sharing the perspective I gained over
the past year will help.
And if not, nobody leaves empty handed, so let me know and I
can at least give you some recommendations on out-state Minnesota gas station pizza options and/or which Minneapolis coffee shops are most tank top friendly during daytime hours.
