A New Job
In August of 2007, I was laid-off from my job at Harland Clarke (formerly Liberty Check). This was my second time being laid-off.
The first time was in August of 2003. At that time, the job market was very bleak. That, coupled with the fact that I did not yet have my degree, created a very stressful time for me.
Fortunately, a position opened up in the same department I was working in, and I was brought back before my unemployment became official. In the end, I was gone from work for 5 weeks, without any interruption in employment at Liberty. When talking with people about it, they would refer to it as a 5 week vacation. Too bad I couldn’t have enjoyed it.
This time was entirely different. I won’t say that it was completely worry-free, but I can say that I did enjoy much of it. First, my resume looked much nicer with the degree I earned (I graduated in 2005). Also, the job market was much better. On average, I must have been interviewing about 3-4 time a week. And finally, the last 4 years have given me the opportunity to develop skills in VB.Net, ASP, and SQL, all desirable skills right now.
All told, I was between jobs for about 5 months. In December, I started work at HealthPartners as a web developer. It is a contract-to-hire, and the contract will last about 3 months. Things are going well there, and I fully expect to be hired in March.