Coming to terms with the inevitable

This might be the wrong forum for it, but I'm sure it'll be moved if it does.

This morning, I walked into the office and got cussed out by Publisher because I failed to adequately protect some surveys from the rain this past weekend at a fair.

Was it a stupid mistake on my part? Absolutely.

Did I apologize for it. Yes.

Instead, I got cussed out and talked about behind my back, saying that I don't give a damn about the product and that I do the bare minimum just to get by. I feel that it's come to me either walking away or this guy canning me for no reason.

I'm fairly young (turned 28 this past Friday), single, no children, only real responsibility is Sallie Mae. It would make sense to walk away while I still can walk, but the truth is, like most folks, I'm afraid of what the future holds. My editor keeps saying I can't get a job without holding a job, not to mention I'm still trying to figure out what I can do aside from traditional journalism.

I guess I just needed to vent because I'm so incredibly frustrated.

 

One thing to keep in mind is this: If you voluntary quit, you'll be ineligible for unemployment insurance. If you get pushed out the door, you should be eligible.

If your publisher is anything like mine, though, be ready to fight for your benefits.

 

I am strong proponent of strategy that you should not leave a job until you have the next one.

 

F_T is right. Don't quit. Let them fire you, so you can collect unemployment.

And while your editor is somewhat right in that it is easier to get a job when you are already employed, there are millions of people right now who are unemployed, including your's truly, who will eventually be employed again. So don't let the editor frighten you. Yeah. It's scary being unemployed. But, you're 28. You will be working for the next 40 years or so. Think of your working life in the long term, instead of short term.

 

Yep. Start looking now, but don't leave that paycheck until you've got the next one locked up, mister.

And, btw, sounds like your publisher's a dick.

 

Why don't you prove them wrong?

This is because of some customer survey forms, right? Did they have to be filled out at the fair? Can you volunteer to go to the local shopping mall and get them filled out there? Could you get double the number of surveys forms filled out that were lost in the rain?

 

I've been there, when I've known I was toast no matter what, that someone wanted me out and would not rest until it was done.

Stick it out and make the rotten cocksuckers fire you.

 

The only problem with being fired, besides the embarrassment is that I believe it's hard to get back in this business once you've been kicked out, maybe I'm wrong. And to answer Inky_Wretch, these surveys that were supposedly ruined by my ineptness were salvaged and still legible. This guy really doesn't like me, for reasons I'm aware of.

 

This is wrong, and here's why: There are so many reasons that people get hired, or not get hired, that there are no hard-and-fast rules about either.

You can not get hired because you went to the wrong school. Or because another candidate went to the right school. You can get hired even if you didn't go to school.

You can get hired because you dressed up for the interview and another candidate with similar credentials didn't.

You can get hired because you're the best local candidate.

And you can get hired if you've been out of the business. Or if you've been in and out. Or if you've never been in (which we all were, at some point.)

All it takes, in any case, is someone willing to take a chance on you. Just one. So, don't let anyone prey on you with that particular fear. It's not true; never was.

 

I'm sure there's been lots of people fired from a newspaper and hired by a different one.


And with the economic climate right now, employers are not going to look down on people who are unemployed. They've probably made cuts themselves, so they know other companies have too.

 

Make the douchebag fire you.

 

I find it hard to believe that anyone left in print journalism is doing the bare minimum. Silly statement for a publisher to make.