Likely Getting Canned This Week - Keep Me In Your Thoughts!

You're preaching to the choir about the bad economy and joblessness. Just trying to help the guy by answering his question.

 

This.

I take great care to separate the people I worked *with* at my previous shop and the owner and publisher who pushed me out the door. The former are still friends; in fact, the editor of the other paper in our group offered to give me a recommendation before I had a chance to ask him.

I decided I'd give it my all over the course of the two weeks I had left. My aim was to make my last two papers the best two papers I could put out. That doesn't keep me from fantasizing about telling the owner and publisher to get bent, but that's as far as it's going to go.

 

One worker who left before I got a job at that place basically called the EE a pedophile in his exit interview. It was already legend when I got there.

 

Thanks, all for the support. You are my closest "friends" in the business.

Here's the 'why' for me probably getting pushed out...

1) I make too much money.

2) I have a new boss. She's 25 and doesn't hesitate to hire/promote her friends from her previous stop in a smaller market. (In fact, I wrote about her a few months back on the J-board. She demoted me 4 months ago).

3) See Number 1.

The real difficult part is that 2 years ago I made far less (but still a very good living) in a small city we loved. Now I make 50% more but I know management wants me to quit. Yet I won't quit because of what I'm making. To paraphrase Turturro in "Rounders"..."my kids eat."

I've been a workhorse in these 4 months of professional hell. In the shower each morning, I go through all of the scenarios in my head for what COULD happen that day.

It's an awful way to go to work but I'll be ready for whenever it comes.

The axe didn't happen today.

But it will sometime between now and the end of the month. If I'm not let go, then I'm paid for another year at my current rate... all I can hope for is they forget.

Yes, it's an awful time to be looking for work. I have had some interviews locally but so many small businesses are holding off hiring new people because they're uncertain of taxes and government's role in health care and the expense that may come from that.

 

I had the "I'm getting fired" feeling for about 6-8 months before it actually happened. I was the victim of "you make too much money", which happens when you work for a company for 14 years. It did give me enough time to really build up my savings. And they gave me 8 weeks notice plus 3 months severance which helped as well since I could collect unemployment along with my severance. It's still never easy when the call/discussion comes. I highly recommend that you leave with your head held high and your dignity intact. You just never know when you're going to need a reference.

I'm "this close" to getting hired by their competition which is a little bit of payback for me.

 

Don't burn any bridges under any circumstances. I lost my job in May, handled it in a professional manner and ended up getting brought back in October despite signing a termination document that said I agreed never to work for the company again. You never know.

 

Hang in there, hack....

And I agree, as much as it may be difficult ... take the high road. I got treated like crap at my last shop, and my biggest satisfaction was being able to walk into the meeting where they were planning on terminating me (not for anything bad, just because my writing allegedly sucked) and give notice, beating them to the punch. I smiled, shook their hands, and walked away with my head held high. And my new situation is much better. Somehow, it all works out for the best.

 

Both of those stories are funny as hell.

I wouldn't recommend either of them, much as it's fun to think about, but it's absolutely hilarious to hear of other people who just didn't give the requisite amount of fuck.

xmh, I wish you nothing but the best as you wait for your number to come up.

 

Exmediahack,

I'm sorry you're going through this. I worked at a television station for several years until this past September. I saw many worthy, wonderful people lose their jobs in my last year of employment. Almost all of them found something else or something better. You will land on your feet. Good luck.

 

Ex, I wish you the best. Hang in there.

I am curious about something, not ever having been in television. You have a 25-year old boss? How does any 25-year old have enough experience or knowledge to be able to make decisions like this, or is she just doing what she's told?

 

Good luck.

 

Maybe you could sign your exit interview "Heywood Jablome" [/crossthread]

Good luck dodging the bullet, Ex.