In Search Of A Job

My husband has been in search of a job. His last day at work at his previous job was 11/11/11. He worked at the JCPenney corporate headquarters as a Senior Copy Chief. He did a great job and got exemplary reviews. He had made his career there after having worked for Radio Shack Advertising in Fort Worth as a Copywriter and Copy Chief. He worked hard, he dealt with details, wrote and edited copy for a wide variety of products in their various catalogs and supervised a group of writers. He also interviewed and hired writers and even did a few things for their awards ceremony, 'The Pace Awards.'. Then, JCP decided to drop their catalogs. I remember the day he came home and told me this, it was a dark foreshadowing of things to come. Penney's apparently thought that people didn't use catalogs any more, they thought people only shopped on-line. They neglected to realize that people like to browse through a catalog before making their decision of what to buy on-line. JCPenney decided to do a series of books called 'Findmore' books that were sort-of like catalogs that people could browse through before shopping on-line. Then, Penney's decided to drop the 'Findmore' books. I remember my husband coming home and telling me that and the dread that accompanied the news.  Then it was announced that JCPenney was going to offer an 'Volunteer Early Retirement Plan' for employees over 55 that had been with the company for a while and had pension plans. My husband was the 'poster child' for this program. Sure enough, he got offered this plan and on Sept. 1, 2011, his birthday of all days, he got the details of the plan. What they offered was below poverty level. He had to 'volunteer' for the program they offered or he could risk losing his position with nothing at all. He was given time to think it over and we were trying to figure things out financially. About a month later, JCP eliminated his position and told him that his last day would be 11/11/11. He still got the volunteer retirement plan and with the elimination of his position, this at least offered a few months severance pay and allowed him to collect unemployment. He began actively looking for a job immediately. A large number of people were let go from JCP in a similar manner. Gone are the days when you spend your career at one place until you retire and get a gold watch. These days, in the name of the all mighty dollar, people get tossed out like rubbish because they did a good job and got a raise.

He has gone to a number of job interviews and has applied for dozens of jobs. He averages about a dozen applications per week. He has been networking via various internet sites including one known has 'Linked-In.'  Each Monday, he attends a job-seeker's group at our church. This group has done him a world of good, giving him moral support, guiding him and allowing him to connect with others in his situation. I would love to meet the lady who runs this group if just to say, "Thank you." My husband recently had an interview with a local city-wide magazine. This was an interesting interview because they interviewed several people at once and four of them, including my husband, were former JCPenney employees. He didn't get the position, but they offered him a freelance writing assignment, an article for their magazine. My husband just sent it in today. This has not only given him a chance to do some creative writing, but also given him a chance to extend his network of connections. He has also starting writing a blog, which inspired me to start a blog. When he worked in copy in his jobs, there wasn't much creative writing involved. If one thing good cropped up from this experience, it's an opportunity for him to do some creative writing. He's a very good writer.

Right now, in addition to his job search, he helps our daughter at her job every Saturday morning at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary. They both feed the animals in the outdoor and indoor animals exhibits. He is experienced in dealing with Lemurs, Capybara, Patagonian Cavies, White-Tailed Deer, Raccoons, Opossum, Mongooses, a Moluccan Cockatoo, a Blue and Gold Macaw, White-Nosed Coatimundis and a Guinea Pig named 'Reggie.'  In fact, Trio, a deer and Roscoe, a raccoon, absolutely adore him. He has a way with animals.

We are about halfway though the unemployment benefits and are on COBRA for health insurance, so for now, we're hanging in there. He is the hardest-working person I've ever met. He gives more than 100%  in everything he does. I know that this being home and not going to work every day is hard on him. When I see the great  masses of cars prodding their way home in squeezing confines rush hour traffic, I wonder what all of those people do for a living and wish he could be among them as does he. Any company that hires him would be very lucky to have him, he would go out of his way to do an outstanding job in every thing he does. I'm sick of hearing about age discrimination, I wonder if some companies are actually becoming daycare centers. Besides that, neither one of us is old! My husband is as up-to-date on technical stuff as anyone in their twenties or thirties and could probably show them things they hadn't been aware of.

Every day, I pray that my husband finds a job soon. He's working so hard to accomplish this. I know he will find something. When he gets determined to do something, he gets it done. He will find a job soon and the company who hires him will be glad they did.