Thank you to those of you who sent me well-wishes after I lost my job a week ago.

I thought that would be devastated by losing my job. I was shocked by the swiftness and finality of it, but I was not surprised.  They say that job loss is one of those things that everyone will go through at least once in their lifetime. Well, I guess I can cross that off my bucket list.  I did spend one day feeling depressed about my lot in life. And not one former co-worker has contacted me to say anything. It’s like I never existed. But I was only down for that one day. I’ve found that another emotion has taken over.

Relief! I really was not happy there. And now I’m happy that I don’t have to put up with some things that I had to deal with all the time. I should have made moves to get out sooner, but I felt trapped by my debt. So they made the move for me. Now, I feel like I have a chance to make a fresh start.  When I say fresh start, I mean finding a career that is better suited to me.  And I would do that, except that I don’t have the time or money to start over. I have debt that is accruing interest daily. I do want to get my side projects off the ground, but those take  upfront money to make happen. So, right now I’m in a holding pattern. I have tons of ideas and the time, but not the money. I am in emergency finance mode until I line up another job.

On that front, I have spent the last week applying online for jobs. I have submitted about 15 applications. That may not sound like a lot to some people, but in my small niche industry, that’s a large number. Most job postings in my specialization are for senior level positions.  I’ve applied for all decent jobs at junior/mid-level that I can find that are here on the West Coast.

Here is another issue. I like the small city where I live, but it is rather provincial and not diverse at all. My dating life has been nil. I’d like to move to a place that is more cosmopolitan and multi-cultural and where my dating prospects will hopefully be better as a single woman. I don’t want to move to the middle of nowhere just to have a job. No offense if you happen to live in the middle of nowhere. But it is another thing that I will have to keep in mind depending on how long I am out of work. Hopefully, I won’t have to make that decision. I will see what happens.

Good news!

I have an interview. This was a job that I applied for before I was let go. I’ve gone through two rounds of interviews with them by phone. The second one I was sure I bombed. I was in a tricky situation because during the first interview I had a job and right before the second interview, I no longer had a job. I had to explain that I was no longer employed and why, etc. The interviewer did not seem very interested, and the interview only lasted 30 minutes instead of  1 hour. I was shocked when I was notified that they want to fly me out there for a third round, all-day, face-to-face interview. When I saw the email, I thought it was a mistake.  No mistake.  I’m guessing that the first interviewer liked me and overruled the second one.

It is a senior position. I must have applied while in a state of delirium, because the job is too senior for me, but who knows. In my field, our interviews are  4 to 8 hour gauntlets, complete with a project exercise, a portfolio presentation, and back to back interviews. This interview will be an 8 hour one.  I do frazzle easily, so I’m not getting my hopes high on this one. However, it does give me something to hang on to for right now. I haven’t heard back from any of the other places I’ve applied to. If I can make it out of this interview without embarrassing myself, I will consider it a success!

On the personal front, I still have not told my family. My parents will flip out and overreact. They will do this because I “don’t have a man to take care of [me].” My siblings will be concerned but more steady.  I will have to have “the talk” this weekend.

In my next post, I’ll give a run-down of my finances and what my emergency budget and strategy will be for the foreseeable future.

.

“Debtor’s prison is real, and opportunity cost is a bitch.” (DDSW)