So, one week ago to the day, I took the time to watch the inauguration of President Barrack Obama and it was hopeful and inspiring. While I heard some on the far right bashing the speech, I was inspired. I am not going to say that everything he is speaking about or promising will come true, but I think right now this country needs some inspiration.
The fact is that the stock market and the economy are very much psychological things. The more positive we as a country are and the investors and traders are, the better the market performs. The same is true in the opposite direction. When the economy is down and the outlook is bleak, then the markets tend to head in that direction.
We need to get some of this turned around. And I think that one of the ways to get this turned around is to have “change” as President Obama has been promising. While we still do not know exactly what he means when he says “change”, what I mean is change in our economic outlook and our ideas. The old ideas have not worked. We need to try something new.
Will this help you and me who are out of work right now? I am not so sure if or when it will help us, but most likely we will all be better off once we can get the economic machine running again. That may not be today or tomorrow, but let us look to the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 to have this huge oil tanker of an economy turned around.
That puts all of those unemployed people who are hoping and needing a job in a bad spot. Unfortunately, there is nothing else that can be done about it. It is clearly going to take time to get it turned around. Will the inauguration be the first step? I don’t know, but I would like to think so.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
I've Been Away, But Now I Am Back
Well it has been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. For those of you who follow my blog, I apologize. I was busy with life and I let the blog slide a bit during that time. I apologize for that fact and assure you that I will be back at it this week.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Final Job Losses of 2008
So the final numbers for job losses came out last week. 2.5 million jobs were lost for the year of 2008. Wow, that sucks for all 2.5 million, of which I am one and you may be as well, but also for the economy as a whole. That also means there is going to be serious competition for the average jobs that are available.
What that does not mean however is that you cannot get a job. There are still many companies hiring and there are many jobs out there. The question that every unemployed worker needs to ask themselves is if they are qualified. Do they have the education or the training to get the jobs that are available.
Because the truth of the matter is that many of the 2.5 million jobs lost will be unskilled or lower level positions that are easy to eliminate and easy to create once the economy has turned the corner. The people who are seeking these types of jobs are going to find the next 12 months are pretty rough. The number of these jobs that are created will be limited, because these are the “labor” positions.
Now, if you are experienced and you have some education, then the bag seems to be mixed. There are jobs out there, but the companies are going to be more selective because it is an “employers market.” Many of these jobs will have 5-10 or more legitimate people applying for them and only one person is getting hired. The competition will be fierce for many of these jobs.
But, don’t get discouraged. While many companies have too much middle management and they are cutting back on those positions, there is a level of management that a company needs to run its business. That means that certain positions will never be cut and some positions will be created during this economic downturn. You will need to be patient and find the positions that your skills and knowledge best fits the company and the job description.
The roughest part of this whole downturn is that it is going to take years for the economy to turn around. Even if the numbers started coming in much better tomorrow, companies will be rehiring and growing again at a much more moderate rate than they did before. These companies will start to expand once again, when we see that we have hit bottom and they can foresee some growth in their industries.
The question is when and how many. It may take a full year after the numbers start coming in before companies start hiring in any large numbers. You must however keep your head up and your outlook positive or you will never get one of the remaining jobs that are out there. Keep looking, keep applying and stay positive.
What that does not mean however is that you cannot get a job. There are still many companies hiring and there are many jobs out there. The question that every unemployed worker needs to ask themselves is if they are qualified. Do they have the education or the training to get the jobs that are available.
Because the truth of the matter is that many of the 2.5 million jobs lost will be unskilled or lower level positions that are easy to eliminate and easy to create once the economy has turned the corner. The people who are seeking these types of jobs are going to find the next 12 months are pretty rough. The number of these jobs that are created will be limited, because these are the “labor” positions.
Now, if you are experienced and you have some education, then the bag seems to be mixed. There are jobs out there, but the companies are going to be more selective because it is an “employers market.” Many of these jobs will have 5-10 or more legitimate people applying for them and only one person is getting hired. The competition will be fierce for many of these jobs.
But, don’t get discouraged. While many companies have too much middle management and they are cutting back on those positions, there is a level of management that a company needs to run its business. That means that certain positions will never be cut and some positions will be created during this economic downturn. You will need to be patient and find the positions that your skills and knowledge best fits the company and the job description.
The roughest part of this whole downturn is that it is going to take years for the economy to turn around. Even if the numbers started coming in much better tomorrow, companies will be rehiring and growing again at a much more moderate rate than they did before. These companies will start to expand once again, when we see that we have hit bottom and they can foresee some growth in their industries.
The question is when and how many. It may take a full year after the numbers start coming in before companies start hiring in any large numbers. You must however keep your head up and your outlook positive or you will never get one of the remaining jobs that are out there. Keep looking, keep applying and stay positive.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
President-Elect Speaks
Well, many of you heard the President-Elect speak this morning. I have to say, rather than his normal high hopes and dreams, he was rather honest and upfront with his view. He clearly stated that he and his team feel that the nation is going down a serious economic road and that he wants to address it immediately.
I have to say that I am skeptical on where the money is coming from, but at the same time I do respect that he is trying to do something even before he is in office. Unfortunately, President Bush seems like he has checked out and did so 6 months ago. President Bush is not actively fighting the economy, instead he is letting Paulson and Bernanke do as they wish and so far that has not gone as well as planned.
Now, I want to make a clear statement about one of my major complaints about talk show radio and most pundits; I have never been in charge of or can really even imagine the details involved in running the US economy. We hear day-in and day-out from talking heads on what should be done here or there, but 99.999999% of them have never even run a medium sized, 500-2000 person, company let alone the US economy.
In fact, there may have been no right answers and no wrong answers. It may have been a situation that we just needed to pump money into the economy to stabilize it, not fix it. I would have preferred to see some kind of true oversight on where the money went and how it is being spent. Both the financial experts and Congress failed again.
In the end however, we are back to President-Elect Obama. His approach may not be the totally right one and we will have to wait and see. I do support his idea that this problem that we are experiencing right now is exactly when we need government intervention. Market forces would ultimately solve this problem. Of that I am sure. But, the market forces would most likely drive the economy down another 25-50% before bottoming out and we cannot have that.
The government stepping in and providing some stability and confidence may be what is needed. This is truly the government’s job. There will be many who say that I am wrong on this and that the government does not create anything; it just spends our tax dollars. And they are right. Still, there is a time when we need to just spend, even if it is not fair to all of the people of the U.S., and that time is now.
Let’s see what this new approach is like and if it works. I liked that he called for a moratorium on any pet projects and pork being placed into the new stimulus plan. If we are lucky, he will continue to fight that fight every day that he is President.
I am done. Take you shots and I will respond.
I have to say that I am skeptical on where the money is coming from, but at the same time I do respect that he is trying to do something even before he is in office. Unfortunately, President Bush seems like he has checked out and did so 6 months ago. President Bush is not actively fighting the economy, instead he is letting Paulson and Bernanke do as they wish and so far that has not gone as well as planned.
Now, I want to make a clear statement about one of my major complaints about talk show radio and most pundits; I have never been in charge of or can really even imagine the details involved in running the US economy. We hear day-in and day-out from talking heads on what should be done here or there, but 99.999999% of them have never even run a medium sized, 500-2000 person, company let alone the US economy.
In fact, there may have been no right answers and no wrong answers. It may have been a situation that we just needed to pump money into the economy to stabilize it, not fix it. I would have preferred to see some kind of true oversight on where the money went and how it is being spent. Both the financial experts and Congress failed again.
In the end however, we are back to President-Elect Obama. His approach may not be the totally right one and we will have to wait and see. I do support his idea that this problem that we are experiencing right now is exactly when we need government intervention. Market forces would ultimately solve this problem. Of that I am sure. But, the market forces would most likely drive the economy down another 25-50% before bottoming out and we cannot have that.
The government stepping in and providing some stability and confidence may be what is needed. This is truly the government’s job. There will be many who say that I am wrong on this and that the government does not create anything; it just spends our tax dollars. And they are right. Still, there is a time when we need to just spend, even if it is not fair to all of the people of the U.S., and that time is now.
Let’s see what this new approach is like and if it works. I liked that he called for a moratorium on any pet projects and pork being placed into the new stimulus plan. If we are lucky, he will continue to fight that fight every day that he is President.
I am done. Take you shots and I will respond.
Friday, January 2, 2009
First Thing First When You Are Newly Unemployed
Tell your family and close friends. These people are your lifeblood, so they need to be notified almost immediately. You are going to need to count on these people during this time of unemployment. It does not matter if you are out of work for two weeks, two months, or two years. The people who will be there for you day in and day out through this struggle deserve to be given the news right away.
Only on television do people who get fired or laid off keep this news from their spouses. On this fact, I am right. The people who do not tell their spouses, are soon to be divorced. I understand that not everyone is lucky enough to have a really open relationship with their spouse, but if you have a spouse you plan on keeping, you need to rely on them as your backbone and number one supporter.
If you are a man, there is certainly a machismo factor to telling your wife that you have just lost your job. I struggled with many issues related to my feeling like I was the man of the house and the breadwinner, as you will see throughout this book. But let me be clear: It does not make you less of a man to have lost your job or to actually tell people that fact. Now, on the flipside of that coin, if you told your boss to go screw himself or herself and you were fired in this failing economy, you may just be a dumbass.
Your wife deserves to be the first person outside the company that you tell, and for many men, the first person period. In that way, she can prepare herself, the kids if you have any, and anyone else that needs to know from her perspective. This is a two-way street, meaning, if you are the woman who has been let –go, your husband needs to be notified immediately. There are serious emotional, relationship, and financial implications to either spouse losing their job, and these issues must be addressed.
Outside of your spouse, your children must be told, if you have any. The amount of information that you give them is dependent upon the age of the children. You don’t want to overburden the little ones, yet they will notice that there are differences in your routine such as not getting up and going to work every weekday morning. The older kids are going to be even more effected in different ways than the younger kids, and they must begin to adjust their thinking and their lifestyle to fit with this loss of income and security.
Family outside your immediate household should be advised. They can provide the additional help that is needed. Whether that help is in the form of emotional support, financial assistance, or job search help, they can be a wonderful resource for you and your family. For the most part, they are one of the few groups within your life that you can count on in one way or another, especially during stressful periods such as this.
I say that because the sad fact is that not all of your friends, close and otherwise, will still be there at the end. I would hope that your closest friends are there to support you just as if you were family, but this is not always the case. As I (and many others in our situation) have found, the further your sphere of friendship extends, the less likely that they will still be there. This is especially true if the length of your unemployment lasts for months or even years.
This was certainly the case in the friendships of my wife and me. We had some friends and family step up big time, and some of our close friends fell off the radar screen, of which you will learn in later chapters. It is sad, but many people do not know what to do or how to act when you are out of work. The entire dynamic of your friendships changes, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse.
Only on television do people who get fired or laid off keep this news from their spouses. On this fact, I am right. The people who do not tell their spouses, are soon to be divorced. I understand that not everyone is lucky enough to have a really open relationship with their spouse, but if you have a spouse you plan on keeping, you need to rely on them as your backbone and number one supporter.
If you are a man, there is certainly a machismo factor to telling your wife that you have just lost your job. I struggled with many issues related to my feeling like I was the man of the house and the breadwinner, as you will see throughout this book. But let me be clear: It does not make you less of a man to have lost your job or to actually tell people that fact. Now, on the flipside of that coin, if you told your boss to go screw himself or herself and you were fired in this failing economy, you may just be a dumbass.
Your wife deserves to be the first person outside the company that you tell, and for many men, the first person period. In that way, she can prepare herself, the kids if you have any, and anyone else that needs to know from her perspective. This is a two-way street, meaning, if you are the woman who has been let –go, your husband needs to be notified immediately. There are serious emotional, relationship, and financial implications to either spouse losing their job, and these issues must be addressed.
Outside of your spouse, your children must be told, if you have any. The amount of information that you give them is dependent upon the age of the children. You don’t want to overburden the little ones, yet they will notice that there are differences in your routine such as not getting up and going to work every weekday morning. The older kids are going to be even more effected in different ways than the younger kids, and they must begin to adjust their thinking and their lifestyle to fit with this loss of income and security.
Family outside your immediate household should be advised. They can provide the additional help that is needed. Whether that help is in the form of emotional support, financial assistance, or job search help, they can be a wonderful resource for you and your family. For the most part, they are one of the few groups within your life that you can count on in one way or another, especially during stressful periods such as this.
I say that because the sad fact is that not all of your friends, close and otherwise, will still be there at the end. I would hope that your closest friends are there to support you just as if you were family, but this is not always the case. As I (and many others in our situation) have found, the further your sphere of friendship extends, the less likely that they will still be there. This is especially true if the length of your unemployment lasts for months or even years.
This was certainly the case in the friendships of my wife and me. We had some friends and family step up big time, and some of our close friends fell off the radar screen, of which you will learn in later chapters. It is sad, but many people do not know what to do or how to act when you are out of work. The entire dynamic of your friendships changes, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Mike Shanahan Joins the Ranks of the Unemployed
I am going to go off my normal script today and welcome someone to our ranks of the unemployed; Mike Shanahan, former Coach of the Denver Broncos. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. It is sad to see you here, but you deserve it immensely.
For the record, I am a diehard Broncos fan. I have been there through the 3 Super Bowl losses in the 80’s, the 2 Super Bowl Wins in the 90’s and the last three years of 8-8 ball. I have suffered with the taunts from the Raiders fans during our bad years, and I have reveled over the slow, humiliation of Raiders’ owner Al Davis over the past 8 years of bad football.
Well, we too have been playing bad football. I am sad at that fact, but it has been no fun the last three years to watch Broncos Football when we can’t win the big game. We now have a quarterback that is one of the best. We have one of the best receivers in the game, in fact, we have one of the best passing attacks in football. Yet, we still managed to lose three of the last four games.
All we had to do was win 2 games out of the last 4 and we would have won the division and gone to the playoffs. I was not expecting much in the playoffs, but at least we would show that we are turning this boat around. Instead, we let the Chargers catch us and humiliate us in the last game of the 2008 season. Which means that for the past three seasons we have gone 24-24. That is horrible for a team that expects to win.
And so, here we are. Mike has been fired. He was a very great coach at one time. But, if you or I had done an 8-8 (let’s call that average) job in our own career for 3 years, we would be gone too. There is no room for average in football or in most business. Any business that wants to win requires it employees to be better than average. Well, Mike was average and he has joined us in the ranks of the unemployed.
I liked Mike, but it was his time. When I separate my fan-ness of Mike and the Broncos and put on my Director of Operations hat, it is clear it was time to go. Owner Pat Bowlen had very little choice and he made the hard call. Good bye Mike. Thanks for the 2 rings and the great years.
Maybe, just maybe we can convince Bill Cowher to come out of retirement and join the team.
Let’s make it a winning team again.
For the record, I am a diehard Broncos fan. I have been there through the 3 Super Bowl losses in the 80’s, the 2 Super Bowl Wins in the 90’s and the last three years of 8-8 ball. I have suffered with the taunts from the Raiders fans during our bad years, and I have reveled over the slow, humiliation of Raiders’ owner Al Davis over the past 8 years of bad football.
Well, we too have been playing bad football. I am sad at that fact, but it has been no fun the last three years to watch Broncos Football when we can’t win the big game. We now have a quarterback that is one of the best. We have one of the best receivers in the game, in fact, we have one of the best passing attacks in football. Yet, we still managed to lose three of the last four games.
All we had to do was win 2 games out of the last 4 and we would have won the division and gone to the playoffs. I was not expecting much in the playoffs, but at least we would show that we are turning this boat around. Instead, we let the Chargers catch us and humiliate us in the last game of the 2008 season. Which means that for the past three seasons we have gone 24-24. That is horrible for a team that expects to win.
And so, here we are. Mike has been fired. He was a very great coach at one time. But, if you or I had done an 8-8 (let’s call that average) job in our own career for 3 years, we would be gone too. There is no room for average in football or in most business. Any business that wants to win requires it employees to be better than average. Well, Mike was average and he has joined us in the ranks of the unemployed.
I liked Mike, but it was his time. When I separate my fan-ness of Mike and the Broncos and put on my Director of Operations hat, it is clear it was time to go. Owner Pat Bowlen had very little choice and he made the hard call. Good bye Mike. Thanks for the 2 rings and the great years.
Maybe, just maybe we can convince Bill Cowher to come out of retirement and join the team.
Let’s make it a winning team again.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Your Family is now Unemployed Too
Be good and understanding of your family. If you are married and/or have kids, they are going through this with you. You are not alone, and you must keep in mind the effects your unemployment is having on your family. This is a rough time for all of you, and you need to be empathetic to the feelings of those you love.
During my period of unemployment, I have had a couple blow-outs, a few yelling fights with my wife; I have snapped at my children more times than I would like; and I am sure I have been a prick to my friends. The reality is that at times, I have not been a wonderful person to be around. The stress has gotten to me, and I have broken down.
Do not be ashamed. Breaking down is normal, and you and your family may all have times when they break down. The longer you have been out of work, the harder it will become, and the more likely you will have a period of breakdown. The day after my grandfather died, my wife called me and told me that the Denver Broncos game did not record on my DVR. I was pissed off and just literally broke down for a fifteen-minute crying jag over the fact that I just wanted to go home and watch football. When I look back on it, I think it was crazy. But the reality of the situation was that the combination of being out of work, tight on money, not getting my football game, and the death of my grandfather just built up, and I cracked.
Well, the reality of your family is they are suffering a little too. I am sure if there are money issues, then that is a significant strain on your family. If your wife or husband has had to go back to work like mine, that is an additional stress. Your kids are not getting all of the things or doing the same things that they did when you had a job. There is serious stress on all of you.
Make a significant effort to tell your family that you love them. Try to do the little things that will make them happier. Do the laundry or finish your around the house to-do list. Spend more time playing games or sports with your kids. Make time for your family and let them tell you how they are feeling during this period. They may need to talk, just as I advised you to talk to family and friends. Listen, don’t solve…just listen.
During my period of unemployment, I have had a couple blow-outs, a few yelling fights with my wife; I have snapped at my children more times than I would like; and I am sure I have been a prick to my friends. The reality is that at times, I have not been a wonderful person to be around. The stress has gotten to me, and I have broken down.
Do not be ashamed. Breaking down is normal, and you and your family may all have times when they break down. The longer you have been out of work, the harder it will become, and the more likely you will have a period of breakdown. The day after my grandfather died, my wife called me and told me that the Denver Broncos game did not record on my DVR. I was pissed off and just literally broke down for a fifteen-minute crying jag over the fact that I just wanted to go home and watch football. When I look back on it, I think it was crazy. But the reality of the situation was that the combination of being out of work, tight on money, not getting my football game, and the death of my grandfather just built up, and I cracked.
Well, the reality of your family is they are suffering a little too. I am sure if there are money issues, then that is a significant strain on your family. If your wife or husband has had to go back to work like mine, that is an additional stress. Your kids are not getting all of the things or doing the same things that they did when you had a job. There is serious stress on all of you.
Make a significant effort to tell your family that you love them. Try to do the little things that will make them happier. Do the laundry or finish your around the house to-do list. Spend more time playing games or sports with your kids. Make time for your family and let them tell you how they are feeling during this period. They may need to talk, just as I advised you to talk to family and friends. Listen, don’t solve…just listen.
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