A dear friend lost her job today...

You never can be to sure of your own job security. I realize the bleak outlook of this post and my goal certainly isn’t to be a Debbie downer. I don’t view myself as a pessimist, especially regarding careers. Yet sometimes, when the market takes a turn, and it’s you or a loved one in the way, it’s natural to want to throw on your cynical hat and go hide.

She had no idea it was coming. It was a sunny, Monday afternoon and a team of supervisors gently brought her into their office to break the news they were letting her go. She had been working there for about a year and a half. She started as a temp and was welcomed as a full time employee just a few months later. She loved her job, her colleagues and felt a good deal of pride regarding her work. To make the situation worse, she has a husband who just recently started working again after being laid off 8 months ago. They were just starting to catch up on bills again and look toward the bright financial future.

Back to my earlier point, it’s so easy to bury yourself in sorrow when something like this happens, but as I was thinking last night, we don’t have a choice but to take things as they come and do what we can. On the brighter side, unemployment is available and the governor of this great commonwealth of MA has recently extended unemployment for an additional 13 weeks. Her two children have finally entered school full time so there is no longer the worry of what to do with them during they day, and how to pay for it, should a job opportunity suddenly pop up.

So things will be ok. They have to be, right? During times like these, we can only take things day by day, use the free time to network and find our true passions in life. Perhaps we can hope for a blessing in disguise. Things do usually happen for a reason, even if you don’t find that reason until a great deal of time has passed. Best of luck to everyone out there and never take your job for granted!