thalios Commentary From The Bit Bucket

On June 14th, I had a regularly scheduled one-to-one with my boss. I clicked on the Teams link to enter the meeting and was greeted not by the sole visage of my boss, but by my boss and what was clearly HR Lady. I immediately blurted out, “Huh. I’m being laid off.” This fazed neither of them. It was as if I had said nothing. The remainder of what was a very short meeting was effectively Clown World NPC mode. They read their respective scripts, I listened, and then they virtually showed me the door.

I’ve never been laid off before (I don’t count the time cancel culture came for my head). I’ve survived multiple rounds of layoffs over the years because, even in this mockery of a meritocracy, I’ve always been one of those guys that you just don’t lay off. It seems the expansion of Clown World into all facets of life had finally caught up with me.

After taking a few weeks off to deal with a busy personal life and to contemplate my future, I started working on things — fun things, annoying things, things that just needed to be done. I might write about some of that. But I also started looking for a job. It’s been a few weeks now. I’ve applied for well over a dozen jobs and have reached out to many friends and contacts, but I’ve not yet received a single hit of interest from any quarter. Not a phone call. Not an email. Nothing.

I know that finding a new job can take a while — especially one similar to the mid-level exec roles I’ve been in over the past 15+ years (director/VP) — but something feels very odd about this experience so far. Perhaps it’s the fake economy acting retarded. Perhaps it’s just a lull. Or perhaps it’s something else I can’t yet define. Whatever it is, I’ve decided to blog about it.

So… I plan to write about my experience as an unemployed, Christian, white, male, heritage American trying to find a new job in Clown World 2023. I don’t know how often I’ll write about this, but I will write as my experiences warrant it. I have a feeling this is going to be bumpy ride.

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