Getting The Unemployment Boot Is A Real Kick In The Ass

I was laid off the week before Thanksgiving from a job with a natural products company that I had only just started in June…and I honestly have no one to blame but myself.

I didn’t do anything wrong per se. In fact, I did everything right in terms of being the best Account Manager and overall employee I know how to be. But I was still the first to get the proverbial boot as a result of some significant changes for the company moving forward. That and I kind of helped create what is a great opportunity for them, but not so much for me…sigh.

Before taking the position this past summer, I had moved a side gig passion as a professional organizer for many years into a full-time endeavor in 2017. It wasn’t my first entrepreneurial rodeo, but by this past spring I realized as much as I loved being someone who could help those who don’t have the crazy gene that I seem to possess to want to have a place and/or system for everything, I had to own up to the fact that being my own boss at my, ahem, “mature age” in a business that requires a lot more physical and emotional demands than I really had considered was a much bigger deal this time around.

Hey, I have a ridiculous amount of energy and can go from before sun up to well after sundown, but I knew I was going to hit a figurative wall sooner rather than later as I continue to get closer and closer to collecting social security. And being “on” 24/7 as a business owner is not for the faint at heart, not that I have a faint heart but you know what I mean. The practical side of me said I needed to be a little more aware of the true back-breaking work I was doing. And then I did break my back. Well, that’s not entirely true. I actually pulled a muscle in my lower back in May while helping a client pack for a move and was completely out of commission for a week. And anyone that is self-employed knows if you can’t work for a week, you don’t get paid for a week. There is no one in your “office” to cover for you.

Truth be told, I had been actively searching for a full-time W2 position for a few months, but had not found anything that paid even close to what I feel I am worth at this stage in my career. After a few decades of working in a variety of industries, mostly in client relations and business development, I was being offered jobs for less than I made 25 years ago. Yep, ageism really is a thing and unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how much experience you have, competing for positions with candidates half my age for half of what I believe I am worth, well, sucks.

So when I got this past job with a company that I felt not only paid enough to reduce my commitment to my organizing business back to a side gig but also had a mission that I felt very passionate about, I accepted the offer on a Monday and started the next day. I dove headfirst into this new job like everything I ever do in my life with incredible enthusiasm and dedication. And while the transition was challenging in some respects (giving up the freedom and flexibility of being your own boss is not easy), I have to admit, I enjoyed having a routine again. I also really missed the collaboration that comes with being in an office with like-minded people.

I worked incredibly hard to get up to speed and create a rhythm to my day to day tasks. The company was going through some transitions and with that comes the typical business aches and pains. I have, though, been in this position many times throughout my professional career so I think I do a pretty good job at keeping it together and reminding myself when the you know what hits the fan to breathe deep and remember nobody is going to die as a result of whatever the mini-crisis of the moment might be.

As the weeks went by, I began suggesting some processes and procedures…what can I say, my organizing brain just never stops. There are so many moving parts when dealing with the supply chain world, some of which I have experience with, but anything I felt I needed some guidance, I was not afraid to ask questions…A LOT OF QUESTIONS! I will maintain until the day I die that I am continuing to learn and evolve so if you want an employee who never rests on any laurels, I am definitely the person you should hire.

And, yes, that is a bit of a shameless plug so if you are reading this, feel free to check out my LInkedIN profile to see if I might be a good fit for your company whether you are in the Denver/Boulder area or anywhere else in the world…I will happily consider remote opportunities. I am not, though, looking to relocate. I love living in Colorado despite my feet being cold 9 months out of the year. Anyway, we all have got to do whatever it takes these days to be gainfully employed so I am not beneath a little self-promotion…just saying 😏

A few years ago I worked for a company that was sort of at the same stage as this most recent one and I remember being asked why I thought I was the right person for the job. Without hesitation, I said something I knew the hiring manager couldn’t respond to because it’s basically against the EEOC regulations….

“You should hire me because I am old.”

After a pregnant pause, I continued with…

“Here’s the thing…I come to this position with what I believe is a different level of wisdom, knowledge, and experience than someone in their 20s and, yes, even into their 30s. You need me to not only be able to talk the talk, but also walk the walk to be successful in this position.”

That particular job required me to interact with extremely affluent clients and as someone fortunate to grow up in an upper middle-class world that did carry into most of my adult life, I knew I was the best candidate. I still believe that despite losing the job a few months later. I was told I was setting a bad precedent for being “too available” to the clients.

Ummmmm…isn’t that what excellent customer service is all about?

I was fired at 7:20 am on a Monday after busting my ass during my tenure. More importantly, after spending a week on a business trip that I didn’t even get home from until very late the night before. And yet I showed up extremely early to try to get a jump on the day after being gone for the week and knew there was a lot to catch up on. I looked at the HR director and without saying a word got up and walked out. After all, what was the point of staying to hear his perception knowing his mind was made up? I may enjoy a good debate but, seriously, if there is one awesome thing about getting older, you learn that arguing with anyone is a waste of time.

The company was, in my opinion, a hot mess. And I couldn’t have been proven more right when 10 months later I found out from some of my former coworkers that they had to do a massive round of layoffs. Even the founder was given the boot. Suffice it to say, I felt validated that I didn’t do anything wrong in that particular situation either. I mean, I felt bad for anyone else that got fired who, like me, showed up every day and provided excellent service. But when upper management doesn’t have their you know what together, you can’t blame every lower-level employee when things are falling apart all around you.

But I digress…

Back to the most recent layoff which I am still wrapping my head around and trying not to go down the “OMG why did this happen to me?” rabbit hole. And here is what I know cannot be denied…

I showed up every day…and by showed up I mean physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s pretty much how I live every day of my life professionally and personally so this wasn’t a big stretch for me.

I established trust with my contacts for all of my accounts. They had gone through several account managers before me and I didn’t want them to feel like they were “starting over” yet again.

I set up great lines of communication and treated every account equally regardless of the dollar amount on their purchase orders.

I followed up with every lead in a professional and timely manner. I was relentless but in a very authentic way. For the record, I once had an employer tell me I could sell sand in the Sahara with integrity and grace so I am extremely proud of my ability to establish and maintain business relationships and the selling techniques I have perfected to achieve what I think has been a successful career to date.

And last, but not least, I helped begin to expand a part of the business that was, dare I say, being pushed to the side because my predecessors didn’t have either the time or desire. I don’t say that to disparage them…I say it because it just couldn’t be made a priority during their particular time with the company. But I was trying to make it a priority because I saw the potential for it to generate a lot of revenue. I took it on, to some degree, as my personal mission.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where I failed. We all know that it doesn’t matter what you want to achieve in a job, if it doesn’t align with the company’s overall plan for growth then your passion and commitment is not going to have the results you anticipated.

Here’s the thing, I thrive on the challenge inherent to start-ups and small businesses and have always been attracted to the intensity and uncertainty. Am I a glutton for punishment? Nah, I just love being part of that energy. I also enjoy the amazing connections that you make when you can be on the front lines, so to speak, and heavily engaged with more than just one aspect of a company’s road to success.

It’s one of the many reasons I was excited to represent the company’s biggest brand at a trade show a few months ago where I met someone who works for a large and very well known wellness and beauty company. After we spoke for almost an hour, she mentioned that her company would be very interested in acquiring this particular brand. And while I cannot claim I am fully responsible for orchestrating the sale, I did what I always do best…show up and get someone to know, like and trust me and, in turn, generate some sort of winning proposition. I just didn’t know it would ultimately lead to a loss for me in the form of eliminating my position.

That said, if I had to do it all over again, I promise you I would have still said and done everything the same.

At the end of the day…or my employment as this particular case may be… I feel really good about what I accomplished in such a short period of time. And, as opposed to the last time I sat in an exit interview, my now most recent former employer said he wished everyone he had ever hired had my tenacity and drive. I appreciated hearing that and know I will always be able to use him as a reference. In fact, he had already drafted a reference letter before giving me “the old heave ho”.

I am aware the idiom I just referenced is probably not one that any of the candidates I am once again competing with for jobs have ever heard, but I pride myself on being genuine and real. And if a potential employer thinks saying it or any other phrases from my particular past makes me too old and not relevant to be hired, then, seriously, do I really want to work for them?

The answer is yes because I, for one, want to continue to be part of changing the mindset that being over 50 doesn’t mean you are past your prime. And while I wasn’t laid off because of my age, it really does suck knowing I will still have a much harder time finding a new job than anyone else 20 years my junior despite the fact I am still the same detail-oriented, highly organized, insanely energetic individual I was when I graduated from college. I just have a lot more wrinkles or, as I like to think of them, lines of experience.

And on that note, here’s to a short job search and a much longer term of employment this time around!