This Has Never Happened to Me Before

It was Friday afternoon.  Unlike most working stiffs I was not watching the clock and waiting for 5 o'clock.  I am simply grateful to have a job.  That's right- you are reading correctly.  I am finally employed again!!  I got a new job after being unemployed for a year and a half.  I was six months from my unemployment running out.  I was probably 2 months away from having my house going into foreclosure.  I know I was just a few months away from feeling like I would never get another job and feeling old, stupid, and unemployable. I have promised myself that I am never again going to complain about having to go to work.  When I find myself having trouble waking up in the morning, I have to remind myself how glad I am to have a job, even if I am not glad to be waking up at 5:45 each morning.  

I am not working in the field I devoted so many years of my life to.  I was a journalist working in television news.  I realized after losing my job that I really didn't want to get back into that crazy business.  I never had a holiday off without having to request to get it off and waiting for a boss to approve it based on other employee requests, seniority, favoritism, a holiday lottery, etc.  I have worked most weekends of my life.  There were some years when I had Fridays and Saturdays off.  That was probably my best schedule.  I worked a few years when my days off were Wednesday and Thursday.  I was constantly on call and often had to work overtime without pay since I was salaried.  I knew in my heart that my heart was no longer into this career that sucked the life out of me.  There had been some fun times over the years.  I really wouldn't change some of my work life experiences for anything.  I met and worked with some great people.  I have made lifelong friends.  But the business of television news has changed dramatically in the past few years.  One of the main reasons I was "let go" from my last job is that I had been at the station for a very long time.  New owners took over and wanted to make budget cuts.  They started getting rid of older employees.  They got rid of the loyal long-time employees who were making what they considered too much money.  So those of us who had been there the longest and were making the higher salaries were let go.  The business it seems is for young people these days.  I never really noticed it when I was a young person because there were older people who were the on air personalities.  It used to be local news could get viewers because viewers were loyal and would tune in to watch the person who they trusted to read the news.  Think Monica Kauffman- sorry - Monica Pearson now.  But you see that John Pruitt semi retired.  It seems there are younger and younger reporters turning up every day on the news.  It's also that way behind the scenes.  Experienced writers and producers are "let go" so that younger inexperienced -read cheaper- employees can be hired.  That's the way these television stations cut costs.  It's sad but true and I was a casualty of the way this business continues to trend.  

Even though my heart was not into getting back into this business, I reached a point in my unemployment - about a year of it- when I started to think, well I may need to go back into the business.  I may need to get a job where I have the experience instead of pursuing these PR jobs where I can't get anyone to take a chance on me because I don't have 8 to 10 years of PR agency experience or I have never held a PR job before.  I can do public relations.  I have written and produced television news and sold it to the public quite successfully.  I produced number one rated newscasts.  But I was finding it hard to get my resume past whatever internet filter or hiring manager that was getting my on-line applications.  I couldn't get a job interview.  So I figured it was time to send in my resume to the local news stations and CNN.  So I called on my friends still in the business and asked for some help in getting someone somewhere to look at my resume.  But it seemed that I was not what anyone was looking for.  I applied for an opening at one station.  The ad was seeking someone with 3 years experience.  That is code for - this job pays nothing.  That is the way in the media world these days- hire cheap and young.  When I got my first job in the business I was making and living off 19,000 dollars a year.  I was hungry to get into the business and didn't know much about money and what it would take to live in the real world.  I worked 2 jobs sometimes to pay my bills and afford Christmas gifts for my family.  I was happy working in the crazy world of television news.  I enjoyed it.  It was my life and my dream and I was loving it.  But at the age I am now, I am not willing to work for peanuts and the excitement is just not there anymore.  I want a decent pay for my years of experience.  The problem is news directors don't want to hire experienced/expensive employees.  Quality is not really a concern.  Have you watched local news lately?  Does anyone care if a story is reported accurately?  Half the time I hear a story being read on the news and the subject-verb agreement is wrong.  And if I hear one more anchor tell me -- "you have to see this video to believe it" or "this is a story you just won't believe" - really??  Cause I watch the video and I am not impressed.  And half the reason something is news is because it shocking, different or unbelievable.  But let me not go off on the poor state of local news.

So I sent out lots of resumes and I called on old friends for some favors.  I don't know how hard my old friends worked to try and get me an interview or get someone to look at my resume.  I called a news director for a few weeks straight.  I reached a point where I thought, I am tired of trying to convince this guy that I am the right person for the job.  I shouldn't have to be begging these people for an interview, they should be calling me when they see my resume and wanting me to come to work for them.  Believe you me, I am not being egotistical when I tell you I am a very talented producer and these stations would be lucky to have me.  I had a young woman from CNN call me to ask me over the phone if I had any other national network experience than working at my last position.  I wanted to tell the woman -- did you read my resume?  If I had other national news experience, it would be on my resume.  Why would I leave something like that off my resume?  But I had to politely tell the woman, no I did not have any other national experience, but as you see from my resume, I worked in a top 10 market - Atlanta - at one of the local affiliates for almost 5 years before moving to my next job where I worked at the national network level for almost 10 years.  I never did get a second call back from that young woman.  

So my new job is not in local news or at CNN or any other media outlet.  I landed a job as a customer service representative at a business where a tennis buddy of mine works.  She got me a job interview and I landed the job.  So all those days on the tennis court during my unemployment paid off since I met the person who ultimately got me a job.  I am now working in an industry that I know nothing about.  I am learning all about it.  I did manage to convince the hiring manager that what I have been doing my whole life is customer service.  I put together every newscast with the customer/viewer in mind.  My whole life is about insuring the customer/viewer is pleased with the product.  And I have a fantastic personality and I learn quickly.  Whatever i managed to say in the interview, I impressed them enough to get a job.  So I have a job now.  I am so thankful and relieved to be working again.  It is something very unfamiliar to me.  I work an 8-5 job with an hour for lunch.  Am I wrong or didn't we all work 9-5 with an hour lunch break? But I am not complaining about that at all.  I work Monday through Friday.  I never have to work late.  I am never on-call and oh- to let you know the thing that never ever happened to me before....

It was Friday afternoon and my boss came into my office and said, hey, it's Friday and it's a holiday weekend, so why don't you take off early.  It was only 4:15.  I have never been able to leave early from a job before ever in my career.  It's not like you can leave at 11 when you are producing an 11 pm newscast.  It was great to get off early.  It is going to be great to have a holiday off on Monday without having to beg for it off.  

I am loving life and loving my new job.  I am so grateful to finally be working again.  I am so glad that I don't have to worry any longer about every little purchase I make.  I am so happy that I can pay my bills now and work again to pay down my credit cards.  I am hopeful that I don't have a huge unexpected expense to come up anytime soon.  I am still trying to cover financially--but it's so great to be getting a paycheck every two weeks.  One paycheck is more than I was getting on unemployment all month.  I am so glad to be employed.  I hope that I don't ever start complaining about my job.  I hope that I always appreciate the fact that I have a job.  I am really going to enjoy this Memorial Day and I am already making plans for July 4th.