Two Weeks After the Layoff

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This is the first in an occasional series by Laura Blewitt, who was introduced in a previous post.

(See all posts by Laura Blewitt at this link.)

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Time to move on.

It's been exactly two weeks since the media's gigantic, ever-swinging axe sliced me off its shrinking chopping block. I've spent the past 14 days gathering condolences, free drinks and words of encouragement from my loved ones and ex-colleagues. They tell me I'm young, talented and will be fine. I tell them thank you. But you know what I'm thinking? It must be nice to be so delusional.

2009 is a terrible time to be young, if you're the type of young person who wants a job in the media, as opposed to the drug distribution industry. The "entry level" is...closed.

Those are the kind of words of encouragement I get from Gawker. And while I've tried to be as optimistic as possible through all of this, it's just not always that easy. I've always answered "neither" when asked whether I'm an optimist or a pessimist. Duh, I'm a realist! And I can joke about unemployment and make myself feel hopeful about my industry's future, but I don't know if I can truly believe in that hope.

There's no real comfort to be offered. Just ride out the bad years, sell your drugs, and bide your time until all the ad money comes flowing back in (6.5 years).

OK, so I won't be selling drugs (at least not anytime soon). But as much as I love being a part of the media, I won't be so opposed to stepping outside the publishing world this time as I go on the job hunt.

After all, as Jill Geisler wrote for Poynter last week, there are 10 compelling reasons why "hiring journalists presents you a terrific opportunity." I wonder if non-journalists would agree with her point of view. She writes of laid off journalists:

They didn't leave their jobs; their jobs left them. Many are still shell-shocked, wondering if potential employers in other fields will place any value on the things they do best.

Shell-shocked is the best (if not only) way to describe the way I feel two weeks after my layoff. Getting over the shock was more difficult than getting over the pain, confusion or despair of the job loss -- really -- the shock still won't wear off.

Nobody could really tell me how long it takes to get over a layoff. I know I'm not over it yet. But I know I'm ready to move on now.

(Twitter This)

-- Laura Blewitt

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