Unemployment

I knew this day was coming.  It's the end of the first quarter and my job and department at work were eliminated. I am now a statistic.

There were about 80 people at my site, servicing retirement information and assistance for around 90 to 100 companies. There are four other sites, so there is plenty of assistance for the many calls that come in on a daily and nightly basis.

The company decided to concentrate this service at three sites instead of five.  Essentially my job was outsourced, though not overseas, but to a different state.

My city is going to handle one client at that company's request, but the other companies will be serviced in other states.  I could have relocated and had a job, however my family is here.  I spent ten years living in another state and town. I don't want to go through that again.

Out of the 80 folks in the department, about 25 were chosen to stay to handle the retirement issues for the one company.  Most of those had already been working with the company's plan and were familiar with it. Only about 8 people were added.  Another 8 were given jobs in a different kind of retirement service.  A few were able to obtain work in the processing department.  A few more opted to relocate.  This left about 10 of us out in the cold.

The one thing that irks me is that I applied for at least six other jobs within the firm and was told I could not have them since, "Someone needs to be here to close things out."  I don't want to give the impression that I am bitter, but it would not be realistic to not be somewhat upset.

My former employer is a wonderful company.  The best in the business.  Their ethics are above board. Compared to other firms that offer similar service, they are numero uno. I proud as heck to have worked for them.

I've learned so much working there. Not just about the financial industry, but about handling people. I enjoy talking, dispensing advice and offering solutions to all the problems that can crop up.

In the nine and a half years that I have been working I estimate that I have assisted almost 200,000 individuals with solutions.  Many of them spoke a language other than English and I was able to help. One guy spoke an unusual Cajun dialect and he went away happy.  I've talked with people as far south as Uruguay and as far north as Quebec and Norway and Sweden. I've spoke with people in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya and the Urkraine not to mention 90% of the calls from all over the United States.  I would say about 1 or 2% of those folks were very unpleasant, but most of the time, it was a joy to speak with my customers.

An old friend once told me, if you love your job at least 50% of the time, you will be successful. A chapter in my life is over and I'm ready to go on to the next.