Sad news from the Associated Press newsrooms around the country - Gawker is reporting that almost all of the company’s editorial assistants were let go in a round of mass layoffs yesterday. One tipster told them:
I was one of the editorial assistants let go. I was told it was a business decision to let go nearly all editorial assistants. Some in cities of regional desks will be reassigned to handle EA workload there.
That’s sad to hear - not only for the people who got laid off and lost their livelihoods, but for the remaining employees, who will probably have really intense combo jobs to deal with. And I’m willing to bet that the people with said combo jobs probably won’t be getting raises or title changes to compensate them for all the additional work they’re doing.
All in all, I feel sad for all those people - the employed and the unemployed. Save the editorial assistants!
Bee Shaffer, the daughter of Vogue editrice/notorious boss Anna Wintour, is just like a regular person! She may get to join Mom in the front rows of fashion shows, but she took a less predictable route by studying theater at Columbia University. Now that Bee is out of school, she’s applying for jobs - and, oddly, hasn’t had much luck. Yes, it turns out that the recession affects even the daughters of legendary magazine editors. According to the New York Daily News:
The 22-year-old former Teen Vogue contributing editor went on a staggering 24 interviews since graduating from Columbia in May - all of them unsuccessful.
Part of me wants to be all bitter and “well, I sent out easily 200 resumes without getting a single interview, so suck it up already,” but part of me is also like “man, if it’s hard for this girl, imagine how bad it is for everyone else.” I think it’s safe to say that no one likes the job search process, especially when it’s your first job. Going on dozens of interviews and not having any of them pan out is embarrassing and disheartening. [I think Post Grad covered that fairly well.] Repeated job rejection getting to be a universal human experience, and that’s pretty depressing.
So, good luck, Bee, and I admire that you’re choosing a career other than the one where it would be super easy for you.
When you get laid off, it’s really tempting to lie around on the couch, watch Law and Order reruns, and feel sorry for yourself. I think it’s fine to do that for a little while, but at some point you’re going to have to get off the recliner. Whether you’re looking for a job right away or have decided to enjoy some funemployment for awhile, there are a couple of things you should consider doing in order to a) keep yourself active and alert, and b) have some stuff to talk about when interviewers ask you about that gap on your resume.
Volunteer. I know it sounds crazy to encourage you to work for free while you’re struggling to find a new paying gig, but volunteering even a couple of hours a week - whether at an animal shelter, a nature preserve, or a soup kitchen - will give you something to think about every time you start wallowing in self-pity. Plus, it’s a good way to meet new people and possibly consider a different career path.
Consider temping or doing an internship in another field. If you’ve always secretly dreamed about pursuing that career in the music industry but never had the guts to do it, now’s your chance. You might learn that it’s not the gig for you but have some fun in the meantime, or you might figure out a way to leverage the skills you already have into your new dream job.
Bond with other unemployed people. The last thing you need to do is sit around the house all day being depressed. If you have other unemployed friends, try to meet up once or twice a week. You can serve as each others’ support systems during new job searches or just catch cheap afternoon matinees or scour the town for a good happy hour.
The US News & World Report is obviously trying to get on my bad side today. First they start off by announcing that the recession - or, “he-cession,” is affecting male “breadwinners” more than any other group. The depression and unhappiness that men face after being laid off isn’t just the result of losing their jobs, though - it’s the fault of their wives. Thankfully, the article has some “helpful” tips for those women who are totally harshing their husbands’ buzzes:
Support him. Forget about the fact that your job might have become more stressful or that you might be worried about losing it as well - just make sure your man is happy!
Offer “physical support.” In case you can’t read between the lines, this means “have sex.”
Encourage him. Even though you want to be a responsible adult and talk about what your options are regarding unemployment checks or trimming the family budget, if you ask about it you will be “prying.” So just devote more time to reassuring your husband that he’s wonderful and special.
I don’t know how it took me so long to discover this song, but I really love the Emiliana Torrini song “Unemployed in Summertime.” The idea of the song is pretty similar to the sentiment on this blog as of late - if you’re young and single (i.e. not supporting a spouse and/or kids), sometimes unemployment can end up being a blessing. I was let go in February and, while I have less money than I did before, I’ve used the last few months to learn a lot about myself and my career goals as well as to appreciate little things like taking a walk in the middle of the afternoon. Anyway, even if you’re employed, you’ll really like Emiliana and her lovely voice:
Jessica Ward was laid off from her job in the Seattle area last December. Like many of us who have been laid off recently, she was initially angry and hurt. But within a few months she came to realize that getting laid off was one of the best things ever to happen to her. Being unemployed gave her the motivation to start a business she’d been thinking about but never acted on, spend some quality time with her kids, and rethink her notion of what a successful career was. Jessica then wrote an open letter to her former boss, which appeared in BusinessWeek, thanking him for laying her off. Among other things, she writes:
We thought this layoff would be a crushing financial blow and opted to hand-make all of our Christmas gifts. They were a huge hit with our family and friends and we spent several wonderful days together as a family creating them. We didn’t at all miss the experience of circling the mall for hours looking for a parking spot. The kids didn’t sit on Santa’s lap at Macy’s but we did run into him at a neighborhood ice hockey game and snapped a photo. I’ll mail you one.
We wrote out our household budget for the first time ever, and we stuck to it. I wrote a business plan to start my business, and my husband encouraged me to restart the freelance writing career that I’d put on hold six years ago when I got married. Now I work only part-time for myself and I write part time. I never commute. My wonderful kids are thriving. And as for that student loan payment I wasn’t sure I could make in December? I paid the balance of the loan off in full in February, three years ahead of schedule.
Thanks to several factors - such as the shitty economy, rising unemployment, and the popularity of the vanity internship - it’s now as competitive to get an unpaid job as it is to get a paid one. And, of course, some workplaces are more competitive than others. If you want to intern for The Huffington Post, though, it’s going to cost you. $13,000, to be specific.
The popular website - which Gawker once nicknamed “livejournal for celebrities” - is already known for not paying their writers, setting a free-content trend throughout web media that upset many journalists. Now, they’ve managed to go one step further by asking an employee to pay them for the privilege. Granted, the internship is for charity, but the whole things makes me kind of squeamish.
As its newsstand sales plummet and the entire magazine industry is in freefall, Vogue magazine has had to do things it never would have done in the past. Instead of only write about luxury and expensive things and people who are ten times more beautiful and fabulous than you’ll ever be, they have to occasionally look like they’re in touch with the regular folk. That’s why on the cover of the May issue there’s a headline that would be right at home on any magazine in your grocery store aisle - “You’re Fired! Surviving and Thriving After the Pink Slip.” However, because this is Vogue, the story isn’t about a working class person who got laid off and is struggling to make ends meet. Instead, it’s a first person essay by longtime Village Voice fashion writer Lynn Yaeger (pictured at left), who was laid off last year. While I think Yaeger is a good writer and her firing from the Voice was upsetting, I have a really hard time a) identifying with her, and b) not rolling my eyes continually during her article. If Yaeger wrote her piece [which is not available online, or I'd link to it] in bullet points, here’s what she’d advise you to do in your own layoff situation:
Here’s why I live in New York and not Dubai: NYC responds to high numbers of layoffs with an Unemployment Olympics; Dubai responds to the same issue by organizing a physical fitness boot camp. One involves running around a park in the East Village playing games, one involves being awake and active at 10 AM. No-brainer.
Inspiration came to the 26-year-old Alex Light when he lost his job. But the voice in the back of his head did not tell him to create a masterpiece of modern art or a seminal album, but to try to help others in his predicament. He is the man behind Bad Times Boot Camp, which takes place at Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach at 10.00am three times a week. It is free to anyone who wants to get fit, but as the operating hours suggest, it is aimed at the unemployed.
I know exercise is supposed to boost your serotonin and make you happy or whatever, but the way this Alex Light person talks he sounds like an aspiring Tony Robbins who convinces you that your unemployed state is the result of your own physical and mental weaknesses, not the result of, say, your company losing money. I’m glad he found a positive way to improve his outlook, but his message is a bit preachy for me. That said, aspiring assistants in Dubai should not lose hope. Take heart in the story of one young assistant named Brie:
Brie Lakeman, a 26-year-old personal assistant, left her native Australia last month to look for work in Dubai. “It appears that I’m OK,” she says. “There seems to be a plethora of personal assistant jobs out here. There are not as many as there used to be, but quite a few and they are still hiring.” She also plans to pass on contacts to her boot camp alumni after securing work.
You hear that, everyone? Pack your bags and get to the UAE! I’d come, but I have some really important couch-sitting to do later.
Being unemployed has many upsides - free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns - but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment:
If someone offers to help, let them. Your friends are your friends because they like you. And when someone says they want to help, they usually mean it. However, they may have no idea how to help. So if there’s something specific they can do - proofreading your resume, giving you some contact info for that job recruiter they worked with last summer, just being there when you need to vent - say what it is, and let them do it.
Be straightforward about your finances. If you’re too broke to keep going out to fancy restaurants, you need to be upfront about it. Don’t sound like you’re blaming your friend, though - instead of simply declining invites or waiting until the bill comes to fight over whose half comes out to more, maybe suggest cheaper alternatives or recommend another activity that you would both enjoy but costs less, such as a free day at a museum or cooking dinner at your place while you watch American Idol.
Bee Shaffer, the daughter of Vogue editrice/notorious boss 
When you get laid off, it’s really tempting to lie around on the couch, watch Law and Order reruns, and feel sorry for yourself. I think it’s fine to do that for a little while, but at some point you’re going to have to get off the recliner. Whether you’re looking for a job right away or have decided to enjoy some funemployment for awhile, there are a couple of things you should consider doing in order to a) keep yourself active and alert, and b) have some stuff to talk about when interviewers ask you about that gap on your resume.
Jessica Ward was laid off from her job in the Seattle area last December. Like many of us who have been laid off recently, she was initially angry and hurt. But within a few months she came to realize that getting laid off was one of the best things ever to happen to her. Being unemployed gave her the motivation to start a business she’d been thinking about but never acted on, spend some quality time with her kids, and rethink her notion of what a successful career was. Jessica then wrote 
As its newsstand sales plummet and the entire magazine industry is in freefall, Vogue magazine has had to do things it never would have done in the past. Instead of only write about luxury and expensive things and people who are ten times more beautiful and fabulous than you’ll ever be, they have to occasionally look like they’re in touch with the regular folk. That’s why on the cover of the May issue there’s a headline that would be right at home on any magazine in your grocery store aisle - “You’re Fired! Surviving and Thriving After the Pink Slip.” However, because this is Vogue, the story isn’t about a working class person who got laid off and is struggling to make ends meet. Instead, it’s a first person essay by 
Here’s why I live in New York and not Dubai: NYC responds to high numbers of layoffs with an 
Being unemployed has many upsides - free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns - but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment: