vacation - Getting Canned

TIME WHILE EMPLOYED

“Time employed” is the default state of most adult lives with respect to where their time goes. You may have the money to live and enjoy life, but you don’t have the time. Even if you secure the time with an approved vacation, the time is often limited. Many office workers these days are uncomfortable taking more than 5 consecutive days off at a time.

Digital Colouring Exercise (Woman Computer with Microscope and Calculator)

Time to update our work culture.

This is at least partially for fear of losing their job. “If the company can get by without me for two weeks, maybe they’ll realize they don’t really need me” the thinking goes. The other rationale seems to be with keeping up the image and playing the game so to speak.

Even if you are brave and make your happiness and health a priority securing an extended two-week vacation, there is unintended baggage coming with you on your travels. Whether you check your luggage or do carry-on you’ll likely be bringing an unintended co-passenger; Workplace stress.

Even on a vacation, it takes some time to let go, unwind and truly relax. Even if you can relax and let it go, in the back of your mind is the knowledge that when you return, you’ll have 500 emails to catch up with and the dreaded return to the daily grind awaits.

Time off is great but it often creates a backlog of work that needs to be done when you return. A vacation is great but is there a better way? I think so. But first, let’s discuss the other time period.

TIME WHILE UNEMPLOYED

You’re unemployed. At last, you finally have some free time to come and go as you please. You can truly let go of all your work stresses and enjoy life. Travel and exploration is a possibility. Right?

Well, that would be the case except for one thing. You’ve likely occupied with finding your next job. You spend your days sending resumes, scheduling interviews, re-writing the resume. Good times for sure.

And while the free time being unemployed provides is great, it’s just not the time most of us feel comfortable spending any money since our next pay date is likey unknown.

THE GOLDEN EXCEPTION

Except for when we do know. This is what we might refer to as a golden time in life. The time when you’ve secured a new job but have not yet started. You’re not tied down to employment but you almost certainly have a paycheck in your near future. This time period can vary significantly but it’s usually between one week and a month by my estimates.

If there was ever a time to celebrate it’s in these two to four week period of employment limbo.

Here’s what I’m saying: Savor this time. It’s doesn’t typically happen so frequently in life for most of us. The time where you’re unencumbered by the constraints of current employment, yet secure in your career and financial future with a signed offer letter. Do all you can to stretch this time out as much as possible. If there was ever a time to celebrate it’s in this two to four weeks employment limbo.

Good fortune has shined on me as I have a free weeks before my next work project so travel will follow. I’ll post my findings with pics.

Itinerary

Some time in Taiwan

Some time in Hanoi, Vietnam

Well, one of the ideas of this blog has been validated. Getting canned can often result in putting you in a better situation in the long run. It took less than three weeks from my termination date, but I’ve now got a contract with a new employer that on first appearances seems to be better. But what’s interesting is that I’ve broken a few of the supposed rules of interviewing and still go the job.

Rule #1 You Need A High- Quality Well fitting tailored suit.

Our consumer culture would have us believe that we ought to spend probably somewhere between $500 to $1,500 for a quality suit and have it tailored to present an excellent fit in order to showcase our best selves. My theory was that the value of expensive suiting up is WAY overstated. In reality, I believe you need only to present as well groomed, clean, and basically not stick out with any egregious fashion mistakes. Don’t show up to an interview with khakis and short sleeve dress shirt for example.

So what did I wear? Well…unfortunately, my previous years of sitting in the office caused some weight gain and I no longer fit in the fancy tailored suit I bought just about 5 years ago. I didn’t really have the time nor the inclination to drop $700 on a new suit and wait for the fitting. So I went to my local JC Penny’s. I found a plain black suit jacket and pants for around $160. The fit was…ummm…not horrible. But definitely not ideal. The material was ok. It was just good enough to not stick out and be embarrassing but I’m sure a super in the know fashionista could rip me to shreds. But that’s the point. I’m not trying to impress someone from GQ. I’m trying to have a conversation about my skillset.

waking up — Getting up early for an interview after not working was difficult. Disclaimer: I’m not this pretty.

The Shoes

If you’re going to invest somewhere, shoes might be the place. A good quality pair of dress shoes are worth spending on and maintaining. It occurred to me when putting on my shoes, that I’ve used these shoes for previous interviews and just a few formal events going back all the way to 2004. Yeah. I guess that makes these shoes 14 years old. And they’ve held up well (not wearing too often will help with that). If you’re curious these shoes are a pair of Cole Haan’s.

The Tie

The Tie is your chance to shine and another place where you might want to invest a little. I think it makes more sense to have a nice pair of shoes that last and a quality tie for maybe $65 than to spend a grand on a suit. Make sure it matches your shirt well.

Rule #2 Have a Well Prepared Story about How it Ended with Past Job.

Truthfully it didn’t really even come up. I glossed over it at one point. After four years at my previous employer, it was time to move on. The reality is, an intelligent manager knows that sometimes employees get fired for reasons that aren’t entirely their own fault. They were a whistleblower and called out bad behavior at a previous employer, they stood up to inept management, they rocked the boat politically and their behavior highlighted revealed another employee’s inefficient process. It needn’t be a death sentence for the career. It could just be the universes pushing you along to where you should be next.

Rule #3 Bring in a Fancy Notepad Portfolio

I actually forgot a notepad and borrowed a simple notepad from the contracting consultant that presented me to the client. Wasn’t an issue.

Knowing your field well is going to help you out a lot more than your choice of pinstripe or solid suit color.

The bottom line here is that for most positions that aren’t image sensitive (sales, modeling, politics) content trumps treating the interview like a fashion show. Knowing your field well is going to help you out a lot more than your choice of pinstripe or solid suit color. Whether to tie a traditional or Windsor knot. But yeah these things don’t hurt.

Tag: vacation

Taking a Vacation After Getting Fired