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Gwen Works Her Face Off, Then Gets Fired – “The Pain Of It All” Video #3

As part of my ongoing “The Pain Of It All” video series, I interview Gwen about her job loss from a financial services firm. Yes, her name is just Gwen – like a Brazilian soccer player. No last name. 🙂

Gwen’s story is unfortunately not atypical. She worked at a company where folks were losing their jobs all around her, even in the face of financial success. As more and more friends fell by the wayside, her workload drastically increased. Cliques developed. Anxiety and depression set in. Finally, she decided to talk to HR about her concerns, and she was almost immediately dismissed.

Several things made her story notable to me:

1. She demonstrated a strong work ethic. It’s always great to see young people working hard at their jobs, and caring. I was not working as hard at my job when I was her age.

2. As coworkers lost their jobs, she was handed their work. Her workload dramatically increased. I can’t imagine the stress of watching friends lose their jobs, while being handed an amount of work that could just not be completed.

3. Everyone’s worst nightmare happened to her – she decided to talk to management about her concerns, and her reward was a pink slip. And this was after receiving a positive review and a bonus just two weeks before her termination.

4. After getting fired, she doubted herself. When talking with me, she used the word “depression.” With no support from her former employer, and getting fired under extremely bizarre circumstances, how else could she be expected to feel? She did say that she had an immediate desire to go kick some ass – do something, achieve something. She had two job interviews that she felt she was highly qualified for, but didn’t get either job. She then wondered if she just needed to take a break and breathe a little bit. However, her impending marriage, bills, and other pressures of life wouldn’t allow her to remain unemployed for too long.

5. A happy ending – she starts a new job after the Thanksgiving holiday! I could tell she was quite excited. She’s filling in for a friend’s maternity leave, with the potential to stay longer term. The best part is that she wants full-time work, and the employer knows this. They have a great up-front understanding that should serve them both well.

Thanks again to Gwen for her candor. After 15 or so minutes working out some Skype audio issues, I think we had a great interview. If you want to find Gwen on the webernet, check her out here:

Twitter: @allthingsgwen
Facebook: Fit Friends
Blog: AllThingsGwen.com

And a reminder: if you’re interested in being interviewed for this series, or know someone who might, have a look at my blog post here where I explain what I’m doing. I’d love to talk with you.

Kesha Facen Discusses Her Job Loss – “The Pain Of It All” Video Series

I’m starting a new interview series called “The Pain Of It All,” where I will talk with underemployed and displaced Americans about their job loss.  I want to hear from folks about the circumstances surrounding “the kick in the teeth,” how it made them feel immediately after it happened, how they coped with their feelings, and what they ended up doing about it.

I believe that folks looking for a job often tune up their rĂ©sumé and think that’s the most important step towards securing employment. Actually, you can have the most wonderful credentials, but if you’re not in the right mindset, you won’t come across well in an interview. And people often overlook that, when a person loses their job, it can throw them into the wrong mindset! A traumatic event like a firing or layoff can really mess with your head, and how people deal with this fascinates me. You have to “get over it” before you can go after your next job.

My hope is that, if people hear about the struggles of others, and perhaps the positive (or negative) way they dealt with the blow, they’ll gain the inspiration they need to go after their dream.

My “guinea pig” – my first ever interview – is Kesha Facen, Video Editor and Blogger Extraordinaire from St. Louis, MO.  Kesha worked for KMOV for nearly 6 years, and was laid off in late 2007.  When I first met her a few months ago, she shared her story with me, and told me of her new blog and her plans to get her next great job. She graciously offered to talk with me as part of my new interview series. Thanks Kesha!

Check out her new blog Facen411! And I’d be curious to hear your comments below – what did you like, what did you not like? Give it to me straight, Rizzo Nation!

(I apologize for the relatively poor video and audio quality – damn webernet!)