My name is Dennis Hart and I am a toxic workplace survivor. Not too long ago I read a submission about what you should do if you were terminated as a result of personality conflicts, negative office politics, and other negative workplace events.

I feel like my last employer wrote the book on effective workplace abuse techniques, psychological torture and toxic work environments.  All this occurred while human resources rubber stamped the actions of the worst abusers as “routine business policy.”

Despite the fact that I knew all of this, I could not escape the negative effects the abuse had on my self confidence, and even my mental stability.  Eventually I lost my job and found myself out of work for over a year.  This submission, however, is not about the abuse I endured.  It is about how I overcame the detrimental effects, restored my confidence, and found a new job.

I remember the day I lost my job and the last meeting with my former manager and human resources.  It was if they wanted to make sure that the abuse I endured would have a lasting psychological effect.  On the drive home I felt a strong desire to run my car off the road.  I thought my employer had so damaged my reputation that I would never work again.

Fortunately common sense took hold…

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After our latest newsletter we received some great news that a former 405 Club member landed a new job.  First off, we LOVE to hear those stories so please continue to send those our way.  Secondly, when we found out she had been unemployed for over 2 years and she is over 50, we knew this would be a fantastic opportunity to learn from her experience and inspire many others through a Q&A piece.  Please join me in thanking Patricia Nordin for sharing her story, her life, her experience so that others can follow her lead and get back to work. 

~Garrett Dale, Co-Founder of The 405 Club

1. Let’s get right to it. You were among the long term unemployed, over 50, in a creative field.  The odds were stacked against you to get back to work. How did you do it?

  I took a short break right after I was let go from my job of 25 years and started to send out resumes and call people. Nothing happened in the beginning and I felt confident I would get something. After a year of no definite callbacks— I decided to stay current with technology and took a course in Dreamweaver to learn web design (I am an art director), as I knew if I did not learn some new skills it could hold me back.

2. When you were unemployed for over 2 years, how were you able to stay emotionally tough and mentally prepared for re-entering the workforce?

 I was feeling ok most of the time, but felt after 2 years out of the field—that if I did not get something in art direction before the 3 year mark, I would not get something. I tried to stay positive, and always had a gut feeling I would wind up somewhere—I was very good at what I did, and could not understand why no one was hiring me. I know my age (58)— and high salary were a huge drawback—but I kept answering every job listing i saw— I even took a job at Macy’s in retail at the holidays in the hopes of getting into their visual display department—but that did not happen.

3. People always say, “if I knew then, what I know now…” How would you end that phrase after this experience? Would have have done anything differently? 

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Over a year ago I wrote “The 10 Best Movies & Shows To Watch When In between Jobs.”

When I write an article that deals with the “best of” anything, I find myself asking what I could have left out. Recently I took another look at the movies and shows I selected in my previous writing. While I made some excellent choices, I feel it’s time to add to that list.

One of my job search mentors recommended Friday afternoon as the best time to watch inspirational Movies or TV shows. Her reasoning made sense. She would often tell me “After spending the week chasing down employment opportunities, you need to do something to clear your mind.” As a result, I decided to use Friday afternoon to put job search issues aside and watch inspirational movies or TV shows. It was one of the activities that helped me start the following week recharged and motivated.

The following movies and TV shows provided me with both inspiration and entertainment…

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