We all knew it was going to be bad news. That Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 25, 2009, the publisher of Radio & Records, had called a “Town Hall” meeting for all staff, both on the East and West Coasts. He, in fact, had flown from New York to L.A., along with the head of human resources. If that’s not a sign, then the sky is green.

Our New York bureau comprised the smaller group of staffers for R&R—my editor P, a sprinkling of fellow editors and writers, and the charts department—all shared with Billboard. As the conference call began at 3 p.m., we shifted anxiously. “As we all know, these have been difficult times in publishing, with ad revenues down and a challenging economy,” H, the publisher began. “Unfortunately, today is not going to be a good day for R&R. There are going to be layoffs.”

And then—in what might possibly be among the cruelest, if not least professional methods to follow up such an announcement—we were told to return to our desks and wait for a phone call, which would then reveal our fate. Apparently, the publisher was a pro when it came to “Layoffs for Dummies.” I sat, locked at my cubicle, explaining this unorthodox maneuver to my Billboard co-workers, when… ring.

It was editor P, asking me to join him in the human resources office. It took all of two seconds to figure this one out: My boss is calling. He sounds tense. If I’m staying, why would I be called into human resources? Standing up, I announced, “It’s me.”

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Day 10. I received my information for unemployment. My interview with the state of California on the 22nd. Thank goodness, maybe I will be able to stress a little bit less.

I also met with the guy I was working for. It was so frustrating to meet with him. What he asked me for? passwords and documents. All things that he has access to on Google Documents. I don’t know why i was so pissed but, honestly, I don’t know how he expected me to act. I don’t know why he hired me in the first place if he wasn’t going to even try to learn on how the REAL music industry does things. I also received phone calls from one if their bands, asking for a one sheet. This request honestly, is not that hard to do, and something all record labels should have on file for any given moment. However, this band was told it was not the labels responsibility. I’m not sure what they think their responsibility is because honestly, dressing up in a suit, and going to a show and throwing your dick around is not being a record executive. I think you have to actually put in work and time. so frustrating.

We also watched the opening ceremonies of the olympics. Gosh do I love the pacific northwest. So much of the ceremony were things that I love about the Northwest, the native dancers, the Fall leaves, the beauty of why this is one of the most amazing places in the world.

Day 11. Yesterday some friends of mine were in town from Portland. I love their little family…

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The snowstorm that closed down the Eastern Seaboard was not sufficient to delay the release of the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report. Good thing, too, because there’s good news in this week’s report. Initial claims fell to 440,000 while last week’s figure was revised up 3,000. This hit the optimistic edge of the Bloomberg concensus range of 440k to 475k. From the report:

In the week ending Feb. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 440,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 483,000. The 4-week moving average was 468,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 469,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Jan. 30, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Jan. 30 was 4,538,000, a decrease of 79,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,617,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,603,500, a decrease of 17,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,621,250.

I’m not terribly happy about the upward revisions to prior weeks. It is reflected in the 4-week moving average barely inching down. However, if you look at the graph of initial claims at the St. Louis Fed, this is looking like a V-shaped recovery in employment stability. This is not as good as a V-shaped recovery in employment, but getting below 400k will support jobs growth even in a terrible economy. Note that this isn’t quite an “all clear” signal. Reversals are the norm, but they are usually much smaller than the preceding peak…

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I’m starting to feel like Doogie Howser with these daily entries. (Remind me to write about the time we met him last year.)

Today I went to a job fair. Ok, I went in smiling, with a positive outlook and hoping for opportunities, what I got was a job fair that really didn’t have much for opportunities. I mean, I’m sure the military is great for some people, but really? that is not what was advertised on the ad for it. And also — Mary Kay? There is nothing wrong with people who sell Mary Kay, I’m sure its a great product, but for the few thousand people at this Job Fair, I’m sure they all felt the same way I did.

I have not heard back from unemployment, I should know by friday. Keeping my fingers crossed.

My student Loans however, have been deferred for a few months. This was probably a highlight of my day.

Some good things have happened, I received two emails about positions I had applied for. One position looks amazing, and if I had an interview I’m sure I would have a good chance of getting the position. Plus, the feeling of not doing enough to help others would be gone.

Oh and one of my good friends sent me a piece of mail that had me smiling all day. She wrote a rap and drew some dinosaurs on it.  It made my day. I mean, I really like dinosaurs.

“For many people a job is more than an income - it’s an important part of who we are.  So a career transition of any sort is one of the most unsettling experiences you can face in your life.”  ~Paul Clithero

-By fellow tumblr +likesdinosaurs.

………………………………..

Missed Days 1 - 7?  Read them here.

In the course of my being an employment counselor of sorts (I use the qualifier, “of sorts,” because I haven’t had many job leads with which to refer out of work people), I hear all sorts of reports from the trenches to which I’d like to take exception, except they sometimes involve company and/or HR reps and interviewing and hiring managers. One of the most difficult things I hear is how many times job applicants are invited to repeatedly return to the same company for follow up second, third or more interviews, only to meet one official after the other, and then receive a letter of rejection or hear that their background is not suited to the position, no matter how carefully tailored the resume is or how convincing the candidate makes him/herself in the interview regarding newly acquired skills and transferable skills.

I would like to think that this big decision by a company or organization to call someone in for an initial interview would have happened only after a thorough review of his/her cover letter and resume to see if the qualifications match what they seek. I hope that they don’t print out and throw the first one hundred resumes up into the air and whichever ones land on a desk, those are the people they call in. I would also like to think that one person along the line should not dis-qualify the applicant solely on their previous field of work or experience parallel to, similar to, but not quite exactly, after other company officials have met with and granted the green light to go ahead to the next step, like a Monopoly board game. It would also be thoughtful if company officials could, if possible, schedule group interviews, out of consideration and respect to the job candidate who has to lay out travel money he/she often scrapes together with great sacrifice. Ha. The nerve of me to dare ask Big Business to have a conscience and think. (This is partially why we are in this mess we are in to begin with!)

Most job applicants who are out of work have no means of income streaming in except for unemployment insurance benefits. Railroad and taxis costs are expensive. I hope that companies wake up and become more considerate and realize the financial difficulties unemployed people encounter in order to meet all of the interview requests and requirements with great faith in themselves and hope in the company interviewing them. One wonders if elimination by lack of specific qualification after second and third interviews or more isn’t just an excuse to cover up a variety of truthful ones that may or may not have anything to do with the job candidate.

Now, this brings me to the other side of the desk, to the job applicant. Since I have your attention, I’m going to lay it all out on the table…

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