Happy Anniversary!

January 9th will always have a special place in my heart. It was exactly one year ago today that I went to work only to get laid off on a board phone call. It was a quick phone call – right down to business. There were some admonitions, there were some praiseful comments about how great a guy I was and that I’d do just fine (the praises sounded pretty hollow considering the setting), there was discussion about details (last date of work, severence, etc.).

Getting let go was something that I thought could be coming, but it is never real until the words are spoken. You have this little hope that just maybe it won’t really happen right up until its official.

And it happened. I got the boot.

I was offended, bothered, saddened, and embarrased. Over the next few days I’d go through more emotions, from elated to “being free” to very angry for allowing myself to be targeted. Whether it was justified or not, it was a time of many emotions.

Over the next few weeks I worked about 60 hours a week looking for a job. My job search was very ineffective and the emotions multiplied. Thoughts like “why me?“, “what if I just did x differently, then I wouldn’t have lost my job!“, “If only I would have worked harder/smarter/(fill-in-the-blank)…”

I looked at what I was doing and tried to figure out why I was ineffective. I was frustrated at the amount of reading there was about a job search – I didn’t want to become an expert, I just wanted a job!

It was during this process that JibberJobber was born. And as many of you know, those that have been following JibberJobber and this blog, its been a wonderful thing. I have learned about things such as career management, personal branding, the job search and various other topics along those lines. Go read some of these categories in this blog to see what I’ve learned about it.

I have also learned about blogging, web 2.0, podcasts, press releases and many other things that I thought I already knew about.

My life has been greatly enriched by dozens of people that I have developed deep relationships with, and the hundreds of people that I communicate regularly with (I spend lots of time e-mailing or calling others – that is my job now as I promote JibberJobber to the world). As I meet my JibberJobber users, in person or face-to-face, I feel lucky to be a small part of their process to learn, grow, and become self-sufficient.

My relationship with my wife and kids is significantly stronger as I work from home and am able to see them more often, and participate more in their lives. My relationship with my business partners has moved to a different level. All of this has made my life richer.

I did not ask to be let go. I think it was a dumb business decision by the owners of that company. To be honest with you, I am still angry and feel deceived. I realize that this is natural and one day I’ll need to just let it go. I’ve even tried to “just let it go,” but it hasn’t worked 😉

All of this contributes to my passion to help regular folk like me understand that unemployment is a natural thing, no one is immune, and that we all need to figure out how to deal with it and move through it.

All of this has led to my deep passion for JibberJobber. Not because it is the best way to organize your job search. Not because it is the best way to manage the relationships with your network contacts. Not because it allows you to carry this information with you for the rest of your career, no matter who your employer is. But because it empowers you. JibberJobber is all about empowering the person. You need career empowerment, and this is one of the most critical tools that you will find to empower you.

Thanks for being a part of it! I guarantee there are great things to come in the future!