Hi, Lisa.
Best wishes to you! Even though there are likely to be wonderful
opportunities, it is still hard to hear that your services are no longer
needed, to pack up your belongings, and to say goodbye to friends and
colleagues.
My turn came in the Fall of 2003. The company I was working for had a
company meeting where they told us how well the company was doing and that
50% of us in the room would be getting envelopes with departure dates! My
departure date, after 23 years with the company, was 6 weeks from the
announcement. I was working on a project that the VP of Engineering was
going to assume responsibility (yes, as a technical writer). I worked
closely with a couple of people, including the product manager, to convince
the company to give me a contract to finish the project. They did and I was
happily employed for another six weeks on top of the six-week notice period.
I decided to "celebrate" my sudden freedom from a job to go to by getting
into my car and driving to visit some dear friends several hours away for a
long weekend. It was a wonderful feeling! For the first time in many years,
I didn't have a day job requiring me to show up Monday morning. A week later
I started a serious job search, which, along with the contract, kept me very
busy until the end of the year, too busy to "grieve" (as Donna noted). By
early February, when I'd been seriously unemployed for a month, I found
myself feeling a bit less celebratory and a bit more worried! I had a
meltdown at a family gathering when someone asked one too many questions and
offered one too many suggestion! But it was good to let it all out.
Three weeks later I had a new job that gave me the first opportunity in my
long career as a technical writer to use my language skills. I didn't even
know what localization was when I took the job. Three years later I feel
that one door closed and another wonderful door opened. In addition, the
morning I started at the new job, another company -- that had me going back
and forth for several interviews and writing tests -- called to offer me a
job, too!
You have an interesting journey ahead of you. I hope that you enjoy it.
Carol
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