Robbed dreams: A freshie’s take on how the recession affected his career

When I was fresh out of college, I only had dreams of being part of the corporate world. Rubbing elbows with the cream of the crop of my dream company and eventually be an apprentice for them. I applied for a job and got in – but it was not all pretty. Backbiting, gossips, harassment and workload after workload were also there to wear me down. Apart from that, my dream of rubbing elbows with the CEOs, COOs and other Senior Manager’s in my office did not happen. I had high hopes that they will take notice of me. It was almost Christmas of 2008 when we heard the news that the company was not doing very well financially. Our immediate supervisors dismissed the thought and said that the company has a lot of money and it will not be affected by the crisis. Eventually, the financial crisis came and conquered our office. Unfortunately or fortunately, I was one of the first few that the company made redundant. With a crushed spirit, I start to think if I was incapable or the timing was just not that right. I wanted to set my foot out and relive my love for the corporate world but how when I do not have enough resources to do so. Friends from my previous company advised me to check my unemployment benefits entitlement from our local state office. They further told me that there are unemployment benefit tiers being offered to assist people who have been unemployed with a just cause – like me, because I was made redundant. I am still a bit fazed with what has happen to me but it is good to know that I have options available for me but for now, I think I will have a short vacation to clear my head and maybe have my game plan changed.