Recession: What me worry?

Hey young-uns, listen up! The other day I heard the news reporter say, "This is the worst recession since 1982." 1982? That reminded me that in the fall of 1982 Susan and I got married. Susan was in graduate school finishing up a degree. Being the liberated, supportive husband that I was I said, "I'll leave my current job (a really lucrative job for that stage of my career) so that we don't have to move away and you can finish your program. It won't be so hard for me to find a new job." Famous last words.

I thought I was pretty well informed but I realize now that I was oblivious to what was going on around me. I spent at least six months flailing: resumés, mail, interviews, informational interviews, before I found a career-related job, and that one only because of family connections. The only right thing I did was what I had done - I'd saved up a lot of my early professional income, which gave us an adequate cushion while I was out of work.

The moral of the story is wake up, smell the coffee, pay attention. This could happen to you!