Since I was among those who voluntarily left the Courant and the Tributanic at a time of my own choosing, more or less, I’m sure I did not experience the trauma that many of my fellow refugees will be experiencing in the days and weeks ahead.
Depending on individual circumstances, some will be hurt more than others. Some, for instance, may not even be able to keep their homes. Others will find work soon.
I haven’t heard what kind of help the company will be offering, but if they send you to Lee Hecht Harrison, the job counseling center, take advantage of that. The people there are helpful, understanding and resourceful; and will help polish you up as much as possible in your search for new employment.
My only other advice (which I am arguably not even qualified to give) is to keep yourself busy at something in addition to looking for work. Do something — volunteer work, manual labor, adult ed, politics, whatever — that reaffirms your spirit as a vital and useful person.
The journalists at the Courant have a tremendous wealth of experience and insight to offer the community. It’s an under-appreciated byproduct of working at the center of so much information. You will realize that as soon as you dry your eyes and re-engage the world.
Also, maybe we should have a party.
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Paul, you’re doing us a great service by keeping this blog going and taking an interest in your colleagues’ welfare. But I’m afraid I’m totally out of sympathy, to say the least, with your repeated attempts to serve also as an apologist for The Courant’s sheepish but unwavering executioners. It may well be in your own interests to do so, but I should tell you that it doesn’t go down terribly well with many of the rest of us struggling out here.
I believe Tracy’s sentiments are much more in keeping with those abroad in the refugee camp. It hardly speaks to someone’s decency, of course, that he may be “just following orders.” The way I see it, someone truly worthy of being the leader of a paper like The Courant used to be would have had the backbone to show some resistance to the know-nothing dictates of the Zell pirates; he would have sought all possible alternatives to firing people and made it known that he had; and if it did still come to firings (which is what these are: the word “layoff” is a cynical corporate epheumism,) he would not have conducted them on an irrational basis that protects certain people at the cost of infinitely more capable and talented journalists. At no point in this debacle has there been any show of nobility of character on the part of those responsible for the firings, and it is utterly beyond me how such craven people ever slithered into an ostensibly heroic profession like ours.
My heart goes out to all my Courant family. This is just so wrong and it is so hard to know what to say. We are all apart of each other. I fell like I grew up at The Hartford Courant. I agree as previously noted, that if they do offer the Lee Hecht Harrison career site to take advantage of it. The support is great from LHH and you find out very quickly that you are not alone. Your local community colleges are another source of help. Manchester Community College is exceptional and ‘free’ to the ‘community’ – not just the students. They have a great Career Service Department in the Lowe building. They have free career classes which are usually on Thursday nights, job fairs, and resources on campus to use. They offer a different perspective than LHH. I found LHH extremely helpful but they have a corporate mindset in their approach. LHH offers great sessions on creating or updating a resume, cover letters, interviewing skills and ways to network. I may suggest to rejoin the alumni at your college. I graduated University of Hartford in 1984 and found them amazingly supportive. You can use their career services as an alumnus. Tonight, there is a seminar on ‘Revitalizing your Resume’ at 6PM at the Gengras Student Union, 3rd floor. Some of you may know the speaker, Jan Melnik. Another resource to consider is CT Works. There are tons of sites to go to for free information. You may have to update your skills to deal with the needs of the present culture. Maybe you have an interest prior to your life at the Courant. This can be an opportunity to develop an old career that was put aside because of choices we made along the way. As painful as this is – have hope because there are jobs out there. I have seen people land in promising careers. Sometimes you have to reinvent yourself. Please feel free to contact me at jdumaine1957@yahoo.com, you know I love to help and will do whatever I can to heal or speed up the process. So give yourself a break – find time to go through what your feeling, catch up on a few things. Reengaging in life and looking for a new job takes a while. It could be beneficial if we could get together and share information. Or we could just get together to drink to ease the pain. Whatever direction we go in – we need this site to stay connected. I hope for those who have left, those who are leaving, the ones left behind will reach out to each other and be part of what is the best of The Hartford Courant. I wish you all well and you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Joan Dumaine
My heart is with those of you who’ve been laid off, and those of you remaining who are still trying to produce good journalism in the wake of what you just witnessed.
Please know that many of us former Courant folks have you in our thoughts. Being a damn fine journalist isn’t dependent on the geography of where you practice it; you all carry great talent with you as you head into the next phase of your careers, and I’m sure you’ll get a chance to use it in another venue.
When things have been lowdown sucky for me at times, I try to remember the (admittedly cliched and hokey) story about the caterpillar … just when it thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.
I couldn’t be any sadder to see what’s happening to so many people I care about. You are family to me, and it’s crushing to watch all this.
I want to echo what Paul said in his post: Find an outlet that makes you happy and keeps you productive. I would recommend writing/blogging, even if it’s for no one other than yourself. (Writing was my therapy during my “between-jobs” period last year.) I’d also recommend volunteering in a field you find fun or interesting. (My experience tutoring middle-schoolers last year in New Haven was invaluable and eye-opening.) You just might find your next job this way.
My best to everyone here,
Adam
Thank you, Carlos, for writing what a lot of refugees have been thinking. The “executioners” are for the most part decent people given an indecent task. Most didn’t take any satisfaction in it, but there was the odd exception. One ghoulish figure in particular was uncharacteristically cheerful in the days before the layoffs were announced. “Good night! See you tomorrow!” he crowed to everyone the night before the dreaded phone calls, in what may well have been his first cheerful utterance in about 20 years. He’d helped draw up the list of the damned, with great enthusiasm, knowing his own position was secure. On the night after the layoffs, in what looked to all appearances like one of Scrooge’s nightmares or Bill Sykes’ hallucinations (the murdered Nancy trailing him through the streets of London), all the laid-off staffers were back at their seats, dutifully filling out their few remaining days at work. Sykes was back to his old bent, bilious, misanthropic self — silent as a tomb, with his castoffs arrayed around him.
Please know that there are many of us, in and out of the newspaper industry, that are in mourning over this latest turn of events. We will never forget your hard work and dedication.