Have you ever lost a job that you really enjoyed?

I once worked for a venture capital-backed software company. Its product line was ahead of the installed base of equipment to run it. There were going to be layoffs.

My title at that time was Special Projects Director. Immediately after the Senior Staff Meeting at which he told us about the layoffs, I went to my boss and said, “OK, when are you laying me off?” He said, “What makes you think you will get laid off?” I said, “Because that’s what I’d do if it was me.”

Even though I solicited it, I still felt awful about it. I had never had any kind of involuntary separation. It took me a few weeks to adjust. Eventually, it led to bigger and better things.

A very famous Italian restaurant in NYC needed a strolling accordion player. The one they had quit. One of the instruments I play is the accordion, and I’m Italian-American so I knew what I had to play. Made a fortune just in tips alone.

After 3 weeks, when the previous accordionist heard nobody missed him, he wanted his job back (he was there for like 15 years). They gave it to him since long time customers were asking for him.

Yes

nope, i ve had a seres of bad jobs

My second job – it was great. I worked at a marketing firm – fast paced, always something interesting and met some really interesting people, too. I was hired in as an assistant – but my supervisor gave me more than just the normal work. It was great pay, interesting and had a lot of potential for upward mobility.

2 months later, they started talking merger. I month after that, I was one of the cut positions.

I was inter-company recruited to move from my position as the Accounts Receivable Manager at a branch office of a national lawn care company to become an accountant at the brand new regional headquarters in Maryland. It involved a big raise, a much shorter commute, a nice office environment with people I liked, and work that was far above my ability. I relished the challenge, and worked my ass off. It was so hard that I often cried on my way home from work in the first weeks. Fast forward about 6 months. I finally had a handle on it, and was really enjoying my work when the Regional Manager called us all together to inform us that our office would be closed and merged into another regional office… in Boston.

We were stunned. We hadn’t even gotten all the furniture and artwork we’d ordered yet! Crying ensued, from everyone. I was never unemployed, because the branch office hired me back, at my new higher salary. On the upside, I became the highest paid Accounts Receivable Manager in the company. On the downside, I now hated my job. I found another as soon as I possibly could, and moved on.

Had to retire from massage therapy. I got into too many car accidents that made me unable to work enough hours to get a living wage. Rather than filing for disability, I got a deskjob that I hate. I am a fool.

Have thought about picking it up again, perhaps I have healed enough….

I miss it very, very much. I liked who I was more, when I was working in a relaxing, meditative environment for half my walking hours, where everybody loved me because I helped their aches. I have not been coping with the loss well. 1.75 years aimless and lost.

I’ve never lost one so much as moved on from temporary gigs. I worked at a winery in Napa for six weeks, and that was a sweet time. I also worked for peanuts this Christmas for UPS delivering packages by bicycle. My job was to ride a bike around a few residential neighborhoods, which was great when the weather was nice.

Mostly, though, I’ve hated my jobs and my bosses. My one “career” job, which lasted for five years, was tainted by a dept director/VP who was a poster child for al-anon, not to mention the dysfunctional office dynamics in general.

I’m more hopeful about my latest prospect as an internal communications specialist for a tribal development corp, and super thankful that the opportunity to jump back in is opening itself to me.

I finally found my calling, my niche, a place where I could make a difference.

I was the general curator of a non-profit that worked to protect endangered species through a captive breeding program, through in-situ programs, and by creating sustainable industry in impoverished communities to protect wildlife.

I worked with fantastic species: tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, servals, caracals, ocelots, civets, tayra, grisson, kinkajous, binturongs.

Then the founder died unexpectedly and politics tore the place apart. I walked away and have never looked back. It has become a shadow of what it used to be, exhibiting animals and taking in rescues – nothing more.

Yes, my recent teaching job in Poland. Had to quit because I had to leave the country. I wasn’t making much, but it was fun teaching the particular students.

I had a job working with environmental hygiene monitoring instruments. I enjoyed the technology, and I also enjoyed working with the customers. I worked for about 3 years, then the home office decided it was time to downsize the department from a 2-person to a 1-person. The other person in the department was there for 5 years.

Working as a public liaison for a telecommunications company, they were very generous, for doing for the most part non-stressful work. I was a contractor, but they treated me as an employee, I was responsible for obtaining various permits in order to bury a fiber optic line from Minneapolis to Chicago. So, I got to stay in various location, in between, following the construction. I met many very interesting people. I had a great per diem and I loaded up on airline perks.
I definitely couldn’t handle the work now, it worked great when I was younger.