Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

A couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with a guy who mentors in the same program as I (College Bound). He was working at a huge law firm that has offices across the country, just down the block from me. He'd been working for the law firm for 10 years, since graduating from college. After lunch, we exchanged a few emails back and forth. Next thing I know he calls me the following Monday saying he got laid off. I was like what? How did it happen? What did they say?

It made me instantly realize that anyone and everyone is susceptible to getting let go, laid off, the pink slip, down-sized, fired, or whatever they want to call it these days at anytime.

Fast-forward to the following week, I'm sitting in my office getting ready to go upstairs for our bi-weekly staff meeting. Next thing I know my boss sends out an email saying the meeting is cancelled and closes her door. This was strange because in our office we rarely close our doors and if we do it's usually cracked not completely shut. Since I was supposed to lead the meeting, I'd brought snacks and decided to walk around to share them with my co-workers.

While three of us are gathered in one office, I see this vaguely familiar woman walk by. Next thing I know, my co-worker in the next office closes his door. So by this point I'm like what is really going on? Again, it's rare that any of us shut our doors, so the three of us look at each other knowing that something's about to happen.

I go back into my office and the Admin Asst. comes into my office and starts whispering to me, and tells me who's in the office with our co-worker. All of a sudden my heart sank. I figured out why she looked familiar. I had seen her on the elevator once and after she stepped off the people I was riding with were like someone's about to get fired. That was the day our HR Director was "let go" after working for the association for over 25 years. Apparently, she flies in from our HQ to let people know their services are no longer needed.

So the woman from HQs walks out of one co-workers office and into another. The Admin and I looked at each other like, okay someone really needs to fill us in on what's happening. At that moment, she tell our other co-worker she needs to speak with her and closes the door to her office. This time my boss walks into my office and lets us know that two of our co-workers were being "let go" due to "budget cuts." She then tells us it wasn't because of anything they did, yada yada yada. Still not quite sure if I believed that. Both of them had been with the company for a while, 5 and 9 years, and both, from what I was told, had run-ins with the higher ups over the years.

It's surreal to see your co-workers there one minute and the next they're gone. Coming into the office the next day it felt strange, almost like someone had died. Their once vibrant offices filled with art and photos collected over the years were no more. It was back to being a generic space waiting to be occupied again one day.

Considering my department only had 7 staff members plus a summer intern to begin with, it's going to make a huge impact on our day-to-day. Everything is so new we haven't even discussed how our titles/roles/job duties are going to change. It's easy to be selfish and think wow that's really going to increase my workload, but in this economy, I sure rather be busy than unemployed.

There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country who are not as fortunate and would love to be in my shoes and sitting in a chair behind my desk. Constantly remembering this helps me to keep a level-head and realize that I'm blessed to still be gainfully employed. I pray that everyone who is dealing with the consequences of the state of the current economy will have the strength to make it through this. I hate watching the news and hearing stories about people committing suicide or even worse killing themselves and their families because they couldn't deal with the stress of losing a job.

I pray and said thank you to God every night for having a job. I also pray that our economy will turn around soon so the U.S. can go back to being considered one of the most prosperous countries in the world, a title that we worked so hard to attain. For all those who have been affected by the downturn in the economy, please keep believing that things will get better because we all know they will.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)

Life of a Nonprofit Diva

So those who know me know that I can be a bit of a diva, depending on how well you know me. It's not so much a diva in a bitchy kind of way but I know what I want and how to get it. I used this ability in everyday life and while working in Corporate America.

I worked for two Fortune 500 companies after grad school but after a while I realized it wasn't for me. Nearly two years ago, I made the switch to nonprofit. Although, I'd volunteered for every type of charity you could imagine since I was young, I had never worked for a nonprofit. Let me tell you it was not only a culture shock but a shock to my bank account.

Working in Corporate America, if I wanted to go out and buy the hottest bag or jewelry, as long as my bills were paid I could do it. I've always had expensive tastes, that's just how I was raised and what I've grown accustomed to. When I bought my new car, my old one was dying and I decided I needed to step my game up so I decided to invest in a nicer but starter, luxury car. (People seem to think it cost more than it did but that's on them.) Hey, I was in B2B sales and we were expected to have an air about us to be able to successfully negotiate with CEOs and decision makers within companies we were trying to win business from. In my line of work having a nice car only added to your credibility.

One day, I realized the life of wheeling and dealing really wasn't for me so I started looking for other opportunities. During this time, I was determined to make the switch from Corporate America to nonprofit. I knew that I would never find a nonprofit that would pay me what I was making in sales so I began to cut back on my spending. I found a roommate who was also interested in saving some money each month. It's been a great partnership having someone to help me out with the mortgage and also having someone else there for safety.

And anyone who knows me knows that I love to shop. Fortunately, the company that I worked part time (PT) with through grad school, then went on to work in their corporate offices in NY, has allowed me to have a very flexible PT schedule over the years. Having a PT job allows me to not only have a fabulous discount on the things I love most but it allows me to buy the things I want, whereas the full-time pays for the things I need.

Working for a nonprofit has definitely humbled me. While I'm not getting the salary I think I deserve compared to my counterparts with similar positions in Corporate America, the experience, growth opportunities, benefits, far outweigh that of a salary. I think, well no I know, I've learned more in the last few years in nonprofit than I probably would have in 5-7 years working in Corporate America. My boss is extremely supportive of me and my career and is always encouraging me to attend various events and go to trainings.

True, I've had to make a lot of sacrifices whether it's not being able to travel on a whim due to working the PT one day on the weekend, or not being able to spend lots of money on entertainment and going out. Those sacrifices are minimal to what I've been able to learn. Working for a nonprofit, has given me the opportunity to see that money is not and should not be my only motivation behind having a job. Instead, this nonprofit diva has a passion for being able to make a difference in the lives of others.

Things Not To Do or Wear At Work

Ok so I work for a pretty conservative company as are many of the companies/agencies located near where I work in downtown Washington, D.C. Let's just say I work for one of the largest and oldest professional associations there is in the US.

As I sit in my office or walk down the halls I'm constantly reminded that some people just don't seem to get it when it comes to working in a conservative, professional environment. I've compiled a list of what shouldn't be done in the office. Most of the things I've listed are common sense. Other things, although they sound a little crazy I've seen them. These are just want I came up with when thinking about the last week or so of work. If you read my tweets you've heard all about my experiences at work.

What Not To Do At Work (at your desk)
1. Clipping of the nails (finger nails and especially not toe nails)
2. Sucking on a lollipop (especially if you don't have an office and are out in the public, actually just don't do it.)
3. Brushing your teeth, flossing, or gargling mouthwash
4. Singing out loud while listening to music
5. Chewing anything with your mouth open so others can hear you chew
6. Cooking anything that will stink up the office (i.e burning popcorn, curry, most types of fish)
7. Spraying anything that will stink up the office
8. Taking off your socks and picking at or between your toes
9. Bashing your boss or your co-workers, you never know who's listening or who's friends with
who
10. Leaving your cell phone ringer on. Unless you're a doctor or on-call, you can put it on vibrate or have people call you at your desk. No one wants to hear your phone ringing while you've stepped out to go to the bathroom or a meeting.

What Not To Wear At Work
1. Tank tops or strapless clothing (unless under a suit jacket)
2. Flip flops of any kind (unless you work at the Beach)
3. Anything where your back is out
4. Anything that exposes your bra straps, butt crack or love handles (no one should see these parts of your body)
5. Sweats, velour, or track suits, even on casual Fridays
6. Pants so tight you have a camel toe (If you can feel it, everyone else can see it)
7. Too small cardigan or blouse. You know when you see some and the buttons are holding on for dear life or there's that one button that won't stay closed and reveals the person's bra.
8. Anything so low-cut that has the potential of exposing your arreolas
9. Cullottes (don't know where people are finding theses, haven't seen them since like '87. They are nothing but long, loose fitting shorts think Golden Girls. But who wears shorts to work unless you're a camp counselor or a P.E. Teacher?
10. Anything satin or velvet. Some materials aren't meant for daytime so just don't do it.