By Dan Hanley
Yesterday I was laid off. In my professional life I am a fundraiser, a Director of Development. I had rocked it for almost two years at our local opera company. Loved my job. After a very tough year in fundraising my boss decided that cutting back would begin with me.
I wasn't surprised. Life had become dark at work in the past week. A lot of closed door meetings and no communication at all.
When my boss called me down to his office and I walked in to see him and our Human Resources guy, I was honestly relieved. He told me his story of why, my HR guy gave me some paperwork, and I headed back to my office. Tears were shed by some of my peers. I was grateful for their kindness and support, and for helping me move out of my office!
Although I never really quite fit in at this company, I did love it, and already miss a few of my co-workers. I will also miss many things around the opera performances, which kind of surprises me.
I had one job interview/chat yesterday afternoon and have another on Monday.
And so less than 24 hours after being laid off I am in my dining room surrounded by the furries doing job searches, trying to not be angry with being let go and thinking that I have a full day today to rock it.
A friend and professional peer is taking me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Tarascos, for lunch. That's my only solid plan for the day.
I have never been unemployed, so this is new to me. I have been fortunate to always be the one who gets a call asking if I am interested in a job. I feel like I was born to fundraise but who knows what my new adventure looks like.
I promise not to inundate you with blog posts, yet I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you hear of a fundraising job with an organization that you think is making the world a better place, let me know.
Thank you for reading!
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
