And Now A Few Moments With The Unemployed…
Join us as we follow the adventures of one man’s journey through the minefields of the job hunt. Meet Todd Beeby, a creative director recently laid off from Leo Burnett.
Let’s walk through the stages of job-loss grief, shall we?
1. Denial: “I’m sure management will lay off at least a few overpaid ECDs to save people lower on the totem pole.”
2. Anger: “They didn’t lay off a single [expletive] ECD?!”
3. Bargaining: “How about you give me more severance?”
4. Depression: “Shit, they didn’t give me more severance.”
5. Acceptance: “Guess I’ll start looking for work.”
6. Netflix: “But first, I’ll check what’s on ‘Watch Instantly’.”
If you subscribe to Netflix, chances are you’ve seen the tab for “Watch Instantly.” Now available for use on Mac and PC, this is a dangerous bit of functionality for the unemployed. Throughout these long weeks of not reporting to work, I take pride in not exposing my fragile psyche to the damaging effects of daytime TV (case in point: today on “Judge David Young” a women sues a neighbor after his dog killed her goat… might as well follow that up with “Just Shoot Me”). But Netflix? That’s a different story because it’s not really TV. You’re actively spending time in front of your computer, able to quickly check email and job postings. Besides, if looking for a job is like a full-time job, there’s some time that needs obliterating.
Taking a Netflix break can start off as a noble pursuit, and one with strict guidelines: “I’ll only watch art films, BBC productions of classic novels, and documentaries.” But this soon devolves into: “I can watch anything that does not feature Tina Yothers.” Your Netflix ‘break’ soon devolves into a binge where you’re consuming everything in your path and feeling exceedingly guilty about afterwards. After plowing through the semi-justifiable content-like several seasons of “30 Rock”, “Weeds”, and “Friday Night Lights” – I got to my lowest point: attempting to watch an episode of the BBC series “Hotel Babylon” (which I’m thankful didn’t make the jump over the pond like “The Office”). [see image for other really bad choices]
As a writer who worked on the U.S. Army business, I’m able to rationalize just about anything, so for my time with Netflix, I simply tell myself, “I’m studying dialogue and pacing.” Still, consider this a cautionary tale. Should you unfortunately be out of work, and find your cursor poised over the “Watch Instantly” tab, don’t click it… unless, of course, they put up this sweet Travolta movie.
NEXT UP:
– Is It Still ‘Hump Day’ When You’re Out of Work?
– So You’re Asking Yourself, “How can I help Todd?”
– Recession-Era Hygiene
– Todd Beeby is an “Under-Utilized” Copywriter/CD based in NYC. If you would like to reach out to Todd, you can connect to him here.