What to do when a layoff seems like the end of the world

Marcus Tolero is about to graduate.  Again.

He was full of hope after graduating with a BA in journalism from San Francisco State University in 2003, landing a full-time job at a community newspaper after a three-month internship.

That led to another internship at one of his city’s most prominent, glossy magazines, then a full-time public relations job at a small, boutique firm.

Tolero was pursuing his passion — writing — and polishing skills, such as fact-checking.

Then the 2008 recession hit; the p.r. firm lost clients; and Tolero was among a few young workers laid off.

“Everything got turned upside down,” he recalls. “It was the first time I had been laid off in my life.”

It was such a blow, Tolero acknowledges now it was difficult to know what to do, when unemployment was climbing in San Francisco.  All his friends had jobs, were getting married, and starting families.

He was 28.

“I took a year off,”  says Tolero, now 31. “I surfed and biked, stayed healthy and active.

“Financially, I knew I had to start over again. But I just didn’t want to go back … that was the toughest part.”

Tolero spent so much time searching for work, and tapping social media, that he took a lesson from former client, digg.com.

“They were doing some really cool stuff — they were pioneers in social media — and I was looking at all these websites, to see how they function,” Tolero says. “That’s how I decided to go back to school.”

Tolero registered at City College for a certificate in web design, plunging into a field he admits was daunting.

“It was a big leap,” he recalls. “I was nervous. Could I do it? It was something I’d never done.”

While other friends were enjoying the gains of early careers, Tolero started over again, learning humbly how to be a returning student.

“I had to make a lot of sacrifices, financially and time-wise,” he says. “But my mentality was so much different. At 18, you don’t really know what you want to do. You’re at school for the scene.

“But this time, I knew I wasn’t there to party. My mentality was much different. I don’t consider myself a computer whiz. I never knew how to design anything.”

Tolero’s answer to this struggle?  “If you’re faced with something tough, you just have to do it. I’m studying really hard.”

He’ll graduate this spring with a two-year certificate in web design and multi-media graphics, in a city where dot.com jobs have led the surge in end-of-recession employment.  San Francisco’s “beta city” economy is known for such successes as Wikipedia, Twitter, craigslist and Salesforce.

“It’s exciting, but a little nerve-wracking. I’m wondering how I’ll do, up against the guy who comes out here from Harvard with a (web design) degree,” Tolero says.  “I’m optimistic because everything is mobile — there’s such a big demand for mobile applications.

“There are definitely more opportunities in the Bay Area now. A lot of companies are looking for designers for mobile (apps), and the Bay Area is in the forefront of technology and social media.”

Tolero says his post-B.A. years have taught him to be flexible and network more, and keep building marketable skills.

“I’m still debating whether to go for more training after I graduate. Am I qualified enough? You never stop learning,” he says, with enthusiasm.

“I’m having a lot more success networking — more than I did the first time at school — and I’m hoping, I would love to, get a job in a small design studio, an intimate studio where you have a little bit more on your plate.  I want to be able to design a website, from functionality to typography …

“I pride myself on my work ethic,” Tolero emphasizes. “If I don’t understand something, I’ll try to figure it out myself. If I have a deadline, I’ll work hard to finish it early, then I’ll refine it, do the follow-up.”

Tolero’s networking already has paid off in a pre-graduation community project that has big potential beyond San Francisco.

It’s called Chinese Whispers, about disenfranchised workers who built the railroads that spurred American industrialization, and were a huge, yet unrecognized part of the Gold Rush that transformed San Francisco.

Something like young workers just getting their start in San Francisco — a city so rich, the average annual income is estimated at $115,000.

“I’m not overly optimistic,” Tolero insists. “After everything that’s happened to me, professionally, I would say I’m optimistic, with some skepticism.”

His goal, after a second graduation?

“Just get a job.”

A biology degree gets you all the way to … the frozen yogurt store

By Hoover Wind

Ask Laura DeWitt what she wants, at 26, and she says, “A job.”

She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in biology.

Like many in her generation, that got her as far as the fast-food counter.

“For over three and a half years, I was working at a frozen yogurt store,” she says.

“For three and a half years, I would look at a schedule and have no idea if I would get the hours listed.  In the summer, it was likely that I would get more, or at least close to what I was scheduled. In the winter, however, I might go a week or more without working, due to the weather.”

She had a second job, as a “breakfast bar attendant” at a hotel.

“I quit that job when I decided to take additional courses to prepare me for graduate school — to which I still have not been accepted,” she explains.

In October, the yogurt store closed, leaving Laura and 10 other employees jobless.

“We had almost no warning,” she recalls. “As I was the manager at the time, I was not only responsible for telling everyone that we were closing and that they were losing their jobs/favorite dessert spot, but I also had to help tear the store apart for the owner.

“This left me no time to job hunt.  So I became unemployed.”

Laura is seeking laboratory or related work in the Raleigh area of North Carolina.

“I finally had an interview this week, which I believe went well — once I convinced them that no, I did not intend to commute three hours daily” from her home, in Boone.  Laura is happy to relocate.

It’s telling that she offers this, without being asked: “I am trying to remain optimistic.”

What’s your dream job?  I’d really love to do genetics research.  Preferably with bats, big cats, or honeybees as my subjects.  Right now, I’m looking for any kind of entry-level lab work, just to get my foot in the door.

What type of job are you seeking now?

At this point in my life, the most important thing in working is paying the bills, while not feeling horrible in my job.
Currently I’m seeking full time, but I’ll really take anything I can get.

What should employers know about you?

I am an extremely hard worker and always show up early.  I work best alone, but am also great at working with other people.  I can take orders as well as give them.  I am good at math.  I can figure most things out for myself (mechanical, technical, etc.), but am not afraid to ask for help when needed.  Basically, I’m awesome.

I have experience in management, in addition to my degree in Biology, which I wouldn’t think that many people have.

Your views on historic unemployment in the U.S.?

Unemployment in the U.S. is far too high for a nation with our international standing.  Many if not most of the positions I have applied for have been at least partially federally funded, and I feel that if the government was taxing the top 1% at similar rates to what they have in the past, more people like me could be hired.

I hate that in this country we’re told that there’s nothing more important than a college degree, only to find out after spending thousands of dollars on it, that a Bachelor’s degree isn’t worth that much anymore.

It seems in my job hunt that employers want either an associate’s degree with no experience or a Bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience (or a Master’s degree).  So it seemed for most things I was either over- or under-qualified for, which is very frustrating since I’ll take almost anything at this point.

Voice of a renaissance worker, after one year of unemployment

Hadi Dadashian is a true renaissance man, the kind who doesn’t fit neatly on resumes.

Hadi Dadashian

He’s multilingual, having learned new languages wherever his family went.  He taught himself Italian, for instance, after moving to Rome at age 13.

He enrolled in art college, like his older brother, but switched to electrical engineering because “all the other students were like Michelangelo.”

Job prospects were limited, so the family moved to the U.S. when Hadi was 24.

He worked as an electrical engineer, as a subcontractor with an older brother.  They worked on projects from the Pentagon (where he advises there were a lot of rats, real rats to deal with, from the kitchen to man-sized heating ducts), to mega-mansions in Virginia, and restaurants in Washington, D.C.

Then he worked with another brother as an offset printer in Virginia.

Hadi changed careers, becoming a freelance news photographer so he could accompany his wife, Kathleen Kenna, to India, after she was promoted to South Asia bureau chief for her Canadian paper.

What happened next doesn’t fit on any resume.

Hadi saved Kathleen’s life, after she was badly wounded in an alleged al Qaeda IED attack in Afghanistan.  (They were returning from a day of interviewing villagers when attacked.)

You will not hear about this from Hadi.  That’s not how he wants to be defined.

After supporting Kathleen’s return to school in San Francisco, Hadi went back to school there too.  He graduated in 2008 as an optical assistant.

When San Francisco became too pricey, Hadi landed “the best job of my life” in Las Vegas, in 2009.

He worked in optical sales and soon led the team, logging the highest sales numbers, month after month.

Hadi said it was the best job, because he was following a long-time career dream — optical — and was learning a lot, with a close-knit, supportive team.

The job ended in 2010 when the employer cut all workers’ salaries 50% to 70% without advance notice.  Hadi left the state before the store closed.

Q:  Did you collect unemployment insurance?

A:  No, never have — always have a “Plan B”.

We lived on our savings; figured other jobless people needed UI more than me — people with children.  We left the city, because it had the highest unemployment rate, and the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

Q:  What should prospective employers know about you?

A:  I’m resilient.  I’m not afraid of hard work.

I’m a good listener, a fast learner; I’ll work any hours; and I’m not afraid to ask if I don’t know how to do something.

Q:  Any observations about American unemployment after a year out of work?

A:  People are afraid of hiring.  It’s getting worse; it’s like they’re afraid to spend money. The system doesn’t want to give benefits; they want everyone to work full-time for part-time pay.

The most frustrating part is, you apply for jobs and never get a response — nothing.

It’s as if they don’t care.  It’s almost like a joke.

Employers are giving jobs to people who are employed already.  What about people without jobs, mothers who have kids to feed? They’re supporting aging parents, and other family members too.  What are they supposed to do?

Q:  What do you say to critics who blast people without jobs as being lazy?

A:  I’m not lazy — I’ve worked since I was a teenager (as a barista in Rome).  I’m working as a freelance photographer — you use any skill you have — because I have to be working.  I’m glad to have the opportunity, and glad to still have good contacts.  Being unemployed, you find it’s all about networking.

Hadi also has a photoblog, because he’s teaching himself online publishing.  Kathleen and Hadi share a travel blog, which showcases his photos too.

Q:  Any advice to employers?

A:  Don’t be afraid.  I think everyone’s so afraid, wages will drop to $5 an hour –they don’t want to pay real wages.

Why is there so much fear?

You come out of school all excited and you don’t get hired.  It’s not fair to younger graduates. We need them to be working for the economy to improve.

NEXT:  Another graduate, Hoover Wind