A Bit Of Help For Those Laid Off

The Washington, DC area is blessed to have so many government jobs which are not threatened by today’s economic meltdown. Though we are somewhat insulated from the current economic crisis, thousands of people are being affected in our community. A friend of mine who is a recruiter recently attended a job fair and told me how depressing it was to see so many well-qualified professionals searching for work to pay their family’s bills. These were people who previously had great jobs at Fortune 500 companies.

As I mentioned in my latest Diva On A Dime, I too am struggling in this economy. I have a home office, but plan to take in a new roommate which will help both of us out. A recruiter friend of mine contacted me about a tempting Executive Assistant position which would have paid $70 -90K. As much as having a secure, stable job with a guaranteed income would be nice, I would rather take in less money and continue to grow my own business and pursue my passions and dreams. And really is any job truly “secure and stable” in this economy?

To try and help a bit, I am hosting a Pink Slip Party on March 12th at Lotus Lounge. This happy hour will bring together job seekers and HR professionals at companies that are still hiring. It is also an opportunity to gather together hundreds of professionals who are now unemployed due to companies closing their doors or down-sizing so that they can commiserate and network to hopefully help eachother out.  

We plan to have some fun drinks created especially for this event, such as:

• The Pink Slip (vodka cranberry)
• In The Red (Red Bull vodka)
• Screw Manhattan AND Wall Street (a Manhattan with a twist)
• Unemployment Blues (Blue Curacao and pineapple)
• Jobless But Still Jolly (a Jolly Rancher)
• Bitter Cosmopolitan (Apple Cosmo)

Headhunters, Recruiters, HR Professionals - if you are interested in having a presence at this event, please contact Kathy Dodd at pinkslipdc@gmail.com for more details!

Job Seekers – If you are a job seeker, you don’t need to anything but show up!

I look forward to seeing everyone there, and hope that it will be beneficial for everyone!