Veteran career counselor J. Damian Birkel often addresses Professionals in Transition, a nonprofit group in Winston-Salem, N.C., that he created 15 years ago. But his usual aplomb disappeared during his June 7 talk, which was called “Riding the Emotional Wave of Unemployment.” Close to tears, Mr. Birkel described his red-hot rage over his surprise layoff from an outplacement firm two weeks earlier. “I’m having a hard time dealing with it,” he admitted sheepishly to the nearly 20 jobless individuals facing him. “I had forgotten how you feel.” Mr. Birkel says he got no severance pay after his employer eliminated his position, which provided “a comfortable, five-digit income.” As a result, the job-hunting expert and author had to start job hunting for the first time since 1999. More Americans hurt by the slowing economy may soon find themselves in the same predicament. Read full article below.
