What, me worry? No pink slip blues

Mar 26, 2001
Sandra Jones

Photo by Crains

Life after the pink slip isn't what it used to be.

It's been four months since Hsuan-min Chou lost his job as lead copywriter at Open Port Technology Inc., an Internet messaging company that shut down for lack of funds.

He hasn't taken a new job yet — in fact, he's turned positions down. And except for the faded dream of making millions on stock options, life couldn't be better, he says.

"Despite being laid off, working at a dot.com was really good for me personally," says Mr. Chou. "I developed skills much faster than I would anywhere else because of the responsibility I had. I don't look at it with regret at all."

One weekday morning at 10, in accordance with his daily routine, Mr. Chou is having a cup of black coffee at Beans & Bagels in Ravenswood. He has already put in three hours of work just around the corner at his home office — actually, for the moment, a messy dining room table from which he runs a high-tech marketing communications business.

After reading the newspaper, Mr. Chou expects to return home, where he will work until about 3 p.m. Then, he'll go for a walk, spend time with his girlfriend, run errands and take care of those pieces of his life that fell by the wayside when he was working 10-hour days and many weekends at Open Port.

Of course, Mr. Chou can afford to take his time. Unlike the middle-aged salarymen cut loose in the recession of the early '90s, he's only 30 years old, without a suburban mortgage or children to support. And, in another contrast with the last era of layoffs, the job market is strong for people with his skills and experience.

Ten years ago, outplacement counselors urged saturation — résumé blitzes and relentless networking. Today, out-of-work dot.comers troll the Internet and do their networking at "pink slip parties."

Still, the new jobless feel twinges for the lost promise of the Internet.

Mr. Chou recalls the day right before Thanksgiving when the 100-plus Open Port employees were called into a meeting. Hopes were high that a buyer was swooping in to save the firm. Instead, the company announced it was shutting down. There was no money for severance pay, and stock options were worthless.

"It became somber pretty quickly," says Mr. Chou. "I took a couple of days off to feel sorry for myself. Then, I started interviewing with companies two weeks later."

But, after several promising interviews, Mr. Chou began to encounter hiring freezes. So, he set up his own business. By the time companies were ready to hire again, Mr. Chou was making good money and enjoying his new freedom.

What would it take to lure him back to a company job?

"The work itself would have to be attractive, and I'd want some responsibility," says Mr. Chou. "It would have to be something that I thought would be fun and personally fulfilling. I'm not out to make gobs and gobs of money."

©2001 by Crain Communications Inc.

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