“I have an interview next week with UPS. I hope I get to wear the uniform. How cool would it be to wear the uniform.” – Those words were uttered by a very successful corporate and agency Talent Acquisition professional who had the suburban home outside of the major urban market and the summer cabin by the lake up north. Enjoyed traveling and sailing and knew how to close the deal.

After months of optimistic frustration, interviews started trickling in. Slowly but promising. Sharpening the interviewing skills, preparing for the behavioral bombardment of questions and ironing the most conservative suit in the closet, he was ready. The answered flowed, the confidence rose and the will to rise from the recession was peaking its head and just as we were ready to close the deal something was missing, the money.

Wait, is he expected to do the same caliber of work for 40 or 50 thousand less than what he was making prior. Oh no, reality just pitched three strikes and Casey is still waiting at the plate with bat in hand.

Time to sell the cabin but hopefully not the dogs. We can hold out a little longer. He can do some freelance consulting, participate in some small speaking engagements, take a few courses and keep fresh on the industry news and trends.

Now he finally has time to catch up on Mashable.com, BNet.com and Tweet the trials and tribulations of Bubble Boy on Twitter. Oh yes, internet procrastination disguised as a career search session. That may actually help the mental meltdown that is about to happen.

Good news, the unemployment rate is only 9.4% but wait, it is 12.8% in his major metropolitan area and if you factor in those that are no longer eligible for unemployment, we are close to 17.5%. Not looking good but not out yet.

He still has a strong circle of friends to help him through these times and he knows he is not the only one sitting on the deck of the Titanic. That moral support from employed and unemployed alike has kept him mentally strong during this time.

Even with the prospect of UPS he still does not see a sunrise in the near future. That is scary and very real.

What does the next chapter bring for this once well educated, well paid and well respected professional….
We will wait and see. He knows he is marketable and ready to take on the next assignment. He is maintaining connections with agencies, network contacts and keeping his career search and tweet deck up to date on opportunities. With persistence and a little bit of good old fashioned luck, this once prominent member of the Talent Acquisition community will once again rise to the top.

Postscript: This individual is now a senior director at a Fortune 500 global organization. Cheers!