Canned

Hey folks! I'm on a panel at this event on March 19th, 2026 at Obec Brewing in Ballard. Please come say hi. 

Dee burns herself down to keep her role and was rewarded by the expectation that she'd keep burning herself down. 

Thanks to Todd Manley at Earsight Studios for his help with this episode. 

Shelley McIntyre helps us grapple with reinventing ourselves after we get canned. How do we redefine the experience of getting fired and what to we do next? 

Find more about Shelley at Burn the Map.

Corey discovers the math just isn't mathing. 

Producer Amy and Host Pam review the absolute sh!tshow that work and the job market has been in 2025. Eff bombs a-plenty, heads up, it's who we are.  

Lianna learns a lot of valuable lessons from her first "big girl" job (her words, not mine) including how you shouldn't do all the work at once. Pace yourselves, kids, there's little benefit in finishing early. 

It seemed like a great opportunity and Kevin believed in the cause, but "smellgate" made things awkward. Like, really awkward. 

Here are the reasons you might be eligible for unemployment if you quit a job in Washington, where I live, the rules may be different in your location. 

"Layoffs are unfortunately a time where unions really show why they're important." 

• Zach posts about Workers Comp to Instagram, follow him to find out about their next event. 
• Ian -- Zach's co-creator for Workers Comp -- tells his story in E11, here. 

"The media landscape is changing." Yeah, Ian already knows that. 

Janice Brathwaite -- the president and founder of Workplace Transformations -- talks about her work with corporate culture. She's got a few things to say about the dreaded Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), how it's being misused, and what you should do if you're faced with one. TLDL (too long, didn't listen): Do. Not. Sign. Anything. 

Years later, Chuck still asks himself why he was so loyal to his job. 

Pam and Amy discuss the jobs report(s), how much AI is fucking things up for us, a listener's struggle to find work, and the curse of pumpkin spice season. 

Articles referenced:

• AI is quietly reshaping the way we talk
• The job market is hell
• Employers added nearly a million fewer jobs 

Episodes referenced:

• S2 E5: Tech Career Coach
• S1 E31: Design Manager

"We knew bad things were going to happen in Philadelphia." She saw it coming, but it was still a blow when Dawn lost her dream job. 

Michael went in with a "healthy dose of skepticism" under the Biden adminstration though he believed the work was valuable. Then came the November election and DOGE. 

What's a career coach do? How does one help you? When do you need a career coach? What should you say about that time you got fired? And hey, what's the worst that can happen? Dr. Kyle Elliott patiently fields questions about what a career coach does -- and he gives good advice for navigating the landscape after you've been canned. Dr. Elliot specializes in tech, but his tips are good for anyone, regardless of their field.

Christian's job was literally to make federal government processes more effective or, you know, efficient. Then DOGE came along. 

Learn more about 18F and the work they did here.

Christine was not shy about telling off The Man for making tech support worse.  The database mentioned? theceodatabase.com. Our heroine has been hit with several cease and desist notices, so by the time this goes live, it may or may not be online. We'll take that as her doing the right thing.