Ouch, I think I dislocated my job

You learn something new every day. Yesterday, I learned that we former employees of The Company That Must Not Be Named are not just laid off, terminated, transitioned out, or plain ol' unemployed. What we are, my friends, is dislocated. Who knew?

A couple of weeks ago I got one of those ominously official-looking envelopes in the mail from the VEC, which turned out to be an invitation. Specifically, I was "invited to participate in a Reemployment Services Orientation" to be held at the VEC office in Virginia Beach on May 18 from 9 to 4. Now, I can't say I was keen on going, but declining an invitation from the VEC probably isn't such a hot idea if one wants those unemployment checks to keep coming in the mail, which I do. Besides, it would count as one of my two required "job contacts" for the week. So I bit the bullet and headed on over to Viking Drive yesterday.

There were eight of us in the orientation session -- seven women and one man -- and we learned, among other things, "Why Are We Here?" This wasn't meant in the cosmic sense; it was about why we eight were there in this seminar. And the answer is... because Public Law 103 requires the VEC to "identify individuals who are most likely to benefit from additional job search assistance" and then tell us about reemployment services and job search skills. We lucky eight were selected because of factors like our industry, occupation, length of time in last job, education, and the current unemployment rate. And, they said, aside from the two military retirees who were transitioning to civilian employment, we are all "dislocated workers." That category includes (this is straight from the PowerPoint presentation) "Laid off. Terminated. Self-employed, but out of work. Displaced homemaker."

So the next time someone asks you why you left your last position, tell them you were dislocated. The VEC said so.