Maribel Ruiz lost her job this month. But as an executive assistant at Lehman Brothers -- the now-bankrupt brokerage firm that today is largely owned by Barclay's -- Ruiz says she saw the writing on the wall long ago.
She saw others being laid off around December last year. For months afterward, Ruiz, 42, was exhausted with worry and uncertainty.
"I remember feeling like a sitting duck," she said. "Everyday you came in, your adrenaline flowing. 'Is this the day? Are we going to find out [if] they're going to keep us or not?'"
When she recently learned that she would lose her job, the news actually came as relief. "You can't take the next step until you know what was going on," she said.
Despite her agonizing experience, however, Ruiz said she doesn't harbor any resentment against the financial industry.
"I really get turned off by people that are complaining about the financial industry that were in the financial industry," she said. "If you were in the financial industry for 10 or 20 years or whatever, that's how you were paying your bills and that's how you were paying for your home. It's bad-mouthing the same industry that took care of you."
These days, Ruiz isn't sure what industry will bring her her next job. In the past, she had found work through employment agencies. When she tried the agencies this time, however, they weren't helpful, and Ruiz thinks she knows why.
"Companies are using the cheapest way possible to save money. They're not going to pay headhunters. It's cheaper for them not to," she said.
Instead, Ruiz is relying on online job sites and personal and professional contacts. When friends, family and colleagues heard she might get laid off, she said, they reached out to her with offers to help. Ruiz hasn't been shy about taking them up on their kindness, asking them to pass her resume on to prospective employers.
Ruiz, who is attending college part-time to earn a bachelor's degree, said she's being careful in her search. She wants to find a job that offers more challenges than her last position, one, she says, that makes sense for her career.
"I just think about the future," she said. "I'm thinking five to 10 years down the line. If I start thinking for now, I'm going to do something desperate."
But Ruiz also knows that she can't search forever. She hopes to have a new job by December. Otherwise, if she can't make ends meet, she might have to give up her apartment and move in with family. She worries how such a move would affect her 12-year-old daughter.
"I'm most concerned with giving her a consistent life," she said. "I don't want to uproot her."
Ruiz says her daughter helps keep her grounded. While she's unemployed, she relishes the time they have to spend together.
"I'm having my perfect mom moments," she said. "I wake her up, I do her hair, I make her pancakes. ... I'm definitely enjoying that."
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
Quotes delayed 15 minutes for NASDAQ. 20 minutes for NYSE and AMEX. Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Terms & Conditions.
Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions
