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American Morning

Real People, Their Money: Interview With Joe Bergmann

Aired December 12, 2002 - 07:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning in our weekly series, "Real People and Their Money," rising unemployment is choking white- collar workers. Recent figures indicate that the number of unemployed professionals has more than doubled in the past year.
Joe Bergmann knows that feeling only too well. He's been out of work for 15 months since losing his job as the creative director for an Internet company. He is joining us from here in New York to tell us how he's coping and perhaps give some advice to other folks out there.

Joe, good morning -- thanks for joining us.

JOE BERGMANN, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's make it clear. You haven't exactly been sitting on your couch the last year-and-a-half. You have really been making a big effort to get out there and try to find a new job.

BERGMANN: Yes, I've sent out about 2,000 resumes, but I've only gotten 10 responses, and three of those responses actually led to interviews. In some cases, it was like five interviews. And we were talking money, and all of a sudden the jobs evaporated. It wasn't like somebody else got the job. It was just they had a bad quarter, and that was it, and there was a job moratorium.

KAGAN: Just so frustrating to get that close...

BERGMANN: Yes, yes.

KAGAN: ... like you could taste it.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: What kind of emotional toll is this taking on you and your family?

BERGMANN: Well, you know, the hard part is that after a while, you send out that many resumes and you call people and you're constantly searching and trying to find new ways of looking for work, you start to feel invisible.

KAGAN: Yes.

BERGMANN: And that's a hardship. What I found is the toll on my family, I had to make sure that it wasn't a toll on my family, that they were understanding that I was -- if I was upset or I was angry, it wasn't at them. It was at the situation.

I'm very fortunate. I have a very loving family. They understand. Actually, my wife is kind of going through the same thing herself.

KAGAN: Really? She's also looking for work.

BERGMANN: Well, she got a job about a month ago, but now, the company just announced that they may go out of business at the end of the month.

KAGAN: When it rains, it pours.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: What about financially, how are you pulling the family through this, Joe?

BERGMANN: Well, I had some savings. I had unemployment, which I would hope they would extend. What I have done is -- people told me I was doing the wrong thing by having more taxes taken out of my income than I should have, but that very big tax refund helped me survive also.

And what I've done is I'm working with a woman who does pharmaceutical marketing and advertising. And what I do is I take my Web experience, which I have like 15 years of that, and I've helped her with her company basically almost for free. She'll pay me for like hourly work. And what I'll do is I'll go in and pitch business with her. Well, you know, luckily this week, we have -- out of three pitches, we have two that we've signed, and then another one that's going to sign.

KAGAN: That's great. It looks like there might be a tiny light at the end of the tunnel then.

BERGMANN: Right, right.

KAGAN: Just in the couple of minutes of talking to you, I can tell you're a good guy. You're a creative guy.

BERGMANN: Thanks.

KAGAN: There are some people out there probably thinking the same. Make your pitch. It's your chance.

BERGMANN: OK. I've got 15 years in interactive marketing. I was one of the first people to do this. I have years of advertising experience. I have just -- to tell you the truth, I've been a television reporter. I've been an actor, a writer, a playwright. I've been a tennis pro. I've done a lot of different -- I've had a lot of different jobs.

KAGAN: Sounds like if it needs some creativity, you can do the job.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: And America, Joe is your man.

BERGMANN: OK, thank you.

KAGAN: Give him a call. Hire Joe Bergmann. And, Joe, I just have to tell you on a personal note, I feel your pain. I was out of work for a year and one day once.

BERGMANN: Wow!

KAGAN: I said if it hits a year, I'm going to hate that, and I went one more day.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: So, you never know.

BERGMANN: What did you do?

KAGAN: I got laid off, as I say, from my television job.

BERGMANN: Really?

KAGAN: And it was a year-and-a-day before I got my next job in Phoenix, so I'll tell you, there is a light. There is a light, so hang in there.

BERGMANN: OK. Thank you.

KAGAN: Joe Bergmann, thanks for joining us.

BERGMANN: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: We really appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 12, 2002 - 07:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning in our weekly series, "Real People and Their Money," rising unemployment is choking white- collar workers. Recent figures indicate that the number of unemployed professionals has more than doubled in the past year.
Joe Bergmann knows that feeling only too well. He's been out of work for 15 months since losing his job as the creative director for an Internet company. He is joining us from here in New York to tell us how he's coping and perhaps give some advice to other folks out there.

Joe, good morning -- thanks for joining us.

JOE BERGMANN, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's make it clear. You haven't exactly been sitting on your couch the last year-and-a-half. You have really been making a big effort to get out there and try to find a new job.

BERGMANN: Yes, I've sent out about 2,000 resumes, but I've only gotten 10 responses, and three of those responses actually led to interviews. In some cases, it was like five interviews. And we were talking money, and all of a sudden the jobs evaporated. It wasn't like somebody else got the job. It was just they had a bad quarter, and that was it, and there was a job moratorium.

KAGAN: Just so frustrating to get that close...

BERGMANN: Yes, yes.

KAGAN: ... like you could taste it.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: What kind of emotional toll is this taking on you and your family?

BERGMANN: Well, you know, the hard part is that after a while, you send out that many resumes and you call people and you're constantly searching and trying to find new ways of looking for work, you start to feel invisible.

KAGAN: Yes.

BERGMANN: And that's a hardship. What I found is the toll on my family, I had to make sure that it wasn't a toll on my family, that they were understanding that I was -- if I was upset or I was angry, it wasn't at them. It was at the situation.

I'm very fortunate. I have a very loving family. They understand. Actually, my wife is kind of going through the same thing herself.

KAGAN: Really? She's also looking for work.

BERGMANN: Well, she got a job about a month ago, but now, the company just announced that they may go out of business at the end of the month.

KAGAN: When it rains, it pours.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: What about financially, how are you pulling the family through this, Joe?

BERGMANN: Well, I had some savings. I had unemployment, which I would hope they would extend. What I have done is -- people told me I was doing the wrong thing by having more taxes taken out of my income than I should have, but that very big tax refund helped me survive also.

And what I've done is I'm working with a woman who does pharmaceutical marketing and advertising. And what I do is I take my Web experience, which I have like 15 years of that, and I've helped her with her company basically almost for free. She'll pay me for like hourly work. And what I'll do is I'll go in and pitch business with her. Well, you know, luckily this week, we have -- out of three pitches, we have two that we've signed, and then another one that's going to sign.

KAGAN: That's great. It looks like there might be a tiny light at the end of the tunnel then.

BERGMANN: Right, right.

KAGAN: Just in the couple of minutes of talking to you, I can tell you're a good guy. You're a creative guy.

BERGMANN: Thanks.

KAGAN: There are some people out there probably thinking the same. Make your pitch. It's your chance.

BERGMANN: OK. I've got 15 years in interactive marketing. I was one of the first people to do this. I have years of advertising experience. I have just -- to tell you the truth, I've been a television reporter. I've been an actor, a writer, a playwright. I've been a tennis pro. I've done a lot of different -- I've had a lot of different jobs.

KAGAN: Sounds like if it needs some creativity, you can do the job.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: And America, Joe is your man.

BERGMANN: OK, thank you.

KAGAN: Give him a call. Hire Joe Bergmann. And, Joe, I just have to tell you on a personal note, I feel your pain. I was out of work for a year and one day once.

BERGMANN: Wow!

KAGAN: I said if it hits a year, I'm going to hate that, and I went one more day.

BERGMANN: Yes.

KAGAN: So, you never know.

BERGMANN: What did you do?

KAGAN: I got laid off, as I say, from my television job.

BERGMANN: Really?

KAGAN: And it was a year-and-a-day before I got my next job in Phoenix, so I'll tell you, there is a light. There is a light, so hang in there.

BERGMANN: OK. Thank you.

KAGAN: Joe Bergmann, thanks for joining us.

BERGMANN: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: We really appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.