Cleaning Man Wanted for Dirtiest Job in the World

I’ve never had to leave a job that I didn’t want to leave, so I’m not sure if I’d do things any differently. But, whenever I left a job, I always made sure that my desk was neat, that the projects I was working on were up to date, that emergencies were handled and put to bed. I would leave sticky notes galore, so that the poor person coming in after me would have a fighting chance of getting through the first week relatively unscathed (or at least without needing therapy). Perhaps it’s because I’m the classic overachiever and over-doer, but I’ve a feeling that it’s generally not easy to fill my (big -- size 11) shoes. Above all things, my goal when I leave a job is to leave a good legacy. Not a mess.

It’s too bad that not everyone is like me. I’ll give you an example. There’s this one guy, let’s call him “W” for simplicity , who’s got this really cushy job – it doesn’t pay great, but the perks and prestige are to die for – but he’s got to leave. Oh, W’s still got a couple of months before he gets the boot; until January 20th 2009, to be exact. But what he is leaving for the poor sucker who gets hired (and believe it or not, there are these two guys who are both desperately fighting for this position) is nothing short of a mess.

Now, I’m not sure why these guys want the job, because it’s a seriously dirty job. It calls for a person rolling up his sleeves and cleaning up all of the mess left behind. And it’s a bit more than just a disorganized desk and missing files. Unfortunately, “W” never bothered to clean up after himself from earlier emergencies… there are still debris left behind from 9/11, the war in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina. And over the last couple of months, he really piled on the crap from the Wall Street disaster that he created. For appearances sake, W and his “expert” cleaning crew tried to clean Wall Street, but they only cared about their little block. For the rest of us, who lived elsewhere, the message was clear: “Tough – here’s a shovel.”

Unfortunately, it’s not only that poor sucker who gets the job who has to deal with the mess, because the mess has spread far and wide… you know how garbage dumps have a way of growing if you don’t contain it. You and I are also affected; some of us more than others. Consider the poor homeowner who has lost or is in the process of losing their home or having their credit limit reduced just because of the mess that W made on Wall Street.

I’ve got to be honest, I’m not sure why W got the job in the first place (and his contract was even renewed, at one point!). W definitely was not qualified for this particular job. Now, a used car salesman, that’s probably a better fit for his unique qualifications (fake good ol’ boy accent, funny clothes, forked tongue).

I don’t know who is ultimately going to get his job (though, I put in a good word for one of them already), but the person who is going to take over will have to be pretty good at sorting through the garbage, understanding that he’s got to throw out all that’s bad (which is pretty much, all of it) and keep what is good (not too much, unfortunately). He should be young and tenacious and smart. And he should have a seriously strong backbone, because whatever he will have to do to clean up this mess is not going to go over well with some people. They might not like his methods, and they may not agree with his ways. And irrespective of the fact that he didn’t make this mess, he is going to be the one who bears the blame, if he can’t clean it up.

One thing is clear: We can’t continue to live like this. If you agree, that it’s time for a change, then, please, do something about it. Tomorrow. You’ll feel better once you did.

And while you’re at it, consider cleaning up of another kind – cleaning up your own financial house. Regardless of where you live, if your debt mess is more than you can clean up by yourself then consider calling in DebtStoppers. Our “professional cleaning crew” aka attorneys, can help you get your financial house looking the way that it used to. Another change you can believe in.