They started during the dot-com crash of 1999 and they're cropping up again all over the country.
From Boston and New York to Chicago and San Francisco, jobless hoards are drowning their sorrows with a cocktail and mingling at Pink Slip Parties.
Now the phenomenon is about to hit Connecticut. FairfieldCountyJobs.com is sponsoring the region's first ever Pink Slip Party at the Black Bear Saloon in South Norwalk on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Tickets are $9.
So what is a Pink Slip Party?
WordSpy.com labels it as "a party where each attendee is a person who has recently lost their job, particularly because of a failed or downsized company."
There are quite a few of those here in Connecticut. We've posted job losses on a map.
PinkSlipParty.com supplies a more positive definition: a gathering that brings "together hundreds of professional workers and their supporters with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the future." All with the lure of booze and food.
Local
That's sort of where this party is heading. The Fairfield County event is part cocktail party, part job fair. Career counselors will be there to, well counsel you on your career path. It promises to have hundreds of job seekers and more than a dozen employers.
Oh, and the drinks are discounted.
Pink slip parties come in many varieties. There are even pink slip parties devoted solely to Wall Street. At a recent networking party at a bar in midtown Manhattan, so many people turned up that some had to wait in line to get in.
If it's true that misery loves company, then these get-togethers might turn into pity parties.
So, remember to go light on the sauce and wear your resume on your sleeve.
If you want to go, hurry. The event is limited to the first 250 people who sign up. You can register online.
