Up In The Air

Everyone enjoys a good movie starring great actors.  So it was that I went to Up In The Air wanting to be entertained.  But I also had a special motive. As an outplacement/career transition professional, I was eager to see how the layoff and career transition process would be portrayed.  The main character, played by George Clooney, travels the country firing employees of companies who are downsizing. “We are not swans. We’re sharks” he says.  He lives out of a suitcase, savors collecting frequent flyer miles, rental car and hotel upgrades while plying his trade.

The nature of his work, travel schedule and barren personal life give new meaning to the term road warrior.  Clooney’s representation of this work is extravagantly exaggerated and inaccurate. With reality in suspension, you might say it’s “up in the air”.  Wilder still is a scheme by Cooney’s own employer to fire by remote, using web conferencing to streamline and save money on layoff notifications.

Reality doesn’t intrude on this film: 

• Reality#1:  Outplacement/career transition professionals don’t fire people, rather they meet with those laid off after notification.  The goal is to to provide support, help them cope with a major career event and move on to the next chapter in their lives.
• Reality #2:  The initial meeting with the client, though very important, is only a small part of the story.  Even more significant is working with those temporarily displaced to develop and implement effective job search campaigns and go forward to new jobs or careers.

These are absent from the movie.  In fairness, Up In The Air doesn’t claim to be a documentary.  In fact, it’s called a comedy. As long as its grim humor, gross inaccuracies and ironic dialog are kept in perspective, it succeeds as entertainment.