A 50-year-old communicator I know has been out of work for more than a year.

This is a high-profile guy who directed internal communication at a number of Fortune 100 companies and also worked at a big-name consultancy. He spoke at industry conferences and wrote articles and even a book for communication trade publishers.

After dozens of fruitless interviews, he's tired of hearing the mantra: "You're just not the right fit for the team." (He's never sure what it means, though he's had plenty of time to develop some theories.)

So he and his wife bought a bar and grill in a local strip mall, and they take it over this week.

He's not the only blue chip employee communication pro I know who's under- or unemployed despite a solid resume and a 150-plus LinkedIn connections.

He's sorry to be throwing away more than two decades of communication experience.

"But I'm too old to sit around," he says.

And, much too young.

Cheers, mate. May your customers treat you better than the communication business and the economy have.