Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

Burt Gitlin on Calling on Community

Burt Gitlin, 58
North Bergen, N.J.

Burt Gitlin Image by Karen Loew

Job: Actively looking

Previously: CEO of Bond Bedding, a small custom mattress and box spring company

Gitlin was CEO of Bond Bedding in Hudson County from 1999 to 2012, when it closed due to the economic downturn. Since then, he has volunteered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy while looking for a full-time job. He also uses the career resources available through the Connect to Care program.

Desired position: “I want to work in an organization that can best utilize my vast sales and management skills. I am optimistic that one day during an interview the chemistry is going to be right and the light will go on for both me and my prospective employer.”

On volunteering: “It took a few months to wrap up the business. Then a family friend’s rental unit was affected by Hurricane Sandy. Four feet of water. They got contractors and asked me to act as an expediter and liaison. It’s walking a fine line — you’re a messenger and a doer. This volunteering work has made me realize the skills that I have. And these skills have been sharpened: making everybody feel they’re part of a positive solution.”

Financial effects: “I’ve saved some money, so that’s helped. I’m expecting a significant uptick in the economy. I’m guarded but optimistic.”

On the upside: “You have a lot of time to do a lot of work on yourself. You can truly expand your vistas — and that will help you network, too. I traveled to Washington and went to the National Art Gallery. Or you can stay in the city and go to the Met. You can obtain free computer training through the library.”

On the downside: “Unemployment can be isolating. Having structured work and structured leisure time can help minimize your demons.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.