Two weeks ago, I walked in to my office at 7 a.m. ready to head to my desk and set up for the day. This time, however, I was intercepted by a higher-up.
"Hey, can I see you in my office real quick?" He sounded a little bummed out.
I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. This particular coworker rarely had me in to his office. We sat down and he got right to it. He said that he personally enjoyed my working there, but that my performance in the position was just not up to management's expectations. Then he said that they had to let me go. He continued with some corporate platitudes but I kind of just tuned those out as I mentally processed what had just happened.
There were no previous warnings about my performance. Just this. As much as I would've liked to air my frustrations, I just smiled, shook his hand, and said I was grateful for the opportunity to work there. (That really is the truth; I was and am grateful for the opportunity, and harbor no resentment toward my former employer.) He handed me some documents and showed me out. I felt deflated, frustrated, relieved, among other things. As I walked to the elevator, all I could think about was that this situation feels very familiar. Of course it did. I was laid off from another corporate gig last December. I even received a similar type of parting speech too.
At least I lasted a couple of months longer here, I thought half-sarcastically. This was the second postgrad job I had been let go from since graduating from college only a year and a half ago. Embarrassing, I know. What the hell did I do wrong, I thought. I worked hard, listened carefully, contributed ideas, and got along with the staff.
I started to beat myself up a bit. You're 24. You know a dozen people your age with a steady, decent-paying job right now, I thought. This is a setback in the path to becoming more independent and successful. Then I caught myself and turned that thought around in to something more constructive and positive. I'm only 24. I've still got a long way to go. This is just a little setback and, hey, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. Getting shitcanned can really suck, but if this is the worst thing that's happening to me right now, then I'm doing alright in the grand scheme of things.
Moreover, The Wall Street Journal recently published an article detailing how potential employers are becoming more open to hiring candidates with career breaks and less-traditional career paths due to a tight labor market and shift in corporate culture. It also discusses the benefits and increasing value of constructively using the time between jobs by building useful skills, taking classes, pursuing passion projects, taking part-time or alternative jobs, volunteering and much more. After a career break, the article urges those who return to work to do so with an up-to-date understanding of the industry and a relevant skillset.
The truth was, getting laid off from this job was for the best. I just wasn't cut out for it, nor was I cut out for the company. This was the same case with the previous job. In both cases, my schooling was in something almost completely different and, although my bosses somewhat trained me, they wanted results very quickly with little-to-no margin for error. Much of what I was doing, I had experience with, whether it was from a previous job or from college courses. Unfortunately, there was also a decent portion of concepts and tasks in those jobs with which I had virtually no experience. Their expectations in these areas were very high. If you combine all that with the fact that I was always the lowest ranking person in the office, it's not as surprising that I eventually got let go.
My parents were supportive and helpful when I got home later that morning and told them about what had happened. I'm very fortunate to have family and friends who are all incredibly supportive, helpful and encouraging.
Well, what now, I briefly thought. I realized it was still only 9 a.m. and smiled. I still have the whole day ahead of me with nothing planned and nobody to report to. No urgent projects to work on. I almost forgot what this is like.
I decided to go on a long run. There were only a few seconds at the beginning where I ruminated about losing my job before I just let go. I proceeded to run for 8.6 miles, breathing in the morning air and taking in the sights around me. I probably needed to blow off some steam, but it was also nice to be able to just forget about the shitty events that occurred earlier that morning and instead focus on the ocean view as I ran next to Pacific Coast Highway.
When I awoke the following morning and checked the time on my phone, it read 7:30 a.m. I smiled. At my old job, I'd already be getting in to the office at this time. No more 6 a.m. wakeup time, I thought. This is nice. I also noticed an absence in the slight anxiety that used to appear more often than not during my workweek. Maybe getting let go from there wasn't so bad after all.
Getting a postgrad gig can be challenging and, in an economy with near-record low unemployment rates, it's easy to feel even more dejected if you're between jobs or have not yet landed your first postgrad gig. Nevertheless, it's important to keep looking. It's easy to settle for any company that'll take you, even if the position they're offering you is completely outside of your area of expertise. Maybe it's an industry you don't want to work in or the company work culture isn't good. In any case, maintain at least some loose parameters when applying to and/or accepting a job offer. I personally made the mistake of casting a super wide net and accepted offers that came to me early on, without taking some time to think about them. I was a little over-eager. That being said, it's great to be diverse in what job you're looking for, as long as it's within the general realm of your ability and something you're somewhat interested in doing. There are some more factors to consider but, for the sake of this article, those are a few keep in mind.
Now, I'm fine-tuning my search and have at least some postgrad experience. I'm also getting to break out the business cards, reach out to my network, and switch the ol' LinkedIn job interest setting to 'open.' While I'm starting my job search back up, I'm also picking back up on some things I didn't use to have much time for. I'm even starting new projects, projects like this site.
I'm eager to keep moving forward and not become complacent. Here's to changes, new beginnings, new projects and much more.