I was told on my first day in my first journalism class in college, if you want to make money and be successful, journalism isn’t for you. I thought sure, I won’t be a millionaire but surely I will be able to make a good living, save a little bit, travel and you know own a second home at the beach. I will be the the successful journalist who does make money. Oh naiveté, you truly are hilarious.
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Looking out onto the St. Maarten beautiful blues.
I graduated college and immediately struggled to find a job in my field. It took nearly a year but I finally landed at a newspaper and was incredibly excited….until I received my first paycheck. Sooo, they weren’t kidding about not making money in journalism. I stuck around the newspaper newsroom making pennies for a couple years and got to cover some pretty great stories. While I wasn’t making millions (barely dollars really), I was learning how to be a reporter. I covered a murder trial, a defamation of character trial with deep political infighting, hundreds of school board and township council meetings and got to meet some interesting people with interesting lives and careers. The highlight of my time at the newspapers may have been when I wrote an article from a personal point of view when I entered the county fair’s frying pan toss contest! I did not win but I tossed my iron skillet with skill and determination and it was a hilarious experience.
After more than two years in newspapers it was time to switch to digital. I was tired of getting ink on my fingers and it was clear so was the rest of the world. So I traded in my printing press newsroom for a television newsroom where I worked on the digital side of things. I took what was said on television and created the web version for the TV news website. It was a cool gig. I learned an incredible amount of information and thought well here we go, THIS is where journalism is going. I’ve made the leap to digital and all will be right in my career. Until…
Layoff #1
I knew it was coming but it was still tough. Being laid off from a job you enjoy, hits you more emotionally than anything else. It was a struggle to find a job and even more of struggle to lead a “normal” life. I defined myself by my career. It’s the first question people ask when they meet you. What do you do? I sit in my pajamas all day and scour the internet for job postings and stare at my resume all day. Nice to meet you.
It took nearly a year, but I found something. Keyword here was “something.” The job I found did not require much skill but it was a paycheck and allowed me to fill a gap in my resume while I continued to scour the internet for something better.
Queue…something better.
Finally, I got a job that I truly loved and the pay was legit. I could FINALLY move out of my parents house. I refused to be 30 and still be living in my childhood bedroom. Goal achieved! I worked remotely for a startup but I felt like an entrepreneur. While I had many heads above me, at the core of it, I was my own boss. I found the news and stories for my own website. I wrote and created something new each day. I grew an audience and that audience really liked my product. That audience associated my face with my product. The accolades from the public were great (most of the time) but my stress level was always insanely high because I did it all. I wore hundreds of hats in a day. I was writer, photographer, videographer, social media manager, email marketing manager, website manager, analytics analyst, freelancer manager and overall editor in chief or Jill of All Trades for a local news website 24/7. You all know the news doesn’t stop, ever, right? Oh you’re out to dinner, sorry there’s a house fire happening. I’ll take that to go please. It’s snowing and you think you’re going to stay in your pajamas all day with a warm cup of coffee? HA! Get your boots and gloves on and go find a car sliding on the street for a video and then a pretty snowy branch for a photo, after you’ve woken up at 5am to announce school is closed. You’ve worked all day and now want to relax and watch TV tonight. Wrong! You must attend your millionth township council meeting and listen to angry neighbors complain about the same thing over and over and over and over again. #NotInMyBackyard
So needless to say, while I loved my job. I was slowly growing to hate my job. Plus, I realized working for a startup is an incredibly unstable job environment. Just when I would have things figured out, BAM, changes. Sometimes monthly or even weekly, major changes in how I had to do my job or who my higher up managers were. I loved MY website and MY audience but the corporation was crumbling and taking us all down with it. Ultimately, the startup world is magical but unsteady and sadly mine did not succeed.
Layoff #2
Having been through this before, I knew what to expect this time and refused to gain another 30 pounds and live in my pajamas (at least not EVERY day). I had gained so many new skills in my prior position that I thought getting my next role would be simple. Did you SEE my resume?! I literally can do it all. I’ll be hired in days.
Well, turns out my resume is awesome and I had interview after interview with potential employers. But it also turns out that my interviewing skills are a giant fail apparently. In the first few months of my second layoff I had nearly one interview every week, sometimes two or even three. I even scored some second interviews. But I always ended up being second best. I was the best at being the runner up. We love you, but…
This layoff was much longer. I had reached out to every possible connection and always went the extra mile in trying to get hired. But I was fast approaching two years and beginning to panic. I quickly learned how to hustle. I had lots of jobs that each paid a little bit of money and by piecing them all together I was able to pay the rent. My goal was to not lose my apartment and have to move back in with my parents. (Spoiler Alert: I accomplished my goal.)
I had about eight jobs at my peak, all at the same time. The daily roles I performed at my last job I was now doing in separate, individual gigs. I was a freelance writer for several different publications. I was a social media/PR consultant for a bed and breakfast. I was a dog walker and pet sitter (probably my favorite job of all time!) I handed out frisbees as a marketing promotions person (it paid well). I was still a Jill of All Trades if Jill had to fetch a hundred different types of pails of water while climbing one giant hill.
Every time I thought I wasn’t going to make the rent, a new gig would fall in my lap. As my savings slowly disappeared, I would pick up a new dog client or a new writing or social media opportunity. My email was my best friend and enemy. It brought me continued bad news of “sorry, we’re going in another direction but we will keep your resume on file” and good news of “hey you want to make a couple bucks?” I truly believe you are only given as much hardship as you can handle at one time. It may be bad, but you’re handling it. You’re getting by and when you think you can’t get by any longer, something will come along. Something always comes along. It may not be exactly what you want, but it’s usually what you need at the time.
Roo the Pomchi was an excellent dog walking client.
After two layoffs I knew I wanted to be out of the instability of the news world. I love to travel and being a travel writer or working in some way in the travel industry became my goal. I stalked job boards of companies I liked and were not far from where I lived. Despite all my gigs, I still had some flexibility for going on interviews and never gave up on finding my next career move.
Finally, an opening appeared for a company that I had been stalking for a good year. I applied and soon had an interview. I had to nail this! THIS was my chance! I was prepared. I said a prayer. I did the superman pose. I told myself how awesome I am and how I can do anything. I had questions prepared. I had a new outfit. I was ready! I wanted this job! I NEEDED this job!
Mind you, I had done all of those things prior to every other interview I had been on. So when I left that interview feeling the same way I had felt after nearly every other interview, I didn’t know what to think. It went well. I think they liked me. I answered their questions well. I think I sold myself. And you wait.
You’ve Got Mail…..scored a second interview!
Ok, now THIS, this was really it. This was THE interview. I had to nail it. Repeat routine. And Go.
I left that second interview again thinking ok that went well. No clue if I actually nailed it and I will actually get the job, but again, I think I sold myself? Did I sell myself?
After one year and nine months of unemployment, countless tears, days of picking up dog poop, hours of writing freelance, months of worrying about bills and wondering every minute what my future held, I got the email I had been waiting so long to read. YOU GOT THE JOB.
I sobbed. Straight up broke down and sobbed tears of joy. I jumped up and down, flailed my arms like a panicked child as tears streamed down my cheeks and I shouted to my empty apartment, “I got the job! I got the job! I got a job!” I called my family and friends and sobbed even more when I was able to speak my new favorite sentence, “I got the job.”
First day of work at my new job.
My career story to date has been long, difficult and dramatic and I don’t think there is ever an actual end to it. But as long as I’m learning something along the way. I think it will always be OK. In every job, gig, layoff or career I’ve had, more often than not I learn something. It may be a new career skill or it may be a life skill but as long as I’m learning from my own story, I know I’m successful.
Related: Go Live Your Story Outside Your Comfort Zone
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