3 lessons from losing my job

Back in 2008, I lost my job. I had to lay-off my entire team. It was just as the global financial crisis was starting to loom in Australia. I had been working in a start-up for 2 years and it was an exciting time. I fitted out our office, hired my team and we had a successful couple of years...until we didn’t. Our company collapsed. We were reading about our fate in the news. I remember the day I watched the same office furniture I had chosen a couple of years earlier being wheeled out and having an overwhelming sense of sadness and failure. That experience in 2008 and what came after, taught me a lot and I wanted to share 3 learnings which have proved helpful perspectives for me. 

Anyone can lead when the plan is working. The best lead when the plan falls apart.

When I reflect on having to lay-off my team, I wonder how I could have led through it differently and better managed myself. I wasn’t equipped then to lead in a truly compassionate and transparent way. I wasn’t always visible enough or connected to truly understand what my team were thinking and experiencing to effectively over communicate...but wow, has that experience helped to shape the leader I am today. 

When I hire managers onto my team or leaders into a company, I look for someone with experience “building” and “sunsetting” - that could be a product, team, project or company. Having experience managing through an entire lifecycle is crucial and when I seek out a few bright spots in an otherwise deeply confronting time, I focus on the muscles we are all building, perhaps unconsciously, to adapt and lean into our businesses and relationships in totally new ways. 

A career pivot can be positive.

Being made redundant set my career on a different path and with hindsight, I know this was the right path… but believe me, it didn’t feel like that at the time. While I was unemployed, there were long days where I felt lost, bored and scared. To escape, I read the entire Twilight series and watched a lot of Gossip Girl! Then got my act together.

I leveraged my connections picking up the phone and emailing (I didn’t have a LinkedIn profile yet). I researched which industries were still growing and therefore likely to be hiring, by reading the business section of the newspaper.

I was fortunate to start a new role after a couple of months, but it wasn’t the role I originally applied for. I didn’t get that job, but by speaking to enough people in the interview process, I had other ideas on how I could leverage my skills to help and they saw potential.

Accepting the job in my head was “taking a step back”, but ultimately I was grateful to be working. As the global financial crisis eventually hit with full force, we went through hiring and salary freezes and I saw others now lose their jobs. I decided to become a ‘utility player’ getting involved in projects that were growing the business or adding value. I developed new skill sets and the experience working in a very different company environment has proved invaluable.

With enough time everything will look different. 

There were days where I felt like I was treading water. I kept comparing myself to where I thought I should be and when you are measuring success in short increments, you often come up short! I had aspirations of living and working overseas and those went on hold for years, but they eventually did happen and to countries that I never dreamed possible. My career has had ups and downs and there will be more to come. When I have been knocked down, it has eventually led to something that was better for me and accelerated both personal and professional growth. 

This global pandemic is unprecedented and will continue to bring us new levels of challenge. If you are reading this having recently experienced a lay-off, here is a free LinkedIn Learning Path designed to help you build a job search strategy. If you are worried about what the future holds, I hope by sharing this part of my story it gives some solace that there are good things to come on the other side. We're #InThisTogether.