Five things I Learned from Losing my Job.

CAVEAT: I wrote this piece in 2019, when the truth of Covid-19 was way in the future.  I accept that the current situation is abnormal and that many are losing their jobs, under unnatural circumstances. If this can help one person out there, I’d be content.  This was my reality, and writing it was part of my catharsis. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What started off as a normal day, two months into a new project (so I probably had work for another 3 years, I hoped) turned slightly gloomy when a rumour started that the Client had requested a meeting with “Top Management.”  That could only mean one of two things, GOOD or BAD news.  As we had been eagerly awaiting the Final Investment Decision for the project, which was due any day (according to all sources) we naturally assumed it was the Green Light we were all waiting for, but an hour later the same “Top Management” delivered the message that the client had decided to suspend the project, stating geopolitical reasons, and just like that I was one month’s notice away from being unemployed, and the day had turned to the darkest of my career.  So was the lady who had just given three months’ notice at her previous company to join us…yesterday.  Having worked for the company for 10 years, I naturally assumed that they would “Make a plan” and “Look after me.”  I had, after all, left my previous company after being head hunted, and served them well on projects where others had succumbed or feared to tread.  Fast forward to the end of my notice period, suitcase in hand, on my way home.  30 Days’ Notice -  Done.  In hindsight, this was one of the best things that could have happened to me.  Make no mistake, I don’t wish unemployment on anybody, and this is just my experience, but looking back now, I think that some valuable lessons were learned, which I never would have gained had I carried on undisturbed, and which could have cost me dearly later on in life. So, here are my lessons learned:  

Lesson #1 - The Company is not your Mother

Let’s face it, on any sunny day you’re only 30 days’ notice away from being unemployed, whether you’re a contractor or permanent employee.  The only difference is the legal and financial implications distinguished by your contract. If however, the Company experiences an unnatural influence, or determines an operational requirement to downsize, your exit is one aspect of balancing the scales.  Though most companies do try and minimize these fluctuation in order to retain their critical skills, there is no guarantee and the company has no legal or moral obligation to look after you, like your mother would (I think the legal obligation expires after a few years with mothers).  Business principles, driven by investor finances necessitate boards to “cut their losses” in bad times and “drive their stakes” in good.  No hard feelings.  

On the opposite side of the scale is the individual, into whom loyalty has been driven in by the likes of intoxicated team buildings, monogrammed stationary and the odd bonus from time to time (Or the soccer match against the rival company team).  I myself have at times worked at crazy hours (both long and on the other side of a normal shift) because MY company asked me to, and had held the false teeth of a Client while he sprayed the remains of a “good evening” he had with one of his suppliers onto the pavement, because my boss told me to look after him, and I promised.  The things we do for our companies…but I digress. So my point is, have a balanced outlook on your relationship with your employer, and understand that this is business.  You do your work, you get paid.  You do it well….and you may get a bonus and monogrammed stationary, but nobody from the company is bringing you breakfast in bed (thanks mom).

Truth:  Change Happens, enjoy the ride. 

Lesson #2 - Believe in Something

I have to admit, the walk home the afternoon of “The News” was horrible.  I lost 50 years of my life in a second, or so it felt.  I saw in my mind the bank repossessing my house and my car. I experienced flashes of living on the street and my relationships breaking apart.  Staring at a wall or a corner was the only action I could muster.  The crushing of a ten ton cement block on my chest made me gasp for air, and sleep was something I remembered from a week ago, when I was still planning my next island holiday.  Now, even death seemed like a good holiday.

 My Christian friends told me that God knows my pain and will look after me.  My Muslim friends told me that I’m a good person and Allah will not forsake me.  The Pagans told me the Universe has a way of rewarding those that do good and therefore, it’s only a matter of time until all this will be history, and the Hindu’s and Buddhists agreed. So, everybody believed I will be OK, except me.  You see, my relationship status with my chosen deity was “Complicated.”  Having grown up in a strong religious environment, I had gone full circle after school of “not having to go to Church anymore…..yipeeeeeeeeeee” to the current state of “Available for spiritual awareness”.  I was at an impasse, and having nothing to lose, I started praying for a miracle.  I prayed for the job to be re-instated, a new job, ANY other job, but no miracle came.  Instead, the cement block was removed, my breathing returned to normal, and I was able to sleep again.  The fact that I knew I was not alone in this, and that a power stronger than myself was going to carry me through this time brought lightness to my being.  Suddenly it was not my problem anymore.  I started to get perspective and make plans again.  I started to live again. I started to communicate and sell myself again.  I started to believe again, especially in myself.

Truth:  If you believe in something, someone will believe in you.

Lesson #3 - The Power of LinkedIn

Aaaaaaaah LinkedIn, the Utopia of business connections or Scammers Paradise.  Initially, I trolled through LinkedIn feverishly looking for a job, any job.  I believed that my next assignment was just a click away.  That is what LinkedIn was there for right?  Not quite.  Oh, I’m sure there are a lot of people getting lucky on LinkedIn, but what I found was certainly not a magic portal.  In fact, the more I scrolled, the more I realized that the current playing field is one of misguide, mistrust, misogyny and a lot of disillusioned and desperate people. Interviews for the sake of making up figures even though the position has already been promised to a candidate.  CV hunting Database whores and the odd Fake Recruitment company that can help you find a job, at a very minimal upfront fee (are there still people falling for that?)  Not to mention the “so-called” HR managers from large reputable Oil and Gas Companies with  @gmail accounts.  Sigh! May you rot in hell for taking advantage of the desperate and the needy. Oh, and while we’re on the subject @LinkedIn, although I set up my alerts for positions in Africa and the Middle East, I kept getting Job Notifications for positons in North America and Britain, where the Green Mamba is not welcome (South African Passport – based on the face Immigration officers make when they see one at airports). You may want to look at that! (rolls eyes as another position for an Underwater ice cream Toaster in Alaska pops into the inbox, courtesy of LinkedIn)  So I took an alternative approach.  I looked at the positons being advertised in my realm of expertise.  I looked at the people who commented and reacted, and I looked at what they had on their CV’s.  Who was better than me and what Qualifications and Experience did they possess that I lacked?  What skills are new in the market that recruiters are looking for? Who got the new job? ..and I started my action plan.

Truth: If it looks too good to be true, it is!..and Shell/BP/Petrofac etc. HR managers do NOT have official @gmail accounts.

Another Truth: If you’re standing with a beer in your hand on your LinkedIn profile, chances are people are judging you.  Not me! Other people.

Lesson #4 - You’re never too Old to learn, especially if you have time on your hands.

Week 5 at home!  Week three felt weird because the most consecutive days I had been home in the last twelve years was 14 days, i.e. two weeks rotation.  Eight-and-two, six-and-two, twelve-and-two had been my living conditions since the day I said goodbye to a Directorship of an International Company and a GCO (glass corner office). The maintenance list had been completed, even with built-in stagnation, and the realization that Satellite TV had ninety-nine channels of continuous re-runs and rubbish drove me to put the action plan in place.  I ranked the courses I wanted to do from (what I believed) most to least important, and started filling application forms and schedules.  My head hurt.  My back hurt.  My bum hurt.  I had forgotten how tough school can be, but I pushed ahead, and soon I had an arsenal of shiny new qualifications and skills that I could add to my CV, levelling the playing field against my closest rivals.  Back to the workforce!

Truth: If you’re not busy growing, you’re busy dying.

Another Truth:  There is a LOT to learn, for free as well, on the internet.

Final Truth: Calligraphy and Origami is tougher than it looks.

Lesson #5 – If you want to work, you have to be able to crawl, walk or run.

There is no doubt that an experience such as this takes a toll on your health.  In my wall staring days (see Lesson 2) I could almost feel the cancer of worry invading my body and I realized that, if I wanted to come out of the tunnel on the other side, I was going to have to start looking after myself and my health.  Not easy for someone who grew up in a house where pain and suffering was countered with comfort food.  “You bumped your toe?  Here’s a cookie”.  “You didn’t make the team? Let’s cut you a slice of cake”.  Emotional eating became my saving grace and it was only when I didn’t have a pair of pants that fit me in the last week of my notice month, that I realized I was on a downhill.  Back a home the suffering was real, but so was the lack of Pringles, and the marshmallows didn’t make it to the first Sunday.  Slowly but surely I got back to three meals a day, then three healthy meals, and soon I was almost ready to taste Kale.  A medical check-up confirmed I needed to take care of myself, and suddenly I was keen to eat salad, or lose my medical certificate, my passport to a new position.  It happens when you have a doctor that knows you really well, and can blackmail you into looking after yourself.  But truth be told, your health is the most important thing if you want to keep competing in the International job marked, and if there is one thing you can learn from the world’s business billionaires, it’s that they spend a lot of time in keeping fit and healthy, so that they can keep making money.

Truth: Kale taste like a Cereal Box Cardboard that had fallen into long expired milk.  Don’t ask me how I know that. 

In Conclusion

For me, personally, losing my job was the best thing that happened to me in 20/20 hindsight.  I was home at a very critical time when I was needed.  I caught up (somewhat) with my to-do list at home, and I started growing as a person and a professional again.  I have another list of courses I’m doing this year.  My finances are in better shape now that I’ve realized how I was wasting money in the good times, and how little I actually needed in the bad times. I’m focusing on what’s important, whilst looking forward to (early?) retirement, knowing that when it comes I’ll be ready.  My relationships are better than ever, having had time to work on them again.  My health has improved and so has my spiritual life.  All I need to do now, happily in my great new job, is to NOT fall into the same hole again, but I’m working on it.  I have a “Thank you for your services” Letter up on my wall to remind me.