No Shame in the Layoff Game!

Nancy Jacoby’s Career Journey – July 2020

I really feel that my story can help other people; especially people who have been laid off.  I was laid off once; I experienced so many emotions – including shame – but came to realize I could not only survive, but thrive.

My background is in nursing and health care administration. All told, I spent over 20 years in the health care industry and had a very successful career, earning multiple Master’s degrees and promotion after promotion after promotion along the way. Then, in 2018, I was laid off from the place I had spent over 15 years of my career.

It was frightening, disorienting, isolating, and…. I felt ashamed.  Even though the business decision had nothing to do with my abilities, performance or skills, I felt shame. For some time, I felt like something was taken from me. Then? I got real, regained control, and realized that I alone owned what happens next and who / what I wanted to be and when.

IMPETUS FOR CHANGE

When I was working in health care administration, the more I progressed the more I realized how much I loved the leadership development aspects of my job. Seven years ago, I started dreaming about having my own coaching and consulting business but was too chicken to make the leap. I told myself “I’m not an entrepreneur,” and wasn’t ready to give up my healthy paycheck ??

So, a month after I was laid off and still planning my next move, I enrolled in a coaching certification program. The program, the faculty, and the people in my cohort (who became my “cabinet”) helped me process the emotions I was feeling, glean insights from those feelings, identify the possibilities in front of me and what they meant, AND to take ownership of and take action on the choices emerging from those possibilities. I learned how to clearly articulate what I need to feel fulfilled in my work and my life.

In parallel, I was interviewing for new jobs. But an interesting thing happened: During the process, I became acutely aware that I didn’t want to go back into an organization! In May 2019, I got a Tax ID number, hung out my shingle and started my own business. I had never done this before so I did my due diligence, hired a business coach, a branding coach, a pricing coach – I sought out resources who were in the best position to help me create my roadmap forward to success. I also had emotional support from trusted family and friends – though had to remain vigilant to listen to my own voice, even while appreciating some well-meaning, but misdirected advice from others. 

Now? 18 months later, I am thriving and am so grateful I was able to move beyond the fear and shame, and into the excitement of “What’s possible?”

LESSONS LEARNED / ADVICE

Choose your mindset! Take agency over your life. When you get laid off or something else not of your choosing happens, YOU get to choose not to be a victim of your circumstances.   

Always seek help: Identify those individuals, either already in your community or new resources you seek out, who are in a position to support you, offer their expertise, and help you grow.   I still connect with my coaching certification cohort once a month!

Try new things: No regrets; you’ll never know “what could have been” if you don’t try.

Let me be crystal clear: I do not have a trust fund or wealthy relatives. I had meager savings and I lived off the proceeds from the sale of my home until money from my new business started coming in.  I had to figure out (and am still figuring out) how to make my vision work – and I busted my tail to do so! That said, we’re more resilient than we could ever imagine. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to achieve it. Yes, you will make mistakes along the way. In the end though, the only limits on what you can achieve are your own thoughts!

Visit me at  https://www.njacoby.com