Unemployment Evolution: 6 Laid Off Lessons

Being laid off is the biggest shot to your professional psyche. You go through a gamut for emotions self-doubt, depression, lack of self-worth and just full blown chaos.

How do you deal with all these emotions and prove to yourself…it’s NOT YOU….it’s THEM?

 This has been an underlying theme of my “corporate dating” life otherwise known as my career.

Since 2003, I have been laid off not ONE, not TWO, not THREE (sounds a bit like LeBron James when he arrived in South Beach), but FOUR mind numbing times. In those 13 years, I learned a lot of things about myself as a man, as a professional, as a husband and as a father.

I learned to never give up. Just dust myself off and get back on that bucking bronco.

Overcome the obstacles thrown in my path and to evolve.

Through these turbulent times, I reinvented myself and learned a lot of life lessons along the way: 

2003 (Age 30) – Laid off after 3.5 years with telecommunications company

 This was a good job, I worked my way up from call center customer service rep to corporate marketing. It was a turbulent time as we rebranded 3 times and were purchased in a major merger with a media conglomerate. I became a casualty for the first time in my professional life.

After I stopped saying woah is me, I worked at a mall and I sold phone book advertising door to door. No one cared that I was a college graduate with a degree in marketing.

I was humbled....

Had to do what I had to do to pay my bills. 

Pride took a back seat.

Life Lessons: You deserve nothing. You are GUARANTEED NOTHING. Life is too damn short for pity parties!

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 2009 (Age 36) – Almost 2 years with sports technology company

 This was a dream job of mine. I was hired as the marketing manager for a company that worked with the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB & NCAA teams. I planned events for and attended the NFL combine & NCAA Final Four. My boss and co-workers were awesome and we had so much fun on the road. 

Around 2008, my boss paid for me to attend a course taught by now digital marketing thought leader, David Meerman Scott (my Jedi master). I took his course on the “New Rules of Marketing & Pr” and I was hooked. That was it, this is what I wanted to do.

I began implementing social media into the company using Flickr to showcase our company’s facility projects online. I dabbled with Twitter and Facebook. I loved the creativity and interaction.

My old boss got a promotion and I was not in my new boss's plans, so I was bit by the unemployment bug yet again.

However, the day after I got let go, I received an email from our PR consultant. He ran a family of sports blogging sites and wanted to know if I wanted to run Boston Sports Then & Now. I jumped at the opportunity.

I spent the time between job searches creating content, creating online communities and building my own personal brand. I developed a PASSION for blogging and promoting my content via social media.

Boston Sports Then & Now has been back linked to such sites as Yahoo, Deadspin & Wikipedia. It has been nominated by Boston A-list for Best Boston Sports Blog. I also created a networking event called Boston Sports Blogapalooza for sports bloggers, professionals and fans which has been going strong since 2010.

This is when I decided to change my career path from traditional marketing and event management to digital marketing.

Life Lessons: Adapt to the times, RE-INVENT yourself and build your own personal brand.

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 2012 (Age 39) – Sports content startup was sold & moved after just 11 months with the company

 After leaving a job as an events manager, I jumped at the chance to get back into sports marketing with a startup based in NYC. I was creating original sports pop culture content that I would share with our online communities on Facebook & Twitter which spanned all four major sports leagues and European soccer.

I was killing it. In just 8 months, the blog had over 326,000 visitors and a half million page views. I learned what resonated with my audience. There was a lot of try it…fix it…try it, but the experience was invaluable and fun at the same time.

Unfortunately, not all startups are successful and my division was eliminated.

Life Lessons: Get as much out of an opportunity regardless of how long it lasts, take VALUE out of every stop on your journey!

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 2016 – (Age 43) – Little less than 2 years with digital marketing agency.

 I was hired due to my social media and content marketing chops, but I wanted to learn SEO as well. Our team grew from 3 to 30 in just two years, we experienced warp speed growth.

I learned to wear many hats as I was an account manager for seven clients then became a social media/content specialist to hone my skills after we built up our team. So stress was high and change was constant.

Business went south pretty quick and social media/content marketing was not a driving force at the agency, so I was let go for the fourth time in my career.

Life Lessons: NEVER STOP FIGHTING and roll with the punches the best you can.

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2018- (Age 45) - Little over 2 years with a major retailer.

I landed a social media contract position in the HR department of a major retailer. I proved my value, put in the effort and was the "glue guy (the only guy for that matter) " on my team.

Just four months later, I was hired as a full time social media marketer and I thought this could be the last job on my career journey.

But a lot changed...

My manager left along with over half the team...

My position changed...

And the new manager wanted her own people in place...

So I ended up being the odd man out...AGAIN.

Life Lessons: Everything around you may change, but stay TRUE to yourself.

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2020 - (Age 47) - Just 8 months with an industry leader in music and film.

I landed a job as an influencer manager for a major player in music and film: two industries I LOVE.

I was recommended by two friends that I met over my career journey.

I started during the beginning of a global pandemic the first one in the U.S. since 1918.

I never met my manager or visited the office.

It wasn't an ideal situation but I made the best of it.

I built the influencer program from the ground up by implementing processes, forging relationships with customers/influencers, and creating an online artists community.

However, I was "left on an island" as leadership set me up to fail as no one really knew what I did...

You need your leaders to block and tackle for you...

Endorse you...

Set YOU up for SUCCESS...

My position was eliminated in just 9 short months (1.5 months were on furlough) before I could see the true fruits of my labor.

However, I was PROUD what I could accomplish with the deck stacked against me!

Life Lessons: Learn to ADAPT in the most challenging of circumstances and be PROUD of your accomplishments.

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Well folks, this has been my professional journey over the last 17 years. Sometimes, I consider my career as a hellish battlefield because of the SIX large craters (layoffs) that are on my resume, but there is a silver lining to all of this.

As they say, all things happen for a reason right?

If I didn’t have all these stops on my career path, how could have I met so many incredible people (I have over 30 recommendations on LinkedIn) and learned so much as a professional and person? 

So, anytime I feel down and or think why did this happen to me, I look at the good things.

I have become a better man.

I have become a better professional.

I have become a better husband and father.

I have become humble.

I take NOTHING for granted.

I adapted and reinvented myself.

I grew.

I overcame….yet again.

Now between jobs I am doing social media and content marketing consulting with my own little agency called ChazzRock Productions.   

Just keeping my skills sharp and BUILDING MYSELF UP for the next stop on this incredible journey.....