Everyone thought I was crazy when I left my secure job at Twist in the middle of the recession to take a freelance celebrity reporter gig at Star. Sure enough, I was laid off just a few months later.
It turned out that losing my job was the best thing that could have happened. Before that, I had always found ways to avoid working online—it was so intimidating to me! But once I saw that the majority of job listings were for web positions, I decided to learn my way around the big, bad webosphere.
My first step was launching my blog, FiredNFabulous.blogspot.com. There were a few things I had a hard time figuring out, but for the most part, I couldn’t believe how easy it was. My newfound confidence helped me land assignments for ElleGirl.com—a site I always dreamed of writing for! Here’s how getting laid off benefited other former magazine staffers.
“My first thought when I got laid off was, I’m going to become a writer—no excuses now,” says Autum Wakefield-Madrano, who lost her job when CosmoGirl folded. “So I did more writing. I found out exactly what I wanted to write about and was able to focus on that instead of having this vague dream of ‘doing more writing.’ I also realized that I have zero desire to make a living [exclusively] from writing!”
Patricia Ungaro, whose editor position at online health company Waterfront Media was eliminated due to budget cuts, also found a silver lining to getting the axe.
“I landed a two-week freelance gig that reminded me how much I enjoy writing. It prompted me to research master’s degree programs that would help me with a possible career switch down the line,” she says. “I feel much more secure and hopeful about my professional life now, and I’m happy that I had a couple of months off to rest and recharge!”
“I was forced to think about my career ambitions and how I would keep myself motivated and afloat,” says Logan Sommers, a former designer for a teen entertainment magazine. “I began by getting in touch with any contacts I could think of and doing freelance design work. I also branched out, getting experience as a prop stylist, devoting myself more to my interior design blog, and networking with similar bloggers. Losing my job ultimately provided me with new insight, connections, and opportunities.”
In some cases, getting a pink slip simply leads to the chance to take a vacation. Ungaro visited her out-of-state friends. Wakefield-Madrano took six weeks to backpack around Vietnam, something she wouldn’t have been able to do if she hadn’t lost her job. She’s currently doing volunteer work and training to apply for the Peace Corps.
Megan Cahn, another former CosmoGirl editor, took her severance money and joined her brother in Berlin, Germany.
“Living off my last paycheck and a freelance web gig, I unexpectedly fell into the happiest time of my life. The days of heading into that NYC skyscraper every morning now seem like the life of a different person. Five months after my last day, I can’t imagine my life without Berlin, and I’m planning a future in it!”
