Jason e-mailed us to share his post-layoff story. This New Yorker has been using the time to do good things as well as some freelance to stay afloat. It can be tough going into a weekend — on the one hand you’re glad this hellish week is over and on the other you’re freaked out that your job won’t be there on Monday. But that’s when you realize — things are only as bad as you let them be. Take it away, Jason.
(I) was also one of the ‘lucky’ people to get laid off from (my agency) in that first round, (there have been two rounds since) and I’m glad I was pushed off the sinking ship, sorta speak. I almost feel it’s better to be out and looking, even if there isn’t much out there, than to be stuck in an office wondering every day if you’re going to be the next one to go.
All that aside, since leaving (that gig) I have been able to get into doing something that I had wanted to do for a long time…designing t-shirts. Nothing high-end or couture, but simple, fun designs that usually relate to some obscure pop culture reference. I’ve also been able to do some freelance work to keep the bills paid, the most gratifying of which has been some recent work for an animal shelter here in New York.
Some days I’ll admit, I miss the agency lifestyle, but it has been nice to be able to pursue my own course for the most part and not answer to the clients all the time. Plus, it’s given me the freedom to have an idea and just run with it, without having to work about whether or not it plays to a campaign strategy or fits into a budget.
You asked for news, and I’m delivering. Not sure what you’ll do with this information, but hopefully people will see that their world will not collapse if laid off. It’s all a cycle, things will come back around and hopefully we’ll do it better the next time.
Cheers,
Jason
More: “What One Man Has Been Doing Since Getting Laid Off From His Ad Job”