20 and Laid Off

I’m officially 20 and laid off. What I thought was going to be a bad day actually turned into a horrible day. I woke up in a irritable mood, there was no water for my tea, I went to the vending machine and didn’t get what I wanted, people were driving slow. I couldn’t have imagined I was also going to be laid off before lunch time.

“Your department has to make severe cuts…” “We didn’t make enough in revenue…” “It’s not a performance issue…” “We’re sorry…” None of those things make me feel any better.

It was me, John and Henry. Henry and I fresh off our 90 day probation. John fresh into his 90 day plan. How come we were the ones let go? Not just let go, but our “positions have been eliminated”. Excuse me?

Can you say awful timing? My car is in the shop. It’s going to cost $4000 to move. I’m planning a wedding. The last thing I need is to not have income. I get a month’s severance package and the check I anticipated for this Thursday. By the time we got back to our desks to get our stuff, all of our e-mails were deactivated. When I got to my grandparents to salvage my social media accounts, most of them had their passwords changed. I’M THE ONE WHO SLAVED OVER THOSE ACCOUNTS, AND NOW I HAVE NO ACCESS TO THEM?! THEY WEREN’T BRANDED; THEY WERE MINE!

I wish this post could be more like J$ when he got fired. But unlike him, I’m thousands of dollars in debt with no emergency fund.

My family is being super supportive, but honestly, it’s not doing much. I’m frustrated, hurt, embarrassed. How do you tell someone their next evaluation is in March when they won’t make it through the following week? How do you have someone plan out a marketing strategy for an entire year when they won’t make through week 2? How can you psyche someone out for going to San Francisco when you’re cutting them loose? Oh, and you’re still hiring people? Oh, someone new is coming in tomorrow? Are you kidding me?!

The fact of the matter is this was horrible timing and just, I don’t know, horrible. I’m so upset. The only thing I can do is go back to the drawing board I was in this time last year, pimping my social media services online.

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40 Responses to 20 and Laid Off

  1. Kevin January 12, 2011 at 12:22 am #

    That’s the climate were in these days. Get all the work that we’re going to need to get done for the year and then we’re going to have to let you go now, thanks. I’m really sorry to hear about that. You shouldn’t be embarrassed because a lot of people are going through this right now, so you’re not alone.
    Think of this as a step in a new better direction.

    I don’t know if you’ve seen this resource before http://inkwelleditorial.com/

    If you sign up for his mailing list you’ll have access to the archives. There’s a lot of pretty good articles in it. Or you can just check them out here http://archive.aweber.com/inkwelleditor/cbBJ/h/Freelance_Writers_How_to_Cut.htm not sure if you can access that.

    Anyways, I’m sure another door will open right around the corner.

    • Binky January 11, 2011 at 10:48 pm #

      Thanks Kevin; I’m definitely working on a new plan. I’ll check out your resource too.

  2. j. money January 12, 2011 at 4:59 am #

    $hit, it’s a damn virus out there :( I’m sorry to hear that. Although I know nothing we can really do or say right now can cheer you up much. It’s too bad I don’t have a social media company so I could hire you ;) Maybe someone else reading this will?

    I hope something pops up fast for you and you don’t have to dwell on it anymore – that’s the worse. Feel free to hit me up anytime if you wanna chat or even vent. I’m a good listener :)

    • Binky January 11, 2011 at 10:47 pm #

      Thanks J; I really appreciate the support. Much needed!

  3. Financial Samurai January 12, 2011 at 7:19 am #

    Sorry for your loss B :( I can’t believe they are hiring someone new. You sure about that? That’s nuts.

    I don’t have full time income work for you, but perhaps sometime smaller in the future.

    • Binky January 11, 2011 at 11:22 pm #

      They’re not hiring someone new for my position but in our department, which is equally frustrating. My position was “eliminated”.

      Anything would help; I actually like several smaller projects than 1 big one. This is actually the push I wanted/needed to get this online business going. I hated commuting 56 miles round trip. It was killing my gas and not fun.

      Thanks so much Sam; the support is awesome.

  4. Elle January 14, 2011 at 12:46 pm #

    Sorry to hear about the job loss; it’s frustrating to get horrible news on top of other financial drama.

    • Binky January 14, 2011 at 9:00 am #

      Definitely. But I know I’ll find and make a way.

  5. Mlines001 January 14, 2011 at 3:36 pm #

    Oh geez, I’m so sorry. That is rough. I was EXACTLY where you were (minus the engaged part) about 3 months ago. If you need anything (support, unemployment filing advice) please get in contact with me. And please remember: you are so much more than just your job.

    • Binky January 14, 2011 at 9:00 am #

      Thank you so much. I’m appreciating every ounce of support, and finally realizing that yes, I am much more than my job :)

  6. BeatingTheIndex January 15, 2011 at 1:28 pm #

    Binky, the timing is awful but you have to get up and fight back. File for unemployment and start looking for a new job aggressively. Who knows, you might be thankful it worked out that way in the end!

  7. Daddy Paul January 16, 2011 at 1:21 am #

    Hope you job search goes well. I was out of real work for two years! Don’t ever let yourself get depressed over it. It will show up in an interview really fast!

  8. Cheapskate Sandy January 16, 2011 at 7:17 am #

    It sucks balls. Put the wedding on hold. Hop over to Demand Studios and get some writing jobs in. Money Crashers is looking for an editor. See if you can get your foot in the door.

    • Binky January 16, 2011 at 4:05 pm #

      Yeah the wedding is going to be the least of our worries for the moment. I’ve applied for Demand Studios in the past but I’m definitely going for it again. Thanks for the tips!

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