I Was About to Get Fired — Here's How I Turned Things Around

I remember waking up one morning with a gut feeling that my job was about to come to an end. There were some layoffs with the downturn of the economy. I was new at the company, and it made sense that newbies would be on the shortlist of employees that would lose their job. I knew at that moment that if my intuition were right, taking action would prevent me from being out of work for a long period.

I started soul searching to find answers to what to do next with my career that will make me happy. My moonlighting freelance business was an option, but at the time I did not know if it can supplement my lifestyle. I read blogs of full-time freelancers that decided to leave a comfy office job. One of the things I kept noticing is it is it was better to quit a day job once a freelancer is close to earning a sustainable income.

About four years ago, I started to write on content mills. My goal was to transition from working in a corporate office to starting my own writing business to be independent of losing a job in the future. I spent hours on freelance sites searching for new opportunities to build a variety of clients to be a full-time writer eventually.

Once the idea of pursuing my passion was determined, I started to take the next step. Once I was home, I started working on my professional website and managing a list of assignments. I told my circle of friends, social media network and colleagues about my writing goals. All of a sudden, people started approaching me to help them write their resume. Others asked me to help them with content for work assignments.

If I decided to keep it a secret, my story would be different. My Sunday afternoon was used to finish work. Sleeping after midnight was a normal routine. There were days when I simply did not feel like moving forward with an assignment after a long day at work, but determination kept me motivated.

The one day that I predicted became a reality. I was laid off from my job, but it was at the right time because my list of writing work started to become overwhelming. I walked out of the building with a smile on my face because I was free to do what essentially made me happy. If I had not searched for more opportunities with my side gig, I believe I would have been out of work for a long time.

The advice I can offer people that were in my shoes is to reach out to people you know. Don’t feel embarrassed if you lose your job. Tell your entire network.

It is a sign that there is another opportunity that is best suited for your talent. Most people tie their success to their line of work. It is not the case because I am a living example that a disappointment can turn into a rewarding opportunity.