This week's video was sponsored by Fidelity investments.
After deciding to leave my low paying journalism job,
I got a request for an interview right away from a small agency
just outside of Toronto.
According to the post, I'd be writing ad copy for clients,
mostly in video formats.
When I met the founder, I seemed to impress him,
but he didn't impress me.
It's not that he felt sketchy, but the environment felt off.
He was super enthusiastic, but seemed very stuck
on the company's identity and culture,
and he was enamored with the idea of becoming an influencer
and thought leader.
Basically, I got a phony baloney vibe.
I was ready to reject any potential offer
until it came in at $42,000 Canadian, or $31,000 USD--
40% more than what I'd been making.
I felt like a millionaire.
My first day was confusing.
The founder revealed that he wanted me to focus less
on scripts and more on blogging, which
wasn't the job description.
The blog would serve to communicate
the company's-- his--
values to be an industry disruptor.
I hated blogging, and had been looking forward
to learning copywriting.
But it turns out-- he didn't mention this
during the interviews-- that the company had a part-time writer
who worked remotely and didn't want
to give up writing the scripts.
By the third day, I woke up with a dark cloud over me.
I realized that I'd made a huge mistake.
The work was uninteresting and unchallenging.
I was the only woman in the office,
and by far the youngest, and the guys really didn't care for me.
Also, the founder was always looking to debate me
on issues like feminism.
Working hard and being nice didn't seem to matter.
I knew I had to quit, but how could I pull that off?
Two years at a low salary--
at least in Toronto--
and semi-significant student debt
didn't give much of a safety net, especially not
a big enough one to quit my job with no way of knowing
when I'd get a new one.
I wasn't an accountant or an engineer.
I had an English degree and two years of experience
at a local magazine.
Jobs in my field didn't grow on trees,
and I'd just pulled myself out of the industry.
I knew two things.
One, I had to find something else, fast.
Two, I had to do it while I was still working there.
I pulled it off in seven months.
Here's how.
Number one-- I side-hustled for my sanity.
I'd taught dance on and off since high school,
and I found a gig one night a week at a studio
a few blocks away from the agency.
Three hours per week at $36 per hour
was more in the realm of gas money
than building up a safety net, but it was less
about the money.
My students and my director reminded me
that just because my new co-workers didn't like me,
it didn't mean no one liked me.
Number two-- I freelanced like crazy.
It was important to keep my journalism byline alive,
so I started with pieces for my former magazine
and tapped my student journalism friends
for freelance opportunities.
At any given time, I was usually working on at least two pieces.
Number three-- I upped my networking skills.
Three months into my job, I met with a publisher about a news
editor job for a publication covering the marketing
industry.
I thought I'd be ideal with my history
and firsthand work in an agency.
But when I didn't get it, I asked for her feedback.
The job turned out to be more senior than I was ready for,
so it was hard to feel too defeated.
I stayed in touch with her and pitched her a few freelance
pieces.
Networking and professional meetings
had never been easy for me, so this
resulted in more personal growth than ever.
Number four-- I established a pattern for working from home.
My job allowed working from home on occasion,
and some of the guys had regular home days.
So I realized that it would be smart to establish
semi-regular days in order to accommodate for interviews.
I worked from home about twice a month
and usually timed it on days when I would actually
reasonably benefit from it, like when
I needed to let our superintendent in,
so that I wouldn't use up all my excuses.
This actually did help me learn to focus
more when working from home, so I don't totally dread it now.
Number five-- I refreshed my skills.
I started learning to code on Code Academy,
since coding was increasingly in demand for journalists.
I took a statistics and economics course on Coursera,
and also started brushing up on my French, Spanish,
and German on Duolingo.
Anything to pad my resume helped,
and it also gave me something to have fun with on lunch hours.
All of those skills have come in handy at my new job,
so I was onto something.
Number six-- I learned to embrace my support network.
I started using my teaching money
to fund the occasional counseling session,
but I also spent more time with my family.
They were the only ones I could be
open with about how much I hated my job,
and they offered unconditional reassurance.
My dad had dealt with sudden job loss when I was in high school.
I secured a new job seven months in.
In fact, the publisher I'd met with months
before asked me to come interview for a few less senior
positions.
She remarked when we met how different my resume and mindset
were, which I owed to my networking and skill building.
When I got the job, even though it was challenging,
I felt like I could relax for the first time in months.
I didn't have to spend every minute of every day trying
to find a backup.
My old boss was upset when I quit,
especially when I told him I didn't
feel the job was right for me.
I understood he took me disliking my experience
as me disliking him.
Today I am the web editor for that industry magazine
he regularly reads.
There's occasional communication,
but I don't think he's gotten over the idea
that I used the job as a stepping stone
to somewhere else--
that's his prerogative.
All I know is this--
you can't let yourself feel guilty for going after what
you want and need out of life.
You can't allow yourself to look at your misery and think,
I deserve this.
The second you start doing that, you've already lost.
As I mentioned, this video is sponsored
by Fidelity investments.
They are here to help you reach your savings goals.
And if you're looking for an easy way
to finally start investing what you save, check out Fidelity.