I was laid off last week from my job as a Product Manager at a company I’d been with for 2.5 years. Prior to that I was a PM with 2 different startups over a span of 3 years (i.e., about 5 years Product experience with 3 different companies).
I was really unhappy in my last position, and frankly view I the layoff as a thinly veiled blessing. I was planning to leave anyway, they just expedited the decision for me. My mood in the last week alone has been so much happier, lighter, healthier, than the last year or so of corporate misery.
I hope to relax and regroup over the next couple of months. But I am still not sure what my next steps should be. I know I should keep the momentum of my career in Product, and try to land a comparable position at a better-fitting company. I have about six months of runway before I will need to start earning an income again.
I’m 35 years old, and also have an unprecedented level of freedom. I’m single, no kids, though I do have a dog. I live in Southern US. If there were ever a time to make a big move and start over somewhere new, I believe it’s now.
I’d love to know how others have approached this type of life situation. Do you have any advice for me? How should I think about this stage of my life? How do I decide where to go next, what to do next? I don’t want to squander this period, where I feel unburdened, energized, and optimistic.
A few other facts that might be relevant: I’m LGBT, I’m creative and have recently dove into some new passions: painting, writing, and video making. In my dream world I would make a living out of my creations, though the pragmatist in me doesn’t see how this is possible in six months.
Thank you for any and all advice you might have for me.
I would say start hunting ASAP because it is likely to take most or all of the 6 months to find what you want. I would also recommend getting a career counselor. I used someone from placement.com. The coaches know what is going on w/ the job hunt world and how to set yourself up on LinkedIn and Indeed to start getting replies. There are definitely tricks to the trade.
I found the job hunt terribly depressing and dehumanizing, so steel yourself against that. It took me a few hours every day to properly research and reply to all the right ads, even though most would ignore me and several dragged me through long processes only to ignore me after that. So just expect that and know that it's not you.
As for switching up your career, I get that, too! I was totally worn out and I asked myself what my dream job really would be. I've always loved video games and spent my career in business and web software development, so I put the focus on trying to get into the gaming industry -- and was successful! It can work for you, too. My in was to find a bridge from what I have already worked on to what the game studio needed.
Good luck in your hunt and thanks for sharing your story!
i'm finally being pushed into trying to go from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur - it's not working out for me (yet?), but it's def exhilirating. and i still have this feeling that as soon as i do it, i'll be like 'FUCK!' -- as in, why didn't i do this x years ago? i, like a lot of people, have tried to try, but not _really_.
my particular view on life is, as an americano/whitey/male/etc., i have literally 1Mx more opportunity, thus responsibility, to do good/important shit than the literally billions of other people who do _not_ enjoy what i do, so that's a driver to me to actually try to do something useful/meaningful w/ my time on earth.
but it's also just selfish - i want it - i don't think humans were made to take orders from a dictator, and it's a/the reason i've always had problems with having my own personal dictator - whoever happened to be my boss.
If you have savings, travel. Especially in Europe you might be able to take that 1/2 years off just for yourself and your passions.