From Setback to Success: Overcoming a Layoff or Firing

One of the most beautiful characteristics about America is the ability we have to fall, dust ourselves off and try again. Layoffs or firings may seem unsurmountable at first, but we’ve seen over and over again how getting laid off can often be the first step towards a significantly more fulfilling future. We’ve shared some incredible stories below.

Danielle Drewes

New Hampshire is a small, not well known state in the film community and to land a job in my field so quickly after returning back from school was a miracle. There was that overexciting amount of joy to say to everyone that doubted me about returning home that I made it. I had my foot in the door, and the world of opportunities opened, but as quickly as they opened, they shut.
In October of 2023 I was let go from my first production job. I was devastated, but who wouldn’t when they felt like the world was ripped out from underneath them.The first month and half of being let go I struggled a lot mentally. I felt like I had lost everything, a feeling that tends to just leave you not wanting to continue and to just give up. Read more>>

Cheryl Griffith

My story of layoff begins in 2014 when rumors circulated that the company I had dedicated 19 years to was closing. Initially, I dismissed these whispers as baseless. Over the next year, some changes occurred, but nothing suggested an imminent closure.
Fast forward to August 2016, I heard that our chairman was visiting Barbados. Strangely, he hadn’t informed me directly about his arrival—a red flag that something was amiss. I feared the worst: that I was about to be fired. Read more>>

Chrissy Clark

In 2019, I started my career in journalism and thought — just like my friends entering corporate America — that I’d stay at one company for 5-10 years. But in my five years in journalism, I’ve already worked for five different companies. My career was, quite literally, the exact opposite of what I anticipated!

Of the five jobs I’ve held, I was let go from three different companies. What stunned me about these layoffs is that I’m an incredibly hard worker. In fact, I’ve never been terminated for my skills, effort, or lack thereof. Read more>>

Bin He

Thank you for asking this question. Although I haven’t experienced a layoff myself, I understand the challenges and pressures that come with facing uncertainty. In the film industry, unpredictability is the norm, and completing one project often means not knowing when the next opportunity will come. This has taught me how to navigate change and adversity. Read more>>

Matthew Peale

In October of 2022, I was promoted to the Fitness Director position at Franco’s Athletic Club in Mandeville, LA. I began my career there in January of 2015 when I moved back to the area. The department needed a boost in morale, new pricing structure for personal training, and to reduce costs. Without much guidance, I started monthly meetings for the first time to boost morale, reduced payroll and maintenance costs, revamped the training pricing, which all resulted in the department becoming profitable for the first time in years. Read more>>

Christina Sandoval

Thank you for having me. I can share when I was in mid-career, working for what I thought would be a meaningful institution. I started working there, and within six months, I was promoted to mid-management. Then, a year later, I was promoted again. It seemed like a great opportunity to grow in my career. Still, the morally questionable operations of that institution made me think twice, and I started to realize I was being used to make the institution money by pushing people into something that may not be in their best interest, instead of doing what I was hired to do. It started to feel icky and morally wrong, for the sake of “bringing in the numbers.” My ruthless boss would lead our team with fear tactics and it quickly became a toxic environment. She tried to use me to do her “dirty” work of reprimanding and firing of staff when they didn’t deserve it. Read more>> 

Christa Quigley

I previously worked in medical office management and had a very lucrative but very stressful job with a fast growing urgent care business. After being promoted to manager of a new office, I began experiencing pressure from upper management that the staff were complaining about my management style. Since I had never experienced this kind of feedback before, I sought out assistance from upper management to help remedy the situation. They gave me some exercises to practice and a few pieces of general advice, but because they said the complaints were all anonymous they would not provide specifics because they didn’t want to identify anyone. I spent months working on my interpersonal relationships while also making sure that the office was efficiently and successfully run. Each quarterly review, I was met with more anonymous complaints and negative feedback. This was an incredibly confusing and stressful time for me because in my opinion, all of the relationships I had with my staff were very positive and supportive. Our site had the best metrics in the company, we celebrated these successes together and I helped to elevate a few of our employees who were seeking promotions, etc. Read more>>

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