Meet Ajayi Pickering-haynes

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ajayi Pickering-haynes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ajayi below.

Hi Ajayi, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.

In 2023, I experienced a layoff and it was one of the biggest gifts/shifts over the past couple years that has profoundly and positively impacted my life. A year and two months later, the layoff led me to publishing my first book, performing my first keynote speaking gig, has re-centered creativity and care for myself, allowed me to launch my own consulting business, and led me on a path to improving the quality of my thoughts, increased my fitness progress and consistency, and to grow closer to who I authentically am through so many travel experiences. But, I believe it’s critical I share with you what it took to get here. In life, I believe that the most value is found in the process. It’s found on our way to our peak and destination, because that’s where we learn lessons and become wiser.

In order to understand my layoff to landing story first I have to share a bit of my origins with you. My name is Ajayi (Ah-jai-yee), which means messenger of God, and I’m a creative, writer, and personal growth/population health strategist proudly from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Growing up seeing so much systemic inequity has led me to studying and working in public health for the past 6 years. So, when I landed a Health Equity position at a children’s hospital enterprise in the beginning of 2023 I was elated and thought I knew exactly the path that laid ahead of me. But God had said it was this (what I currently was experiencing) or better. To make a long story short, the role and work climate were not what I had envisioned and I was not happy. So when my company experienced a reduction in force in September 2023 and my position became impacted, I was both terrified for the uncertainty that laid ahead and excited to find out what God had truly envisioned for me.

My layoff had come during a record mass time for layoffs in the U.S. and I spent so much time scrolling on LinkedIn curious about why so many talented and qualified people were not landing roles. The theory I had come up with is that most of them were applying to as many jobs as possible and it didn’t seem to be working. So, I decided to take a different approach. I started building relationships across the hiring market and 4 months later I was able to land a new role with a great team and work culture at a national public health organization. As exciting as this new start was, that wasn’t even the best part. My strategy and approach to the job market was unique and effective, and so I set out to start writing my first book, Displaced to Realigned: The Proven Skills Pitch Strategy to Land the Right Role with Intention. March 2024, my very first book was birthed to the world in e-book format and now it’s available for purchase via physical copy and will be available via audiobook on Thanksgiving Day.

I researched and strategized the conceptual approach, theme, and structure of my book during the 4 months of my layoff and then spent 2 months locked in writing and editing it before its release. As a writer, writing a book had always been a dream of mine. And I had no idea that a layoff would birth a manifesto and guidebook that includes my original signature strategy for landing the role you want and deserve – the Skills Sales Pitch Formula. It was so important to me not just to create a product that included practical insight and strategies from my own layoff to landing journey, but that I put something out into the world that was also equally as empowering and affirming. I wanted people to understand that life presents us all with cycles of of what I like to call being Displaced to Realigned, and that those displacements be that a job layoff, break up, or change of environment are often exactly what we need to shift us in a different direction and lead us down a path more aligned with who we are and who we are ultimately meant to be.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Ajayi (Ah-jai-yee), and I am a personal growth writer, published author, speaker, public health professional, and health equity strategist from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. As the Principal Consultant of the Public Health Writing & Innovation Lab (PHWI Lab), my mission is to create dynamic solutions that empower communities and individuals to thrive at the intersection of health equity and personal growth. The Lab is rooted in my vision of blending creative communication and strategic public health solutions to drive meaningful change—whether through co-created storytelling, personal growth tools and strategies for families and the workforce, or advance health equity to address disparities for systematically disenfranchised populations.

At PHWI Lab, we specialize in creative communication solutions for public health, delivering customized consulting that bridges the worlds of health equity, design thinking, creative problem solving, and personal growth. Whether I’m developing a public health campaign or creating science-backed personal growth resources to help emerging professionals thrive, my goal on one hand is to help people reimagine what health and success can look like for them—whether they’re service industry professionals, caregivers, parents, or people in search of tools to create the life they’ve dreamed of. On the other hand, it’s to leverage my knowledge of systems and infrastructure, to advocate for the continued creation of policies, practices, programs, and systems that give individuals the best chance to actualize that reimagination.

What’s particularly exciting this year is to celebrate 1 year of service, the official public launch of PHWI Lab, coinciding with the release of my audiobook, *Displaced to Realigned: The Proven Skills Pitch Strategy to Land the Right Role with Intention,* set to debut on Thanksgiving Day. This book is a toolkit and guide for Gen Z and emerging professionals to find purpose-driven career pathways with a mindset grounded in confidence and intentionality. Alongside this, I’m thrilled to share my graduation from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I’ve specialized in Health Equity—an achievement that underscores my lifelong dedication to advancing equity in health and community empowerment.

For those seeking a transformative speaker, a strategic partner in health equity initiatives, or a consultant to guide you through creating clear compelling health campaigns, I’d be honored to connect. This is only the beginning for PHWI Lab, and I’m excited for what’s to come as we shape a more equitable and resilient future together.

Learn more about the work PHWI Lab is doing here: https://thephwilab.my.canva.site/phwi-lab-website

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I have a project on my Pinterest (ajayitheauthor) where I empower folks with a regular dose of mindset mantras. https://pin.it/1X3shqu2b
Mindset is the foundation for a joyful, full, and rewarding life. In my mid 20’s I went through a major mindset shift and created a 3-step framework on my personal growth platform, The Finding Your Voice Blog, to help folks overcome limiting beliefs and mindsets that they’ve outgrown.

Here are my 3 Steps to a Mindset Makeover:

Step 1. Identify Your Current Mindset
Step 2. Write A New Story
Step 3. Align Your Actions

You can read more about The Mindset Makeover in detail here: https://findingyourvoicefyvblog.com/journeysoundtrack/themindsetmakeover

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

This is such a good question, because the state of the world feels so heavy for many of us right now. It’s a question I’ve had to grapple with and sit with. About a year and a 1/2 ago, I started therapy. Having just graduated from my first therapy experience, I am so grateful for the tools and strategies I built and learned as I healed. I was healing from de-centering myself from my own life after working in so many service oriented roles for the past few years – running a youth nonprofit organization, doing health equity work at a local health department, completing my masters degree online, and ultimately living in such a way where I had abandoned myself so deeply. Over the past year, I started reconnecting to writing again. Everyday when I wake up I gratitude journal to start my day and every day before I go to sleep I take a look at my action board (basically a vision board) to prime my brain to look for opportunities to take action on the things I want for my life. This week in particular, as I’ve been processing the results of the election, I have been giving myself space to feel, process, and pause. Journaling is a great strategy to honor your emotions. I also like to go on walks and spend time beholding beauty in nature. When my nervous system feels heightened, I like to make a hot cup of Bush tea (a Virgin Islands delicacy) or sit down on my yoga mat and take some deep breaths. As we all navigate this political climate, I believe that self-compassion is a vital tool we can use in our toolbox and something we already have practice using with friends and family. For me, I like to self-soothe by validating difficult emotions, giving myself love and affection with hugs and warmth, and prioritize taking exceptional care of myself by going to the gym consistently, eating a whole food centered diet that is good for my brain by centering rich proteins, high-fibers, healthy fats, fermented foods, oily fish, and dark fruits and vegetables, and performing my weekly Monday fast for clarity and level setting. Everyone processes the difficulties of life differently, but whatever it is you are going through, please know that you will make it out on the other side. If I can leave you with one piece of advice that can be helpful, I want you to ask yourself a pivotal question as you wake up everyday, “how can I show up for me today? How can I pour into me today?”. And if you have the capacity to choose just one way of showing up for yourself today, that is enough and a great place to start.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://findingyourvoicefyvblog.com/
• Instagram: ajayitheauthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajayi-pickering-haynes
• Twitter: xkingjayi
• Other: https://thephwilab.my.canva.site/phwi-lab-website

Image Credits

Thaddaeus Watkins, Distinct Images LLC – credited for professional photos.