Redundancy, panic attacks and a lot of hope: My 2020 story
You’ll find a job somewhere. Don’t take tension.”
These words rang deep in my heart every time I opened LinkedIn during this pandemic.
I lost hope and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to recover from this period. After being made redundant due to the crisis and changes in the larger company structure, I had no idea things were going to get worse with the pandemic and hiring freeze in Dubai.
I will not mince my words in saying that being ‘unemployed’ for a year was absolutely terrible and the effect of this pain weighed deeply on my mental health. Panic attacks, breakdowns and pain every time I saw a friend or a loved one get that dream role and I kept asking myself — ”Why not me? What’s wrong with me? Am I not good enough?”
Job-hunting is not an easy business, folks; I’m sure you know it by now. It is an exhausting process having to prove yourself to a couple hundred people on job portals and the global network. Pair that with always having the best version of your CV ready on every device…the process never ends. I got worried and nervous because it was taking “too long” and I underestimated myself massively. I am optimistic by nature but ofcourse, this period took on a toll on that too. I texted a friend saying: “I can’t do this anymore” because quite literally, I was scared and I felt worthless.
But then…something changed. Here’s where I said enough is enough. This is what I did and maybe this can help you too:
- I made sure folks in the industry knew me/my story — NETWORK network network. The more people who know YOU and YOUR WORK ETHIC, the better. When that one person recommends you for a role or introduces you to a colleague in the industry, that’s half the battle won.
- Celebrate your wins, celebrate who you are, celebrate YOU. People should know how valuable you are. I am forever indebted to a couple folks who went out of their way to help me navigate this tricky time and make sure I knew that I was worth that ‘role’ or that opportunity. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
- START LEARNING again. Certifications and assessments were on the top of my agenda for 2020 to ensure that I was updated on all the latest and knew everything about the changing PR and media industry. These courses taught me so much about the future of digital media and how to be the best communicator in an ever-changing world. Job-seeker or not, executive or not, keep your learning up — Trust me, you’ll be proud that you learnt something new
I don’t know what lies ahead and it is quite uncertain out there but I can tell you that I am not scared anymore. I am so excited for 2021 and the plans I have made. THERE IS HOPE. I know it doesn’t feel like it; it certainly felt awful for me in 2020…but there is hope. Please don’t ever lose faith in yourself because you are capable of so much greatness and the right company will see this.
