Man, 2020. What a trip that year was for my work, you know? Before it all kicked off, I was just chugging along, doing my thing at this place, kinda feeling like I was treading water. Not unhappy, not overjoyed, just… existing. I remember thinking, “Okay, this year, I gotta really buckle down, make some moves, maybe get that promotion I’ve been eyeing.” I figured it was gonna be a year of steady grind, pushing through the daily stuff, slowly climbing that ladder. That was my expectation, plain and simple.
Then, bam. Everything just… shifted. Not just for me, for everyone, right? But for my career, it hit different. The company I was at, things started getting shaky. There was this underlying tension, whispers, you know the drill. Suddenly, all those plans I had about steady progress? They felt like a joke. I started looking around, seeing colleagues getting antsy, some even leaving. It made me really sit back and think, “What am I even doing here?”
The Big Jolt and Scramble
One morning, I walked in, and it was announced. Big layoffs. My department was hit. I wasn’t one of the first, but the writing was on the wall. I remember feeling this weird mix of dread and, honestly, a little bit of relief. Like a heavy blanket had been lifted, even though I was now standing in the cold. I mean, my job was gone. Just like that. After all those years, gone.
I started scrambling. Immediately, I fired up the laptop, started updating my resume, trying to make sense of what I’d even done for the last few years. It felt like I was starting from scratch. I’d send out applications, then just sit there, staring at the ceiling, wondering if anyone would even look at them. I felt pretty lost, to be honest. All that talk about “what to expect” for the year? Totally out the window. My expectations had crashed and burned.
I dove into networking, reaching out to old contacts, folks I hadn’t talked to in ages. Some were helpful, some not so much. I even tried my hand at some freelance stuff, just to keep the bills paid. It was rough, man. Some days I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and pretend none of it was happening. I felt this intense pressure, this constant knot in my stomach. Every “no” or no-response just piled on.
Finding My Feet Again
- I started dedicating mornings to job searching, like it was a full-time job itself.
- Afternoons, I’d try to learn something new – some software, some skill, anything to feel like I was moving forward.
- Evenings were for checking in with family, trying to keep my spirits up, and sometimes, just zoning out with a bad movie.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. I went through interviews that led nowhere. Pitched ideas that got shot down. It was a grind, a real test of patience. There were moments I questioned everything, thought maybe I should just pick up some random gig, anything to stop the bleeding. But deep down, I kept pushing. I had this nagging feeling, this gut instinct, that something better was out there, even if I couldn’t see it yet. That’s kinda how I always roll, I guess – a bit floaty, but with a strong pull towards what feels right, eventually.
Then, out of the blue, this old acquaintance of mine, someone I barely even remembered, reached out. Said they saw my resume floating around somewhere. They told me about an opening, something I hadn’t even considered before. It was a complete shift from what I’d been doing, a totally different industry. My first thought was, “No way, I don’t know anything about that.”
But something just clicked. It felt… interesting. Different. It sparked something inside me. I decided, “Screw it, what do I have to lose?” I prepped like crazy, read up on everything I could find, and went for the interview. It was nerve-wracking. I had to sell myself on potential, on adaptability, more than direct experience. I talked about how I learned, how I solve problems, how I adapt to new stuff.
The Unexpected Turn
And you know what? They gave me a shot. A complete leap of faith, both for them and for me. I started that new job later in 2020, and it was like a breath of fresh air. Everything was new, challenging in a good way, and the people were fantastic. It wasn’t what I “expected” for the year at all, not even close. My original plans had been shattered. But what came out of it? Something far better, something I truly connected with.
Looking back, 2020 was a crazy lesson. It showed me that sometimes, when everything you thought you wanted falls apart, it’s actually making space for something you really need. My career didn’t just meet some “expectation”; it completely rerouted onto a path I never even saw coming. And honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way now.
