How I recovered after getting fired from my first job in tech

6 points by gros 6 years ago | 4 comments

I worked as a Product Manager for a couple years at a VC funded company with an aggressive unsustainable growth strategy. When things didn’t go well, a bunch of people got fired. Given the state of big tech right now, I think a lot of people are in the same boat. I love building products, so I took my lay-off as a kick in the ass to build my own business. It's still early days, and I'm far from being a success story, but I'm definitely happier now that I'm working for myself. If you're interested in my story, you can read about it here.

https://medium.com/@guillemrossalvador/from-idea-to-launch-129447a4541e

Anyone else go through something similar? How did you deal with it?

auslegung 6 years ago |

I got let go during a downsize at a small startup, and this was my first job after coding boot camp, I’d only been there 7 months. I had a good job offer within 5 weeks.

I made it my goal to have another job within a month (audacious but it kept me motivated), and while I didn’t quite make that, it was good enough. Since I hadn’t done anything wrong I didn’t have to defend myself during interviews, I just had to keep telling myself I wasn’t a failure, and in fact I was more valuable after working for 7-8 months than when they hired me, so I should be able to get an even better job, and I did.

The main thing was to fight off the sense I was a failure. And I learned from that experience to ALWAYS be looking for job opportunities so I can be prepared if something similar happens again.

gros 6 years ago | |

Yea it’s hard not to take it personal even when you’re let go due to “downsizing”. I totally agree with always looking for new job opportunities. It helps you be prepared for unexpected layoffs but also it’s way more relaxed applying for jobs when you don’t NEED one right away. It’s no fun trying to negotiate a new job when you’re desperate. Happy to hear things worked out for you in the end.

jaumeros 6 years ago |

On the same boat! Recently got fired from my SEO-lead growth position at a CBD startup based in Canada because of their own financial management problems. Seeing all the opportunities that they missed, and mistakes they made along the way has only pushed me to work more on my projects. I guess you not only learn from your own mistakes but also from just seeing other people fuck up! Truly inspirational to hear that you had a similar experience and that medium article looks great.

Thanks for sharing and goodluck.

wristwatch87 6 years ago |

I bet there’s a bunch of people at WeWork that can relate to your story right now.

I haven’t been fired but it’s no secret that there’s big problems in tech right now caused by everyone valuing growth above all and forgetting to build a sustainable business. I think we’ll start seeing a lot more small tech companies that our bootstrapped and focused on profit from the start. Good luck with your app and try not to make the same mistakes as your old company!