How we bounced back after job loss

Life often takes us on unexpected detours, and one of the most challenging bends on the road is job loss. The sting of a sudden layoff or termination can leave us feeling disheartened and uncertain about the future. 

However, in the face of adversity, lies an opportunity to demonstrate resilience and embrace the potential for personal growth. 

Bouncing back after a job loss is not just about finding another paycheck — it’s a transformative journey that allows you to discover your true strength, redefine your career aspirations, and pave the path to even greater success.

When Susan Kiamba, a career clarity coach, got the termination letter from her employer, she was shocked, despite having a gut feeling about it. 

“Here I was doing a job that I really loved, had no issues with my colleagues, liked tasks assigned to me, and had a good salary. I mean it was my dream job and I enjoyed every single moment of it. Because not only did it challenge me but I honed the skills that were critical to me — project management and training,” she says.

But the electioneering period hit businesses, including Ms Kiamba’s company. 

At the same time, she got wind of upwork.com, an online job search engine for freelancers, and decided to join a community of freelancers on Facebook.

Creating a profile on the platform, she had to do a skills inventory to see what she could offer the world.

“Like if you had administrative skills before, you could translate that online to virtual assistance. For me, I started offering training services, from materials to proposals,” she says.

One thing Ms Kimba learned through technology was that job searching was no longer confined to Kenya.

“Technology means no part of this globe is off-limits for you. In my early days of freelancing, I worked with clients from across the world. The benefits were, I was being paid in dollars, and I was not limited to the normal eight-to-five working hours.”

However, despite the freedom of freelancing, she struggled with an employee mindset that made her believe she could not say no to job offers. This led to overworking and neglecting her well-being. 

“Shift your mindset from the employee to CEO or business owner. This way you can ask for an amount which is a replica of your worth. If you thought you cannot quote the figure as per your value and the job's worth, you need to re-evaluate your mindset.”

On the other hand, Anthony Wachira’s story was not much different from Ms Kiamba’s. He left a multinational company to work in a startup and confidently believed he would make enough to venture on his own if needed.

“Little did I know that I was making a prophecy. Two years in, the layoff came and although I saw it coming, and held the letter, it was different.”

With a feeling that the layoff was imminent, Mr Wachira put his writing skills into practice and scouted for a job through online websites such as Upwork and freelance.com.

“I got my first client before I was laid off and it encouraged me that I could make money online,” he says.

Handling layoffs is not easy, especially when you are the breadwinner, and Mr Wachira emphasises the need to vent to your network for support. “When you dust yourself off, go global’,” he says.

Building a strong network proved beneficial when Mr Wachira ventured into training as a side hustle to supplement his online jobs.

“The first people to give me work were former customers who worked with me when I was employed,” he says.

Though the first year was difficult in readjusting to the new normal, Mr Wachira found success by attending training forums and networking to enhance his skills.

“Apart from networks, get into communities of practice, groups of people who do what you love because that is where they will ask for people with your skill set.”

After he ditched online writing, LinkedIn became a valuable tool. 

“Display your brilliance, share content that tells people what you are good at, and make sure your profile picture looks like the job you want.”

And when it comes to personal growth, Mr Wachira highlights the importance of having mentors and being a mentor to others. In his view, a good mentor is one who you can feed from and he/she can feed from you. 

“Additionally, you can have people who are about your age and are going through what you are facing. Those who have similar interests that you can bounce off ideas with,” he says.

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