Never, did I ever believe, that one day, I would be unemployed at no fault of my own.  I’ve always been known as a dedicated, hardworking employee, motivated to get the job done, with a keen eye to detail.  I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but former employers have always raved about me!  It’s true, just check out my LinkedIn Profile.

After working in television production for almost 7 years, I decided to pursue a career in marketing.  At the time, I had just completed my M.S. in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University and wanted to use the knowledge I gained in graduate school to advance my career.  Makes perfect sense, right?  The job search was long and exhausting.  I submitted numerous applications and received little to no response until I applied for a position that seemed to be a perfect fit for me and the employer.  I was contacted within a week of submitting my application for a phone interview.  After my phone interview, I scheduled two face-to-face interviews with the hiring manager.  After my first face-to-face interview, I knew this was a great opportunity for me to transition into a marketing managerial role.  Shortly thereafter, I was starting a new job, in a marketing role, and the possibilities seemed endless.  I was ecstatic about my new job!

Immediately, I impressed my manager and colleagues with my vast knowledge of traditional and digital marketing.  I even received praises from the VP of my region within the first 30 days.  It felt amazing to be appreciated and respected for my work, especially as I was dabbling in a new role.  I was regarded as a highly valuable employee even on the day I was laid off.  But when the “pink slip” is handed to you, you begin to doubt your own worthiness.

Since my layoff, I’ve had all sorts of feelings and emotions take over me.  Many of which I’ve never experienced before.  How can a highly regarded employee like myself receive the pink slip?  In my mind, I kept saying to myself, if they really felt I was valuable, they would have found a way to retain me.  It has been 4 months since my layoff and dealing with the loss of income and independence doesn’t get any easier.  In fact, it only gets harder, mentally and financially.  The job search hasn’t been nearly as productive as I thought it would be…obviously, if I’m still unemployed 4 months and 81 job applications later.  I know the situation could be much worse, but luckily for me, I have a wonderful family, boyfriend, and friends standing right beside me.  I couldn’t be more thankful to have such a supportive group of people walking down this road with me.

My story just goes to show you, regardless of how valuable you think you may be to your company, you could be laid off too!  I am motivating myself and everyone else around me to make sure they find ways to increase their job security so they don’t get laid off.  I also challenge you to find a way to make money on the side, as a side hustle, so you don’t become 100% dependent on your 9-5!  It never hurts to have a back up plan that generates income and helps you get to retirement faster or even self-employment, right?

What kind of job or business would you be willing to do on the side, to make some extra cash?

This post "Unemployment – Not I said Tasha!" was re-published from the blog TashaT06.

If you are interested in sharing your story and thoughts on unemployment with MomsRising (and possibly having your experience posted on this blog) please go here: https://www.momsrising.org/member_stories/topic/unemployment-stories/.

Part 1 of this series can be found here: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/voices-of-the-unemployed-part-1/ and Part 2 can be found here: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/voices-of-the-unemployed-part-2/.