I got laid off. It wasn’t sudden mind you. I was prepared for this.
For the last two years, I was a UX Designer at Bohemian Innovation, a small agency doing the most kickass work EVER. My CEO (God bless her eternally) has been supportive of my career since I joined, always letting me know I was super talented and that I will go and work for bigger companies working on more amazing products. I had a blast working with every person there.
In October, my boss made me aware that this was a possibility. Small agency, bad economy, and our current clients preferred more development support than investing in design. I noticed this before we had “the talk” so I was prepared for the fated day.
Too bad I had already booked my Thailand plane tickets and hotels back in September and was saving to get a Mazda 3 Hatchback.
But it did happen in December, after Thanksgiving break. My wife was in front of me, worried out of her mind. We just got married a few months back. I calmly finished the call. I was prepared for this. I had been working on my resume and portfolio with my boss, improving it bit by bit.
Naturally, I was panicking. A lot.
I was panicking on my way to Phuket.
I was panicking while eating mango sticky rice, at Phi Phi Island, during the New Years Countdown in Bangkok (it was a blast though).
I came back home (Dhaka) on the 4th and it has been two weeks. The panicking isn’t stopping. Yes I know I am among the thousands being laid off but I also know I cannot hold a candle to the talented folks being laid off from Facebook, and Salesforce.
I fired up Fiverr, Upwork, and signed up for Braintrust to get some freelance leads, in addition to reaching out to anyone I know. I don’t expect it to yield any fruit.
I’m posting on LinkedIn and Twitter in the hopes that leads me to something. I am applying to jobs, which basically never worked for me.
I am thinking of taking the Webflow Certification. I’m good at Webflow. Not Grace Walker, Timothy Ricks, and Ran Segall good… but good enough.
No idea what the future holds for me. But I do know that if am not getting interviews, it’s only my fault. I have worked on some pretty amazing products the past few years.
My resume might be wrong
My portfolio might not be inviting enough
My case studies aren’t good enough.
Maybe I talk too much during phone interviews and don’t get to the point.
I am the only one that can fix it… and it will take time. But, the new One Piece game came out, so I’m like “All this can wait.”
Add me on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, and check out my portfolio.