I originally posted this post on my blog a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
I was fired from my first coding job. 10+ years ago.
My first job taught me A LOT. I had 0 hours of flight time. Everything was new to me. I had to learn about coding and to navigate the corporate world at the same time.
I already shared some of the lessons I learned from my first job here:
But what I didn't tell on that post was that I was fired. Yes, fired. Not laid off. Fired. Same result, different cause.
Did I deserve it? Probably. Did I learn something? Sure.
Here are five lessons I learned from that:
1. You could lose your job at anytime
It's obvious now. But it wasn't 10+ years ago.
I was fired. But you could also lose your job for reasons you don't control. A pandemic, a recession, or a layoff. Or your company gets acquired and extinguished. It's outside of your control.
When I was in university, I thought being an employee was the safest route. Starting a company was for crazy people. I was sooo wrong. I only needed to be fired once to change my mind.
What's truly safe? What you build for yourself: a side business, a rental property, or an investment portfolio.
Build something you can't be fired from...Well, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, so handle with care.
2. Job offers aren't published anywhere
A couple of weeks after losing my job, I was interviewing for a small company in my city.
On the day I left, I had a conversation with my direct boss. Ex-boss, at that point. I don't remember exactly what we talked about. I don't know what he saw in me either. Maybe he saw his younger self across the desk that day. But he made a couple of phone calls and arranged an interview for me.
It was a lucky day for me after all.
My first job wasn't advertised anywhere.
I got it because I knew someone who knew someone. And my next job wasn't advertised either. Again I knew someone who knew someone.
Our world is moved by connections. By knowing someone who knows someone. Make an extra effort to build your professional network.
Your network is your most valuable asset.
3. Accept the rules or disagree with your feet
Talent and hard work aren't shortcuts to avoid corporate rules.
There was a new rule at work. I didn't like it. But I was naive to think anyone would ask me if I liked it and was willing to follow it. HR? My boss? My boss' boss? Of course, nobody did.
I was wrong to believe my hard work would exempt me from that rule. Not following that new rule got me fired in the end.
A job is a game with rules you don't control. And you have no voice when those rules change. Either you accept those rules or disagree with your feet. Trying to negotiate has no results. And not following them...well, now you know what happened to me.
4. Listen to your body, it might be telling you something
It sounds like a cliché. But listen to your body and look for small clues.
Don't want to get out of bed to work multiple days in a row? Do Sunday evenings make you anxious anticipating next Monday morning? Your body might be telling you something.
At some point in my first job, I felt like I was leaving my life behind, sitting at a computer. I was demotivated and disengaged. My morning alarm was torture.
I didn't listen to my body.
I kept doing the same expecting change without doing anything. The next time I forgot to listen to my body years later, I got burned out and eventually sick.
Every time I need to make a change in my life, my body tells me when it's time. "I feel it in my fingers...I feel it in my toes..."
5. Always have an exit plan
I jumped and left my first job with no plan at all.
By not making my own plan, I let society choose a plan for me: work hard, get promoted, and get a 3-5% raise every year. Wait to retire. Then, die.
Take a moment to find out what you want and value the most for your career. Money? Connections? Recognition? Growth? Then, choose the jobs and places that take you closer to that.
Don't let others decide by going on auto-pilot. Have your own exit plan. Always.
Parting Thought
After many years, I realized my first job was a launching platform. It put me in the right moment, next to the right people. It started a chain of events that brought me to where I'm now.
At my first job, I learned some of my most valuable career lessons. The world isn't what my teachers told me in university. I had to learn and figure out things on my own. I started my financial journey by making my first deposit into an investment account. I got my first real hours of flight time. I paid for a family dinner with my money for the first time.
After every ending, there's a new beginning. Pastures are always greener on the other side.
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Top comments (8)
Authentic write up man.
So many people do the same thing over and over. What is NOT okay is to know that you are not enjoying your life anymore and yet continuing on the path, hoping something changes.
In most cases, nothing changes. Except what dies within us... what could have been our life.
I was also fired from a job once. I used to work on weekends, sometimes 14 hours a day... it was very toxic (my body felt that). So honestly, I’m glad I was fired... I couldn’t take it anymore.
I'm sure these things teach more than anything else in life.
You should definitely read this: Once You're Laid Off, You'll Never Be the Same Again...
Thanks for your comment Anmol.
Without realizing I was on that same path. I didn't stop to think what I wanted and jumped the corporate world with the wrong expectations.
Loved this phrame. It reminds me of that quote: some people die at 25 and get buried at 75.
Hey that rings a bell. I think I already read it...Been there too.
The first time I experienced a lay off, it was pretty traumatic. Felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me, and I was in free fall. Anxiety. Uncertainty. Hard to breathe.
The second time I experienced a lay off, it was no big deal for me. I tried my best to help my colleagues who were going through their first lay off.
The best lay off experience was me and my colleagues were commiserating over our ill fortune at lunch. On the way back to the office, we stopped by a company on the way and picked up a dozen job applications. Kind of as a joke, to help lighten our spirits. Half of us got hired there.
The lesson I learned was not to wallow in self-pity. After being laid off, my new job is to find a new job. Once a new job is secured, then I'd set my starting date to be two weeks out, so I'd have some decompress time before jumping back into the fray.
I've seen too many of my friends and colleagues who would get laid off, and take some time to decompress before they started to search for a new job. The danger being the decompress time goes from a week, to a month, to a year...
I've also tried starting my own small business. It was not in my wheelhouse. Of the dozens of my friends and colleagues who started their own businesses, only two of them succeeded.
Not trying to dissuade anyone: there is a skill set that can be learned. There are classes one could take or "start your own business" books to help prepare — avail yourself!
Thanks for sharing your experience here, Eljay.
For me too (I'm talking about another time, not the one I wrote about here) I passed from relief the day I was laid off to anxiety and panic mode weeks later.
It was a lucky day for some of you guys. Life makes interesting and unexpected turns sometimes.
Been there and done that. I took almost a year off in 2024. For me it was time to take care of my physical and mental health after burning out. Yes, a layoff in the middle of a burnout season for me.
That's a great lesson. Since my last layoff, I adopted the motto: "be layoff proof" by building an online presence, side income, and multiple sources of joy and satisfaction.
Yep, sometimes our blessings are in disguise!
Yes, often life is full of unexpected turns and plot twists.
Very interesting post. But... why were you fired? You insisted to work nude? ;-)
Nah...I didn't clock in/out with my fingerprints. I showed up and left on time, just didn't use the biometric time clock.