Losing a job, nothing breaks you and makes you question your existence when you get fired, retrenched, or laid off. In this article, I will share my experience of how I lost my job as a newly transitioned GIS data scientist, what I learnt and how I recovered.

"Come to the board room office", read a Google chat email from the HR manager, I was in the process of clearing my laptop, deleting or backing up my documents as the writings were on the wall. I drugged my way to the office knowing it was my last meeting.

Seated there was the COO and the Human Resource Manager, "After much deliberation, and considering the financial state of the company due to the Covid pandemic coupled that with your below-par performance, we have decided it is in the best interest of the company not to keep you" stated the COO.

"It was a hard decision to make, but in the long run, it will be a relief to you" the HR lady retorted, from there I zoned out as everything else was irrelevant regarding the meeting, all I knew is that I am officially out of a job and things are about to get tough, especially in the middle of a pandemic and a pay cut.

I write this because many startups are letting go of their employees at an alarming rate due to tech disruption or tough economic times. I hope these tips will make you find clarity and try save your job. Disputing is here!

Context, How Did We Get Here?

I will spare you much details regarding the company and the persons involved in my departure, but in brief, it was an agri-tech firm based in Kenya. I was recruited as a GIS data scientist, my primary roles were using GIS software tools for soil analysis across Africa with Python, R, Postgres and ArcMap being the main tech slacks. I was excited as it was a new challenge and it was going to fulfil my ambition of becoming a fully-fledged data scientist.

All was well, initially, then came the calm before the storm situation, a couple of months into it I thought I was finally adapting to my new role until a management restructuring happened which proved to be unfavorable to me, and then it was downhill from there.

What Did I learn?

1. Communication is the Key- If you were to ask me the main issue that led to me losing that job is communication or rather the lack of proper communication, let me break it down.

· Voice your expectations- In the initial stages, state your expectations i.e. what project you will handle, where you need time and request for information or even training. Learn to say no to handling projects that are complex.

· Make sure you understand your JD- Go through the job description with your supervisor and HR manager as it will change, especially if it is a startup or a "fast-paced environment".

· Keep all forms of writing communication safe- Every email, zoom call, appraisal, phone message, even recorded phone call should be kept safe for future purposes in case a promise is not met.

· Follow up- Follow up on the previous conversation, do not assume anything, make it clear what you are not happy with and request a follow-up.

2. Take responsibility and accountability- Make sure you acknowledge your shortcomings and flaws, in my case, maybe during the interview I gave the company high expectations that I could not fulfil- they were banking on me to spearhead these projects based on my CV and the 3 interviews I had.

3. Seek outside help- If it gets overwhelming, reach out for help either through friends or family, try not to confide in a colleague as in the long run it might come back to bite you.

4. Have a life outside work- Join a gym, find another hobby, explore different aspects of your career during this season of confusion- it is during this time I discovered my passion for tech content writing.

5. Take your L with grace- When all is said and done and the company lets you go, do not go on LinkedIn bad-mouthing your former employer, and do not have fantasies of your company going under or being investigated by the S.E.C. for fraud. Most of the times, the company ends up thriving, so just take an L.

6. Self-reflect- Find out what you did wrong and any lessons learnt, I highly recommend journaling every thought you have in this process. Deal with the negative thoughts and the bittness.

7. Prepare for a comeback- Network, find mentorship, basically try to make the best of the situation, make lemon out of lemonade mentality

8. Never give up- This is just a setback, it is a part of life- it does not define you, do not give up, the fact that they offered you the job means you have something to offer.

In the next article, I will share the steps I took to bounce back, but in a nutshell -I am glad it happened and you can also bounce back just strategize, you got this.