It's the summer of 2023, right in the heat of July. I'm sitting in a cold, air-conditioned office in the fanciest building in Calgary, staring down an ancient Cisco phone that looks like it's seen better days and a Windows computer that’s so slow, I swear I can see the hourglass mocking me. Just graduated from Vancouver, I'm in this new city, not because I want to be, but because the tech world is cutting jobs like crazy. After a year of endless interviews, the only decent offers I got from Netflix and Bloomberg slipped through my fingers—no Canadian citizenship, no job. So, here I am at this finance company, where my paycheck is a sad reminder that it's the best offer I got in Canada, but it doesn't even come close to 1/2 of what I used to make as an intern. My manager pulls me into a meeting room with a view that makes you forget you're about to do mind-numbing work. He lays it out for me: fill seven giant Excel sheets with data from the Bloomberg terminal by the end of the month. As he's talking, I remember laughing at a friend for doing what I called "dog's work" at a consulting firm, filling out Excel sheets with no real skill needed. And now, here I am, the joke's on me. A week goes by, and I'm trying to blend in, but it's tough. I tried to make a good impression, waved at our team manager behind my boss’s back, hoping for a nod or maybe a chance at something more interesting than data retrieval. Big mistake. My boss drags me back into the meeting room, not for a pat on the back, but to lecture me about professionalism and how tech guys like me are a dime a dozen, and I should feel honored to work at the financial arm of the company. The next meeting, he’s on my case about taking long lunches. Then, it’s my casual shorts, too many bathroom breaks, not staying late enough—you name it, I'm doing it wrong. My paycheck, already a slap in the face, feels even more like a joke. Two months in, and I can't take it anymore. I decide to quit, but not before the company dinner—I'm not passing up a free meal. When I tell my boss, expecting maybe a hint of regret, he hits me with, “You know we were gonna let you go, right? Just pack up today.” Walking out with my belongings, I’m trying to piece together where it all went wrong. Was moving here for this job the biggest mistake of my life? My savings are drained, I didn’t learn anything, felt miserable, and I'm questioning my worth. That's when my phone buzzes. It's Daniel, an ex-Amazon intern and one of the few friends I've made in this corporate maze. He tells me to wait downstairs. As the elevator doors open, there's Danny, Henry (that ex-Meta intern), Jay, and a bunch of others. They decided to ditch the company dinner to grab a bite with me. They're all fed up with the toxic culture, ready to jump ship too. As we sit around a too-small table, sharing fries and stories, I realize we're all in the same boat. We've been knocked down, sure, but we're not out. In the weeks and months that follow, we lean on each other, sharing leads, prepping for interviews, and finally, one by one, we land on our feet in better places. Reflecting back, this story isn’t about a failed job—it’s about finding your tribe in the least likely places. It’s about the laughs, the late-night pep talks, and the shared dream of something better. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the worst experiences bring out the best in us, connecting us with people who light the way to new beginnings. And for that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Read it all because you write well. Consider doing it more. Congrats!
Reads like chatGPT
I recently read “Storyworthy” after an episode on Lenny’s podcast so I wanted to give it a try :)
Very well written! Great perspective, thanks for sharing!
Great writing skills
A person who says to any employee’s face that their whole job function is “dime a dozen” is someone who probably should not want word to get out that he ever said that lol. Even once! Lol.
Well written, may Satan bless you with a bright future!
Fun read and very inspiring!
You made a mundane and generic story very captivating and fun, love it.
corny shit
"Danny", "Henry", "Jay". This was a good write, but you need to make the character names believable. Try different variations of Pajeet.
Lmao! the initials are correct though.
didnt read a single word, TC or GTFO
lmao. TC: 150k. @Google, are you clicking posts to read TCs?