Folks who survived the 2008 great recession
Mar 12, 2020
640 Comments
do you have advise for us in terms of job security, investments, cash savings or in general? did you go back to school? or get trained for additional skills?
would love to hear experiences from the time.
TIA.
comments
Went to New York City after graduating college to work in magazine publishing as an editor. Was laid off but was single and no dependents. After standing in line and filing for unemployment, I went to a movie and in a weird way that was one of the most satisfying moviegoing experiences I've ever had. Got another job quite easily, but when you're younger and cheaper than those with more experience, that's how it goes.
Dot Com Crash: Worked in the Bay Area at a company that had a successful IPO - I left that job just before the crash started in earnest and moved to L.A. and got a job as a web designer/art director there. Again, single and no family, and with some cash reserve from my prior IPO, wasn't feeling the brunt of the crash. Also, L.A. is a great place to live with so many different industries: entertainment, pharma/biotech, healthcare, travel industry, advertising/media -- the diversity of industries is why I've stayed in SoCal. The sunshine doesn't hurt either.
Great Recession was a different story. By this time, I was married with a kid on the way and born in 2009. I worked at live event/ticketing company doing product management for digital sponsorship projects with partners like Microsoft, Amex, 7-Eleven etc. My manager and I didn't see eye to eye and this person pissed me off when they told me to go against inhouse legal counsel's advice on a project. Then this person denied me consecutive two weeks off for paternity leave but instead "gave" me Thurs/Fri off for four whole weeks -- yet I still had to work from home those days, checking the company-issued Blackberry for shit hitting the fan because the company was so operationally immature.
Yeah, I could have sued (violation of Federal Family Leave Act -- and California also probably has a law on the books about post-birth leave) but I decided against it for reasons I won't go into. Moving on, doing well, being successful and making more $ is the ultimate 'fuck you.' It's so satisfying to change your Linkedin profile knowing the incompetent managers you've had in the past will see the update. I'll leave it at that.
I looked for another product related role to transfer laterally to within that company, but that backfired: I was unceremoniously told my position was eliminated one afternoon in the presence of a company HR rep.
Before I was cut loose, during this period I had also reached out to my recruiter contacts on LinkedIn searching for new roles. Things got so bad during that time that some told me they were no longer in the recruiting business and to hang onto the product management job I had. A month after being laid off I ended up at a small ecommerce consulting shop which was a stepping stone to a better paying position (with good perks and benefits) at a large security vendor. That in turn has led to other good opportunities.
Key takeaways?
1) When times are bad economically, be good to work with and build your personal brand as someone who delivers. Got a boss you don't respect or despise? Have a Plan B, C and D before looking to transfer laterally to another role in case that doesn't work out (see my "layoff" above).
2) Yes, economize: cut out the crap you don't need (pack your lunch -- it's healthier for you anyway; skip the $5 latte and use the espresso machine at work etc.), save cash and don't make big purchases you don't need.
3) Don't run up debt (should be a given, but a lot Americans put on blinders when it comes to debt; I know -- I've stupidly done it in the past).
4) Build your professional network. Not in a major metro area? Start a meetup locally for your field. Or be willing to travel to the nearest metro area to build relationships with those in your field.
5) Push yourself to build your skillset or start a side hustle that could potentially replace a chunk of your fulltime income.
5) During the Great Recession, my wife and I debated pulling cash out of the stock market and putting it elsewhere. But if the dip has already happened, there's no point in doing this as you missed the opportunity and you'll take losses -- so ride it out. I get the sense most Blind users are young (30s or under): you have TIME on your side. The market WILL go back UP. Dollar cost averaging and lower share prices are your friends.
The memories of seeing people line up to withdraw their funds from Washington Mutual (remember them before Chase acquired them?) where I had accounts during the Great Recession are still in my mind.
While it's debatable if this is the start of another recession or not, no one has a crystal ball and it's never a bad idea to build up fiscal resiliency.