Five years ago, Alesandra Dubin was laid off from her corporate job after spending 15 years in the journalism industry. The experience was abrupt and impersonal — she was summoned to an unfamiliar office, where an HR representative she’d never met informed her of the decision. At the time, she didn’t know then that this tough experience would ultimately result in the creation of a much more meaningful career.
After the layoff, Dubin set her mind on concrete things: revamping her resume, going on job interviews, and securing her family’s financial well-being. Being in her 40s, she feared the corporate world might view her as replaceable. Although her spouse’s income and health insurance provided a safety net, Dubin struggled with a profound sense of professional — and at times, personal — valuelessness.
In order to remain busy in her line of work and earn some money, she started freelancing. At first, she took assignments that paid minimally or did not seem appropriate to her skill level, but the work was keeping her busy. Then the pandemic struck, and with everyone stuck to screens, demand for online content was through the roof. To Dubin’s astonishment, her freelance business skyrocketed.
As the volume of work picked up, she started to reject low-paying projects and concentrate on more rewarding projects. She invested in herself again — participating in virtual conferences, reading books written specifically for writing professionals, and building a robust personal brand. For the first time in years, she actually felt inspired by what she was doing.
In less than a year, she was making more as a freelancer than she ever had in her previous corporate job. She ceased to apply for the conventional kind of jobs and took full advantage of the freedom that freelancing brought. With no constraints of office politics or misaligned leadership, Dubin experienced the autonomy of doing work that aligned with her values.
Now, she freelances full-time. Although the journalism world is still volatile, Dubin is thriving in a career she constructed on her own terms. There are ups and downs, naturally — but she’s content, and thankful that getting laid off was the surprise kick she needed to build a life and career she loves.