From Layoff To Lift-off

 

While it's common for people to share their experiences of resigning from a job that no longer brings them happiness, there seems to be a reluctance to discuss being laid off due to the stigma attached to it. Despite this, I choose to open up and share what I went through, as I believe it can provide comfort and guidance to those currently going through similar situations.

I had spent about 25 years in the corporate world.  While many would celebrate this silver jubilee with a luxurious vacation, mine ended with an unexpected layoff.

Though I saw it coming, the emotions didn't hit until I wheeled my belongings out of the office I'd occupied for over a decade.

Losing a job is one of the most stressful experiences in life, and even if it's foreseeable, it's hard to be fully prepared.

From my own experience, I know that initial emotions are usually anger and anxiety. 

Being retrenched feels personal, and the initial thoughts are often about how good one's performance had been. But it's crucial to understand that it's a corporate decision, not a reflection of one's capabilities. 

In the current climate of news regarding job losses, I'd like to share three things I've learned from my experience.

1. Take time to process your emotions but adopt a positive mindset once you're ready to move forward.

Losing a job can be a traumatic experience that can greatly affect one's self-esteem and mental health. I experienced depression and had to process emotions of anger, sadness, and anxiety. 

During this time, I also had a series of interviews with my favorite brands, but my imposter syndrome got the best of me, and I failed spectacularly. 

It's true that negative thoughts can attract negative outcomes.

However, after acknowledging my feelings and taking an objective view of the situation, I realized that my layoff was not a reflection of my capabilities. 

It was a corporate decision made to reduce headcount, or whatever strategic business decision it was that frankly, based on my track record reflected in my annual appraisals, had nothing to do with my performance. 

Rather than feeling bitter and inadequate, I reminded myself of my 25 years of marketing communications experience, and that I could apply my skills and knowledge in various areas. That experience is my super power.

This shift in mindset was empowering and allowed me to shed my ego and connect with others, which brings me to my next point:

2. Communicate and connect with your professional circle.

Despite feeling dejected and hopeless after my layoff, I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support I received from my network once I opened up about my experience. 

Their warm words and advice, such as "Nothing changes the fact that you're a great marketer," "Don't get angry, get on with it," and "What can I do for you?" still stick in my mind today.

my network, I was introduced to various associates who generously referred me to potential job opportunities. 

For example, the ex CHRO of the company I had worked for, Jonas Ang, introduced me to May Cheng who then introduced me to the inspiring and energetic Kim Underhill, who invited me to join  She Brilliance, a women's mentoring and support group at which I remain actively involved in today.

My friends and business contacts rallied around me with advice, supported me with introductions, invited me into their respective communities, and that helped grow my network of friendships out of which some had become my clients today.

Many people view being laid off as a taboo topic, but we shouldn't treat it as a stigma. There are many people out there ready to offer us the support we need; we just need to be open to receiving it.

3. Review your finances, and consider your next steps.

As the primary earner for my family, I had to thoroughly assess my financial situation and determine how many months my family could survive without my income. 

After carefully considering my options, I ultimately decided to establish Bravery Communications, a marketing communications consultancy, instead of seeking employment with another company.

Being a solopreneur allows me greater flexibility as well as the opportunity to work only with clients that are aligned with my values.

While my fixed salary covers household expenses and my mother's allowance, I supplement my income by increasing my focus on my side hustle, which generates additional income each month.  

The experience forced me to be practical with my finances, and acknowledge how much was really enough to allow my family and I to have a reasonably good quality of life.  I even called on the professional expertise of my financial planner to do a financial review at this juncture when I lost my job and was about to embark on a new entreneurial journey, and map a financial gameplan for me based on my new circumstance. 

We need to approach our finances and future plans in a feasible manner, and it helps to do a sense-check with the family too.  My husband was my main pillar of support throughout the whole ordeal then and even now,  as a key member of my team within my firm, managing all the invoicing, expenses, and tax matters.

If you’ve recently lost your job or know someone going through tough times, please know this: you are not alone. With a positive mindset, you can turn from layoff to lift-off and stride forward in your career. Please reach out to me if you need to talk, my inbox is always open.

This blogpost was written for and on behalf of me by the talented Lena Loke.

 

Owning My Own Story With Bravery Communications

Many have told me that this was a difficult year, particularly those who had faced redundancies, job restructuring and business closures.  For me, this year was unprecedented, but I beg to differ on that opinion about how difficult it was.   If I had to walk through the year all over again, I would, because I believe in owning my own story.

You see,  I lost my job after spending more than 10 years at it, but i had not lost my spirit.  In fact, it gave me the opportunity to rest, restore my energy, re-evaluate my goals and revitalise that determination to regain control of my life.  

I turned my focus back to my health when I discovered that I was suffering from hormonal imbalance   and got my health back on the mend through a combination of better nutrition, regular workouts and plenty of rest.

I picked up a new sport and won Gold in my age group at the Singapore Masters Athletics mini competition. 

I poured through several courses and took pleasure in that learning journey to sharpen my skills. 

I reached out to  old friends, and made new ones, who had encouraged me to set up my own communications practice. Very quickly, I landed myself with my first few clients for Bravery Communications, whose visions  were aligned to my company’s values of authenticity.  I am so grateful to them for taking a chance on me to help them tell their respective brand stories authentically.

You know what they say about things that happen for a purpose?  I found my purpose because of what I had been through this year. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” - Brene Brown Many have told me that this was a difficult year, particularly those who had faced redundancies, job restructuring and business closures.  For me, this year was unprecedented, but I beg to differ on that opinion about how difficult it was.   If I had to walk through the year all over again, I would, because I believe in owning my own story.

You see,  I lost my job after spending more than 10 years at it, but i had not lost my spirit.  In fact, it gave me the opportunity to rest, restore my energy, re-evaluate my goals and revitalise that determination to regain control of my life.  

I turned my focus back to my health when I discovered that I was suffering from hormonal imbalance   and got my health back on the mend through a combination of better nutrition, regular workouts and plenty of rest.

I picked up a new sport and won Gold in my age group at the Singapore Masters Athletics mini competition. 

I poured through several courses and took pleasure in that learning journey to sharpen my skills. 

I reached out to  old friends, and made new ones, who had encouraged me to set up my own communications practice. Very quickly, I landed myself with my first few clients for Bravery Communications, whose visions  were aligned to my company’s values of authenticity.  I am so grateful to them for taking a chance on me to help them tell their respective brand stories authentically.

You know what they say about things that happen for a purpose?  I found my purpose because of what I had been through this year. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” - Brene Brown

My Commencement Speech Addressed To Graduates Of The NUS Arts & Social Sciences Faculty 2023

 

Truly honoured to be invited to deliver the National University of Singapore Commencement Speech to the 2023 graduating cohort from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences yesterday evening. Even more proud that my alma mater had recently attained the accolade of being the first Asian institution to break into the top 10 in the world university rankings. It was such an awesome evening spent with the students and lecturers, joined by my family. I took the opportunity to share with the audience about my super power to shape perspectives through purposeful communications. I wanted to drive home the message that each and everyone in the audience had the ability to write their own story, and shape and reshape narratives to create impact in the most meaningful way that could add value to the community. I would like to share my speech in this blogpost below:

Good evening,

• Mr Po’ad Mattar, NUS Pro-Chancellor;

• Assoc Professor Reuben Wong, Assoc VP, Global Relations;

• Distinguished Guests; and

• Graduates;

 

Thank you for inviting me to share this special day with you and the graduating cohort from my alma mater which had recently attained the accolade of being the first Asian institution to break into the top 10 in the world university rankings. I am truly proud and honored to be here.

Congratulations.

I am Joanna, I founded Bravery Communications, a marketing communications consultancy specialized in  shaping brand perceptions through the power of story telling.

I wrote a speech initially, with all the politically correct  messages to celebrate you and your achievements.  But at last minute last night I had decided to change it, because I wanted to  stand in my truth, so that you can walk out of this room tonight knowing that you each,  do have a super power to create an impact with the stories you are about to write when you leave this school, which had undoubtedly laid the foundation stones of your future success.  

 After tonight, as you go embrace a world of firsts, first job, first home, new family, kids, the main message I want to convey is that your super power is actually your ability to write your own story.

My super power is the ability to build impactful narratives that could shape the perceptions of people in a meaningful way.

And how did this superpower came about?

It started when I was 8 years old.  My father was a political detainee for views that were not aligned with the government’s.  A journalist visited our home then, to take a statement from Mom and I.  I remembered that he asked “What do you think about your daddy?”  The 8 year old me who hadn’t seen Daddy for a long time, could only respond “ Daddy is so naughty.” 

That quote became part of a story about my family and I which I had to live with on national press.  I grew up with that clipping thinking “ Wow! How powerful communications can be, to shape public perceptions.”  And from then onwards, I wanted to grow up to be like my favourite CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour. 

When it was time to select my courses at this university, I picked English and Political Science as my majors which became subjects I truly loved.  Political Science showed me how valuable it was to have an opinion, while English opened my eyes to what a beautiful language it truly was and I saw it from a different perspective, beyond just using it as a communication tool.

When those ‘powers’ combined, I learnt how to merge having perspectives and excellent communication skills, which thus became the foundation of my very successful 25-year career of being a brand and corporate communications specialist. 

I would like to share an example of what I did with my super power when I spent 10 years with AIA Singapore as it’s head of brand and corporate communications.  

For the longest time, insurance was associated with Death or Sickness.  My role was to change this negative narrative and to build trust and better connection with its customers.  I wanted it to be a brand that incentivised customers to live healthier longer better lives.

3 years into the job, I launched the revolutionary wellness platform called AIA Vitality, which completely changed the conversations of the insurance industry,   a legacy I was proud to leave behind when I left the company 3 years ago due to a retrenchment at the height of covid.

Leaving AIA forced me to question what my super power was.   It was then I realised it had evolved. My new super power was my 25 years of experience in marketing communications.

So when retrenchment came, how did I use my super powers? That was when Bravery Communications was born to help smaller businesses, startups and non-profit organizations shape consumer perceptions.

So to  this graduating cohort, I congratulate you for coming this far. I am so excited for you as you explore the world beyond the walls of this university. 

I welcome you to uncover your super powers as you navigate your journey through life. Know that your superpowers will change along the way, and it is ok. 

Having an open mind that is resilient to change, and your swift ability  to pivot according to the challenges you face, can only strengthen your super powers to help you write your own story and make it even more impactful in a way that will add value to your community.

I like to leave you with my favourite quote by Brene Brown “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”

With that, I thank you for this opportunity  to celebrate your special day and I look forward to working with some of you someday.