Real Words

I am saddened to say that one of my favorite steady writing gigs is coming to a close. I have been the VoIP and mobile phones blogger for PC World’s small business channel since last year, a job that I particularly enjoyed. It had that perfect combination of being challenging without overwhelming. It allowed me to research interesting news and report on it in a new way (taking general technology news and giving it a business slant). And it introduced me to a lot of great people in the tech and business industries.

But, alas, the job is ending. The company has decided to go in a different direction from originally intended and the blog will no longer be part of the site. This makes sense given the general direction that they’re going and the highly specific niche interest of the blog. And the situation ended more-than-amicably with a lot of understanding on the part of PC World and the possibility of continuing to work with them in some other capacity in the future. So, it’s not a bad situation but it’s always a little sad when a great writing gig comes to an end.

Luckily, I’ve been through this before and I know what needs to be done to get through the change and land on my feet. Here are the things that I do whenever a good writing gig ends:

• Mourn the loss. Okay, so that sounds a little bit dramatic. But I do think it’s important to take a little time to just be sad and frustrated that this didn’t work out. It’s healthy. I journal about it but do whatever you need to do to work through it.
• Write down what was great about the job before you forget. This is a great tool for helping you to realize what the strong points were of a particular job so that you can look for those qualities in future gigs and find lucrative, satisfying employment.
• Start looking to replace the work. It’s important not to let a job loss put you into a financially tough position. Start looking for new work right away so you don’t find yourself in a resentful bind.
• Remember that when one door closes, another one opens. Trite and cliche perhaps, but true. It’s good to be optimistic at the end of anything because it makes us that much more likely to recognize new opportunities when they come our way. Whenever one job has ended, I’ve always found another (usually better) situation around the bend.
• Get a reference. If you did well at a job that’s ending, you should request a reference letter to keep in your portfolio. This is a great thing to have for future applications and it’s something that’s nice to look back on when you go through low periods with work.
• Stay in touch. If you liked who you worked for, stay in touch over time even after you stop working together. A network of people you like working with is always a good thing to have. It may lead to future employment, it may just be a great support system to have behind you.

It’s never fun when a job unexpectedly ends, even if it ultimately works out. Taking the time to acknowledge the difficulty of the situation and then motivating yourself to move through it will help you get to the other end of the rough patch with your life intact.

Question of the Day: What’s the first thing that you do when a good writing gig ends?