Strap Up! There’s a recession.

Losing my dream job and learning how to navigate life through it.

Photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash

We need growth in every area of our lives but what happens when this growth hits a decline in income but an increase in the cost of living and the inevitable… Job loss. Welcome to the era of a recession.

I had never really understood what a recession meant until 2016 when I had to pay double for my tuition from Nigeria. I had exceeded my partial scholarship. My cards were inaccessible, the naira was like paper money to the British pounds. I remember having to pay school fees through third-party individuals who had businesses in Nigeria and the UK. I had to pay a 100% interest rate to them for just conversion. I remember my Nigerian Neighbour who had traveled to Nigeria a few weeks ago came with the gist of how scarce tomato was and how people had turned to carrot to make stew. As a Nigerian, tomato stew is a staple in every home-rich or poor. I was appalled but glad I wasn’t there to experience it. She narrated how she ran back to the UK because she had exceeded her spending budget and her only saving grace back was a return ticket and a bus pass or she would have been stranded. I hated those moments and prayed never to experience it ever again. Fast forward, four years later, here I am experiencing the thing I feared-another batch of a recession the country had been managing to avoid in the past dispensation.

Here we are again, all thanks to Covid19 and everything in between, I felt the hit like many other Nigerians. It’s obvious the year had not panned out the way we had anticipated. We had thought this would be the year to actualize dreams, make that billion, own that condo, travel, explore culture, and just BE. Nevertheless right now, this minute, all we can hold unto is that we survived this year one way or the other. I started this year in the job that I loved so much, but I guess the job couldn’t reciprocate the love. I was fired by the end of September. I must say, I didn’t see it coming. I had put in my 200% into the job in the last quarter. I was the poster girl in the organisation in the category of young and making a difference. However, with Covid19 taking the most of our global economy through research and finding a solution to this global pandemic, most industries had to cut funding and ours was no different. Half of the workforce had to kiss their jobs goodbye without severance, or one-month prior notice. As a matter of fact, I received the notice a day after I had produced one of the best town hall meetings the organisation had had.

It’s been a little over a month. Getting into the workforce has been a major challenge for me. Most times, I blame myself for being retrenched other times I look back and realize it wasn’t any fault of mine. I put in the work, I paid my dues, I gave it my all. But life always happens.

So while I still struggle to get a better job and hold on to the last ounce of hope my family ad friends continually pour on me (Because I’ve kinda lost mine). Here’s how to navigate life through a recession from someone who got hit twice.

1. Have a survival mode plan: In my case, like a few mediocre Christians whose contingency plan is to look to God for a miracle, for God to break the skylines and make a way where there seems to be no way, we ended up stuck. However, from my 2016 experience, I had learned to have survival mode savings. In my case, the survival mode savings to be spent on a cruise to Cape Verde while I sort God to… you know, figure a plan for me in the event something bad was to happen or better, pray God averts whatever economic mishap because God once promised His/Her people: “When I see the blood I would Passover”. Thank goodness I had a Cape Verde survival plan otherwise I would have been swimming in debt. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies with contingency plans have a higher chance of surviving a recession. Looking back, if the organisation i worked for had a contingency plan, I probably would still have a job.
2. Be flexible and ready to adjust: The thing is if you don’t adjust, your mental state will. once it recognizes you cannot afford the lifestyle you once had. You need to be flexible with what is important and what is necessary. Understand that it cannot be all vibes and Insha Allah until further notice.
3. Invest in technology: If you look through the history of global recessions in the world, for every time there was a downturn, we came back stronger with a new form of technology. This time would be no different. If you are not into tech and the digital space, now is the time to hone that skill. Why tech? adopting technology costs less during a recession. Recession helps people dig into their problem-solving space and tech is the game-changer. I don’t know how you plan to go around it but… you should.
4. Do Not Resist the Urge to Shalaye: In essence, be transparent. It is the one time your vulnerability would help you. Share how you feel with people who can help you. Let them know you are struggling and how bad/not so bad things have gotten for you. Be open about what you are doing to get out of it. Do not be vulnerable for pity's sake. Be vulnerable because like we say on Twitter, your helper might be a retweet away or in this case a referral. We all know how bad the economy is, we all need each other to go through this moment of uncertainty. I’m also learning to be vulnerable as well. I guess we all can learn to be vulnerable together but so far, being open has made people from my network render some form of help either professional or otherwise.

PS: DO NOT use your vulnerability to seek someone who would carry your financial burden because we have a tendency to do that. However, if the individual is magnanimous enough to support you financially, why not. However, do not see it as their obligation.

Once you get on your feet, be reasonable enough to say thank you to everyone who helped you back up