I quit my job with no job or money. This is what I should have done instead.

I graduated from graduate school in 2018 and started a job in October of that same year. This job turned out to be a nightmare and it’s really hard to deal with the fact that the job you wanted so badly sucks. Not only that, but just around the corner of when I quick my job was COVID-19.

It wasn’t the right “fit” for me, but it’s really the people that make you miserable. The job affected me mentally, emotionally, and physically. It was a situation that I don’t want anyone else to be in which is why I am doing more career and job related videos and blog posts. To introduce this, I just to share my story and what I think the best strategy is so you don’t end up like me — jobless and broke. 🥴

First off, the first thing I want you to do is reflect. Reflect on what you do well, what you don’t do well, what you like about your job, what you dislike, what issues you are having and why. Ponder on whether it’s management, outdated systems, lack of variety, and just gather a list of everything and be specific. This is important so when you look for other jobs, network, and interview, you know what to do look for and what to look out for.

The next step is to save money. A lot of the people you see quitting jobs with no backup plan either have money saved up, a supportive spouse and/or family or they might even be doing freelance or other jobs. A lot of people don’t mention this, but I will. I quit my job, broke my lease shy of two months, and moved back in with my mom. Moving is expensive especially when it is halfway across the country. While there was no way I could have stayed at that job, I am happy that my family supported me in ways that helped me to be able to quit.

When you have that first inkling that something is not right with your job, scale back if possible. Scaling back on your expenses will help you to build the budget to be able to quit with no job if possible. I absolutely understand how hard it is to save three months to a year of expenses, but if I were to go back in time. I would have been saving my money seven months before I quit my job because that’s when I knew.

My next piece of advice is to let people help you even strangers. If you head over to LinkedIn and filter through all of the non-job or career-related posts, there are a lot of people who want to help other people. Networking is not fun at all especially if you are introverted like me. The easiest way is to talk to your friends and family and see who they know. There potentially may be someone in your industry. My dentist even has connections that could potentially help me. Small talk can be miserable, but there is a way I have found to navigate it and apparently so has Zendaya. At 14:30 is when she talks about it and it is very similiar to how I navigate small talk.

Don’t be afraid to slide in someone’s LinkedIn inbox. Small talk, informational interviews, and connections is the way a lot of people may jobs.

As I write this, I am looking at patterns for a dress I am designing and I know exactly where I focus my career — fashion design and costume design. I’m watching the latest episode of Insecure and after watching Issa Rae’s growth, I know that I have to work with what I go and keep growing.

I don’t dream of labor. I find joy when I am researching and coming up with ideas whether that’s for my blog, podcast, YouTube, fashion design, or costume design. I find probably the most joy when I do all the work to produce and present those ideas. Work shouldn’t make us feel miserable and that only purpose for 40+ hours a week. I love my parents, and I’m happy to be here, but being a creative without rich parents is the opposite of the cheat code. I do a lot and I want a lot, but it’ll get done. Stay tuned in by subscribing to channel, the video that corresponds is embedded below and subscribe to the newsletter.

I really hope this helps you and let me know what tips you have by commenting.