I received some surprising news at work on Friday. Last winter, we pitched to take on the entirety of one of our biggest accounts. (They had been using 5 other agencies in addition to us.) This would mean acquiring all 34 markets, instead of the 6 we had been working on. We lost the pitch to a large agency based in Los Angeles. However, they continued using us throughout the year. Last week they informed our agency that they decided to cut all ties now and move all work over to the winning agency. On Friday afternoon, my boss came in with someone from HR to let me know that we had officially lost the account and had to let me go. It was certainly a shock; I didn't see it coming at all. They also let another buyer go, someone who was partially retired from accounting, and a radio buyer who had basically left but still did work on the account for us. Also, all of the execs are taking pay cuts. I've spoken with the girls I shared an office with and they don't think the layoffs are over yet.
On Friday I was just angry, on Saturday I was apathetic, on Sunday I was depressed, and the last couple days I've been OK with it. It was strange yesterday not going to work, but to be honest, I'm enjoying the break! Work had me so wound up and stressed that a small vacation is really good for me. I already feel more at peace and back to my normal self.
I've wanted to leave DM for a while now, but I had of course expected that it would be on my terms. I wanted a new job but I loved the perks of working in media, and the girls I worked with had become good friends. Those two things kept me working for a company that I wanted to leave. I am grateful that God did what I couldn't bring myself to do. All in all, I'm feeling very upbeat and looking forward to starting something better.
