Terryanne Chebet: 10 Things To Do When You Lose Your Job

Newly resigned Metropol TV General Manager, Terryanne Chebet, on Sunday recounted her experience with job loss, sharing ten lessons that she has learnt over the years and what it took to get back on her feet.

Chebet, who announced her exit from Metropol last week, lost her lucrative news anchoring job at Royal Media Services (RMS)-owned Citizen TV in 2016.

“On the 26th of October 2016, my then boss called me into her office and informed me that I was affected in a restructuring exercise. It was 2.00 pm in the afternoon, on a Wednesday and I was preparing for my evening TV show, The Business Centre. In a matter of minutes I had lost a very well paying and prestigious job as a TV host in the country’s leading media house. It was a difficult time and I cried every night, wallowing in self -pity and anxiety,” narrated Ms Chebet on the online publishing site, Medium.

According to Chebet, that was the first time she truly understood what insomnia was.

“As a sole breadwinner, I was completely anxious about the future. I had a bank loan, school fees, rent etc that I needed to take care of. I was scared!…I couldn’t sleep well, I stayed up crying and wondering how I was going to make it without a salary.

“Looking back, 4 years ago I realise now that there is always a way out, no matter how bleak your future seems,” wrote Terryanne.

Here are 10 Things To Do When You Lose Your Job with Terryanne Chebet.

1. Take Control of your budget

   This includes writing down every cost, including your rent, food, house supplies, transport/fuel, and every other thing you spend on every month, including eating out and entertainment/drinks. Have your budget at your fingertips.

2. Down-size

   Once you look through your budget, cut out all non-essentials, such as eating out, drinking at the bar, manage the food properly, only buy what you need, get a cheaper place to stay, basically down-size on everything you can down-size. We had a traditional family lunch out on Sundays and I cut it out, after of course explaining to my family why it was necessary to manage our costs until we are back on track.

3. Restructure your Debt

   If you have any bank loans set an appointment with your bank immediately and ask to set up a payment plan. If your loan is insured you may get a couple of months to organise your self, I got 9 months from my bank as per my loan contract. Ensure you are in touch with everyone you owe and let them know your financial situation. Do not switch off your phone and do not stop picking up their calls. Communication changes everything.

4. Health Insurance / Savings

   Whatever you do, try to ensure that you have a health cover for your family. Keep your NHIF payments on track as this can be a real life saver once you’re medical insurance from your employer runs out. Once you get some sort of income coming in, Begin to slowly put some money aside for savings/pension. Mobile payments now allow us so much more Flexibility. Make a choice to save any amount of money per week/ month. However difficult this time is, it is also a chance to really pay attention to your financial discipline.

5. Re-write your own strategic plan

   This is perhaps one of the most important steps to take with a job loss. Before you start looking again for jobs you will need to evaluate your life, your career and what your strengths are. Write everything down and do a projection of where you want to get to in 5 – 10 years. Once you do that, evaluate opportunities that you can engage in immediately in order to generate an income. I’ ve seen people who started to Bake in the evenings and sell cakes/cookies etc while still looking for a job, I’ve also heard amazing stories about people who saw a gap in providing affordable food to office people, and sometimes these can turn out into a full time business as it has for very many people out there. What can you do to generate an income?

6. Update and Clean up your CV on online presence (LinkedIn)

   This is a perfect time to re-do your CV, touch it up, get active and noticed on LinkedIn and let people who can help know that you are actively searching for a job. Because you have extra time on your hands, set aside time every week to create some compelling content about trends in your industry, share some captivating stories so that your industry peers can see that you’re still active and visible.

7. Network with Industry Peers

   This is an important time to find out the influential people within your industry and begin to knock on doors. Attend industry events, in corona times, attend online forums and ensure to have done your research in good time, prepare a question or two in advance as well as some key points that you can raise, or global trends and standards that can be emulated. The point is to ensure you are heard and that you stand out as intelligent and engaged.

8. Build your personal brand

   Your personal brand is what people think about you. Are you reliable, effective, ready to help? Are you Visible? This is a great time to begin to offer mentorship, create a schedule that allows you to really focus on personal brand building. Use your social media posts to elevate your personal brand. Take some good, professional photo’s, research on trends and share articles that will provoke conversation and engagement.

9. Get Physically active

   Physical activity gets more than just our bodies in shape. It is a great way to re-energise both your body and mind. Working out improves our Brain health and memory, as well as help keep chronic diseases at bay. Start slowly, perhaps with a 30 minute walk every-evening, a jog, join your local gym or use YouTube workout videos in the comfort of your home. Try to commit to at least 30 minutes of a physical exercise daily.

10. Tell your story

    I remember being at a cocktail event one evening and I didn’t know how to introduce myself. I always introduced myself as a News- Anchor and now the introduction itself was always followed by questions about what happened. No matter how uncomfortable it might get, you must tell the truth. Go over it until you are comfortable, tell it until you feel better about sharing the story. Your future employers will almost always ask as well, so ensure that you have though through your job loss story and you can tell it well and comfortably.

    A job loss is never easy, however, understanding that it happens to many people in their career and accepting it for what it is allows you to bounce back faster. Acceptance will allow you to keep your eyes open to new opportunities, and no matter what, stay positive.

Read More Here: Medium