“Stop by my office when you can” is the email you get from HR at 3:31 p.m.  Uh oh, it’s the end of the agency’s quarter.  It’s late afternoon.  Business has changed a bit.  You have noticed the HR Director, CFO and CEO meeting repeatedly and urgently behind closed (clear glass) doors.  You know your gig is up, that you are a Chosen One  as you whisper, “Well, it’s been nice working with you for over a fourth of my life” to your office confidante.

You walk to the HR office of doom and find all the masters of your advertising agency future sitting facing your entrance. “Yikes,” you say and Yikes is right.  “We’re so sorry… despite your good evaluation last week, ongoing positive client feedback, and the fact that your work is often held up as an example for others to follow, we have to let you go.  We just don’t have enough projects for you right now.  So to follow formal rules, as we speak, your computer is being shut down and taken by IT (but don’t worry, we will let you come in later this week and get the files you need.) We have to make this your last day.  And we need to take your office security badge.”

Now, you’re not truly stunned, as you know the signs and have been a witness to the layoff scene many times before.  And the “layoffers” sincerely regret the situation.  But you still always wanted to believe it would never be YOU.  You thought that even if your account left the agency (leaving you with long empty days) that you were just too valuable to be let go.  You thought that someone else would just get the ax and you would take over his account.  Now is that fair?  Not really.  And is that likely?  Nope.

So you are history at your agency.  And that is that.  You may go into panic mode, may be irate, may experience self- doubt.  But (assuming you are receiving a decent severance and have saved some money along the way) you may instead choose to see this as the best opportunity you have had since you exited your glorious, care-free college life and first entered the ad biz.  Now can be the time to take a step back and decide if you want to keep living your life identifying as an “Account Executive,” or “Copywriter” or “Art Director.”  If writing creative briefs, concepting, presenting and producing still fire you up…if monthly creative reviews, POVs and CPM analyses continue to get you giddy, then you can hit the resume-sending, ad agency networking trail.  With the turnover in the industry, a new position in an agency may actually not be that hard to find.  Becoming a freelancer and even opening your own solo ad shop are also viable options.

But if you’re not sure you want to press on in the “Mad Men” mode, think about your other interests and passions.  If you’re a writer, maybe you would like to shop around some of your humorous essays and short stories—who knows, maybe you could become the next David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs.  Maybe you have been thinking of pursuing a graduate degree, and haven’t yet had the time.  Or maybe there’s a local college or charity organization desperately in need of a communications director.  The experience you’ve gained in the ad agency world is applicable (and even coveted) in many alternate fields.  And the contacts you have made– with clients, with vendors, and with the media can work to open doors for you.

So while it’s never fun to be a Chosen One in a layoff, and it’s a serious drag to take a financial (and insurance) hit, it’s also a chance to reinvent, reposition and re-energize.  Sometimes a kick out the door will land you somewhere you really want to be.

This Reflection was written by a 20+ years- in-the- biz ad gal who was laid off from her last (12-year) agency gig at 3:31 p.m. on November 1, 2011.  She graduated with her M.Ed. in Community Counseling in May, 2013, and wishes all other Chosen Ones amazing, fulfilling futures.