I Got Fired From My First 9–5, But The Lessons I Learned Were Game-Changing
Four lessons from a corporate failure turned freelancer.
Cristian Rojas | Pexels My first and only 9–5 job lasted six weeks in 2015. I had avoided traditional employment until then, building skills in social media, writing, web design, and small business management through volunteer work and freelancing. After running a social media campaign that garnered nearly 1 million views for a niche figure skating event, I was encouraged to pursue it professionally.
After some indecision, I applied when I saw a job posting for a digital marketing specialist at a local agency. In both interviews, I was honest about my self-taught background and the skills I lacked. They assured me that training would be provided.
At 25, landing this position felt triumphant. My previous work had been typical teenage jobs: mini golf attendant, dog walker, house cleaner, shopgirl, and secretarial assistant. Digital marketing was a huge step up.
The reality proved far different. My desk sat in an open floor plan with constant foot traffic behind me. The job listing’s emphasis on a “fast-paced work environment” and “multiple simultaneous projects” was incompatible with my working style — though I wouldn’t realize this until too late.
The workplace showed clear dysfunction: executives leaving without notice, fierce departmental competition, and notoriously high turnover. The unwritten office rules were impossible to navigate, from how many questions were acceptable to ask to proper meeting participation and bathroom break frequency.
Most critically, I never received the promised training. The agency became unusually busy immediately after hiring me. My supervisor delegated my training to a coworker who disliked me, and he “dropped the ball,” likely intentionally. I was too proud to admit I needed help, so I tried to learn independently.
Inevitably, I made mistakes. After forgetting to file a vital client report, I was fired just before Halloween. The managers were teary-eyed — they liked me personally, but I couldn’t perform the job. As I cleaned out my desk, I felt both embarrassed and relieved.
I didn’t know then that I had undiagnosed ADHD, which significantly contributed to my struggles with multiple screens, constant task-switching, and the open office environment. Within six months, my problematic coworker had also left, and years later, my supervisor departed to start her own company.
This experience forever tainted my perception of 9–5 employment. No matter what Dolly Parton said, it was not a way to make a living. When COVID arrived, I became even more confident that I was making good choices by avoiding office jobs.
Here are the game-changing lessons I learned from being fired from my first nine-to-five:
1. Know what you need (and want) from work
Only after working there did I discover that I couldn’t thrive in an open floor plan or a “fast-paced work environment.” I wasn’t broken — I was in the wrong environment.
It wasn’t entirely my fault or my employer’s fault. Sometimes, jobs can start well, and the environment changes or your circumstances change, and it no longer works. With proper support, I might have grown into the position. But this experience helped me clarify what I wanted and needed from a career, and more importantly, what I didn’t want.
Forbes contributor and business coach Ashley Stahl recommends we take three key steps to determine what we want at work:
- Do a self-audit — what’s working for you and what isn’t? In your life and elsewhere.
- Pay attention to what feels good to you — Check in with your gut. As Stahl says, ‘When it comes to your career, and getting clarity on your best next move, consider creating a list of all the job options you would consider, and then read each one individually. You can also put the list into a random decision generator and take notice of your initial reaction when each job pops up on the screen. Do you feel: liberated or suffocated? Are you expanding or contracting? The truth of what you want often lies within that initial moment.’
- Engage in action — Don’t just stay paralyzed in research or thinking mode — take action towards what you want, even if it’s just tiny steps. Set up meetings, consult with people, or update your resume for your chosen career.
Thinking more about the work environment, I realized it wasn’t just the physical environment but the culture. I dislike corporate life's bureaucracy and office politics, so I decided to focus elsewhere.
My dream job was recently posted, but I didn’t even apply because I recognized the environment wouldn’t work for me. That’s growth — understanding what works for you and what doesn’t.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock
My biggest mistake was not directly requesting assistance when I needed it. I knew my supervisor was busy and my coworker uncooperative, but I tried to muddle through alone instead of advocating for myself. I was too proud. I didn’t want to admit I didn’t know what I was doing.
I should have been forthright about not receiving proper training and asked for solutions. Take it from me — don’t wait until you’ve failed multiple times before reaching out.
3. Consider what you can learn from the situation to avoid repeating the same mistakes
When a job isn’t right, you might unconsciously sabotage yourself through disinterest or hostility. HR professionals note this often stems from poor onboarding, limited growth opportunities, and inadequate management.
My coping mechanisms included procrastination, insufficient preparation for presentations, and unhealthy eating habits. All of these worsened my performance. I was overwhelmed, so I couldn’t live up to my full potential, and it showed.
My biggest failure was communication. I didn’t want to ask too many questions if I didn’t understand something because I didn’t want to seem out of my depth. In retrospect, by not communicating my needs, I likely made things more difficult for everyone.
I often wonder if I did these things in the back of my mind because I knew the job wasn’t for me, and I wanted a way out.
Even if the job isn’t a good fit for whatever reason, there are probably reasons you got fired (or left). We are doomed to repeat our mistakes if we don’t identify them. Identify your missteps and learn from them for future positions.
4. Consider other types of employment
Dorde Krstic / Shutterstock
If you’re neurodivergent, creative, or independent-minded, traditional employment may not be your best path. If so, you can benefit from finding other work types that better suit your personality and talents.
Immediately after being fired, a client approached me requesting freelance consulting. This led to my starting my own consulting business, where I completed projects on time and for good pay while continuing to build my writing reputation. Consulting has taught me valuable skills, including research and project management, which I probably wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
That also emboldened me to start writing more independently. Instead of frantically pitching stories for which I would be paid pennies and waking up at 4 a.m. to report on European sports events via live stream, I started writing for myself.
After fifteen years of writing about sports, I started exploring other topics. I wrote about whatever interested me — mental health, self-improvement, health, productivity — and found that I enjoyed sharing my perspectives. Instead of reporting on what other people were doing, I could share my own experiences. I started to love writing again and realized I could do this as a career instead of forcing myself into a workplace where I didn’t belong.
Sometimes I feel bad that I don’t have a “real job” due to society’s expectations of what success looks like. I wish I had a fabulous office or a fancy title to share on LinkedIn. But I can’t deny the simple truth: my career flourished when I finally embraced what worked for me, not everyone else.
Christie Sausa is a writer, athlete, and performer. She has contributed to various local, regional, and national publications, been featured in global ad campaigns as a figure and speed skater, and appeared as a background actor in various television shows like The Deuce and The Gilded Age.
