Advertising Discussions
Layoffs

I was laid off in April when there was just email and phones. Cut to five months later and I’m working again. Yay.

But suddenly it’s all Zoom, Slack, Teams, Slides, Sheets. Email is dead. And phones are only for Zoom, Slack, Teams, Slides and Sheets.

It feels like I woke up from a coma in a shitty version of the future and everyone else is fine with it. How did anyone adjust to this?

I always thought it was strange that agencies rarely let candidates know the client until they are towards the end of the process. My position has way more job security than others simply because I work for a CPG client. Those in the same role on other accounts (e.g. airlines, hotels, fitness) have been furloughed or even laid off just because of the nature of the industry their client is in.

Do we think agencies will have to be more transparent and let candidates ultimately chose the client?

I was laid off a few months ago and the agency had my things shipped to my house. The boxes were packed so carelessly, many of my belongings are broken. Do I have any recourse to get the agency to replace them?

OK, biggest fuck up of your career? Mine: I didn’t check the final proof for a supermarket print ad so there was a fridge on sale for 50 bucks. Almost got fired. Yours?

Conversations or expectation re-sets with clients around the “reality of 2020”?
Ie: Pandemic, deaths, quarantine, work from home, remote school learning, layoffs, economy, isolation, politics, police brutality, civil rights protests, forest fires, riots, police state tactics, RBG, plus all the other “normal” bad things. It feels like the elephant in the room.

So....which agency is giving out $100 gift cards to all employees? Wondering where these ~30% layoffs might happen after that CSO alluded to them in another post on here.

Has anyone started working with or for their client after being laid off from a job where they for example ran that account at an agency? Is it dicey legally, did it piss off your old agency? Did no one care?

My SO got a great job offer in Bangkok and we need to decide soon.
I’ve always been very independent and never followed a partner to another city or country. Will it be bad for my career to join him even while there is a little change I can find a job in Bangkok? Not sure what to do right now. Due to covid I recently got laid off and am already not in my home country but have lived here over 7 years. Any advice? Me following him or we both try to find another job in the country we are in now.

Were most of the layoffs at Droga, creatives?

Anyone who got laid off at Droga?

I was due for a promotion but then covid hit, and during the peak of layoffs/furloughs, I was given the run-around that we have agency wide promotion freezes, etc. Over the past month, a handful of people have been promoted. I know everyone's situation is different but I can't help feeling snubbed. How do I know whether they are genuinely trying to promote me and can't, versus them stringing me along for as long as possible? I dont want it to come to having to bring another offer to the table..

Anyone else “fired due to COVID” then see a job listing for their role without the company reaching out to you? Feels pretty shitty.

Pros/cons of reaching out, in a professional matter of course, to express disappointment on how they treat people? Fully knowing this isn’t happening to just this single role...

Attention Woke White People: Don’t be this woke white person.

Laid off in April. Asked my ACD for final comps of my work for my portfolio. She told me it hadn’t gone public but to check back. I hit her up in May. Nothing. I hit her up in June. Nothing. I hit her up in August. Ignored...ignored...ignored in three separate texts. Finally emailed and mentioned reaching out to the C-level executives and like magic, boom! I get the work in 20 minutes flat.

Don’t post BLM stuff if you’re a d*ck.

I’ll be honest. I was fired. What can and can’t a prospective employer ask about why I’m not there anymore? (To both me and my old employer.)

TFW you see the highly toxic job you got laid off from posted online and feel slightly sorry for those applying, but truth be told you mostly feel relieved 🤗

FYI, be wary if someone calls you saying they’re from unemployment. I just received a call from “Justin” saying he was calling regarding my claims issues. The claim he was referring to 1 that’s been closed already (due to severance) & and I have a new one that’s approved. He asked if the last 4 digits of my SSN were my phone number(?). He couldn’t read me back the digits or any info he had in the system. I was told previously in the message portal they can’t call directly to discuss claims 🚩🚩

Why do I always see job postings for Pharma and Healthcare agencies? It’s like they can never fill their roles. 24/7 365.

If I was in that part of advertising and enjoyed the work, I feel like my job security, promotions and money would be in a much better spot than where I am now,

If anyone is looking for a job due to Covid layoffs, might not hurt to suck it up and do pharma work for a bit!

This pandemic made me realize how much I hate advertising. The long hours, the back stabbing co-workers, the uncertainty of jobs. Layoffs. Right out of college it was great, now 20 years later, just can’t do it. I need something different. A complete change.

So an agency wins new biz and still has layoffs?

Why is this industry obsessed with “30 under 30” and “40 under 40” when there are almost no 50 year olds left after the political gauntlet and yearly layoffs? What an awful industry to be 40-something and 25 years left in a career. Enough with this age bias Adweek and AdAge. Enough! I want to see rockstars fucking killing it in their 60s in advertising. You’d be lucky to find 20 people left. Fix this systemic ageism.

Seeing some friends who were laid off getting new jobs this week- there is hope!

Anyone who’s been laid off purely due to covid / lack of new biz / etc: what was your severance situation compared to your time and relationship with the agency? What’s standard? Asking for a friend.

For those who were laid off from COVID, how long have you been out of work? I’ve been unemployed for 4 months now despite interviewing and it’s starting to crush my spirit / make me seriously question my worth. Any others out there so I know I’m not alone?

I see layoffs then I see someone get hired at the same agency.

I was laid off in June and just got a job offer that I am excited about. However, my partner and I are also in discussions about moving. The job would be remote for at least another 5+ months so it wouldn’t be an issue now, but eventually people will be back in the office in some hybrid plan.

Is it better to float the possibility of working remote long term with HR now? Or do I accept and say nothing til we’ve officially decided to move. I don’t want to lose the opportunity. What would u do?

Any recommendations / watch outs on getting your own health insurance after being laid off? (spoiler: just got laid off)

I know this industry is unstable, so just wondering about emergency funds. How long could you last if you got laid off for awhile ?

With layoffs slowing down. Does that give anyone reassurance of things going back to normal?

At what point do you know that it’s time to leave a new position? I have always excelled in my previous jobs and left a cushy position for this agency. But since day one, I have been struggling to adjust. I started not long after lockdown began in my city, and am starting to regret taking this new job.

I’m used of multitasking, constant stress, and looming deadlines at work. But I can’t seem to get the hang of things here.

I am in constant fear of getting fired. I can’t sleep, eat. Help?!

Agency has seen a lot of turnover due to layoffs and departures. How much notice would you expect a group creative director to give with that context?

being laid off sucks real bad, but deleting outlook off my phone was *chefs kiss*

When someone gets laid off early on in their career, how do recruiters and creative directors evaluate their portfolio? Especially if it doesn’t have much produced work...

My account partner is doing a terrible job and will be getting fired—timeline TBD. Given we are living in a pandemic, I want to give them a heads up to start job hunting. How inappropriate is that? How could I do it?

Was lucky to get a job shortly after being laid off. Work’s not hard but feeling burned out cause of bad process, meaningless jobs on top of the pointlessness of everything happening. How you coping?

I don't think I'm super amazing at my job, but I'm also not so bad that I would be fired. I'm just..average and I haven't been able to get to that rockstar level. The issue is obviously me, I don't really grasp certain areas and I am decent but not great at client relationship. Assuming that my team, work life balance, and salary is decent, is this a sign that this isn't for me? Been in agency world for a while in a few different roles and I feel like I've just been average in all of them..

So Ogilvy laid off one CCO to hire two entry level types from BBDO? They must’ve been paid lesser than a woman.

I’ve applied to over 40 jobs since I was laid off in March. Not one click to my portfolio, per analytics. With a family of four, we are being spread thin. Not only is the income desperately needed, but my creative soul needs a release. I would be happy to do typical Art Director work but I’m “over qualified” for that and am never taken seriously when applying for work below CD/ACD. If anyone needs or know of any company needing freelance work, large or small—I’d really appreciate the lead. 🙏