I QUIT
It has been about 250 days since I last worked a shift. December 18th was the last time I opened up a company-issued laptop. My story is not new. Go to TikTok, go to LinkedIn (yuck) & you will come across hundreds of stories and videos of people of various ages being unable to get an offer, an interview, any sign of hope. At a time in our lives where we should be solidifying ourselves & trying to maintain what we have built, the state of the world has made that impossible.
For context, I had spent the last three years in marketing. When I started at my first ad agency, I was working with Johnson & Johnson Talent Acquisition team. Prior to this, I had spent four years working in the tech space. This was my first foray into “corporate America”. The level of inefficiency, complacency, microaggressions /racism, and incompetence was unparalleled. It was astonishing to witness how disconnected the people in power were in relation to their target audiences. I remember campaigns where we couldn’t discuss J&J’s remote policy even though most young people were begging to work from home. Or how a stakeholder one time tried to compare Johnson & Johnson, a pharma company, to Nike and its branding, wanting to replicate more of their cultural stronghold. There were calls where their HR representative suggested darkening the skin tone of a clearly white male in a video so that it showcases diversity. And can’t overlook the 10 mins wasted on a call as a rude & demanding stakeholder struggled to edit a PDF file.
Coming out of Covid, the marketing industry took a massive hit. A multitude of companies pulled and limited their budget. In December ‘24, half of my team was borderline let go a week before Christmas. A few months later, a couple of people on my team jumped ship and murmurs were spreading that the agency was still exhibiting issues with opening new accounts and thus I would have been going on year two with no pay increase, thus still working with my 2023 salary even though inflation was on the rise. I had honestly been looking for a new employer way before this but had been quite inconsistent.
At that point, I knew I was over marketing. I had come to the realization that the industry basically developed masochists. You would get treated poorly constantly only to be told that the work you are doing is “important”. You weren’t allowed a space to express your frustrations and your leadership team was more concerned about protecting the relationship with the client vs. how the client completely disrupts the entire production process. I recall a member of the senior leadership team telling a colleague who was dealing with a borderline racist stakeholder, not to complain in a group setting and “You have to numb yourself” in response to how they were being treated by the stakeholder. Maybe because I am a man & I receive some benefits in a patriarchal society, maybe cause I’m an Aquarius & we zag where everyone zigs or maybe cause I am a little bit older, I don’t play that shit. If shit don’t make sense or I don’t like certain things, I can’t just “shut up and dribble.”
Midway in 2025, job offers were extremely scarce. I wanted to leave the industry but would only draw some interest from other agencies. Out of frustration and desperation, I accepted an offer from another, “larger” agency in July. This time my client was JPMorgan Chase (i wonder if there are worst industries to have as clients). It was borderline a setup. This branch of the agency basically never had a project manager before, they recently changed over from Google to Microsoft but the transition was not finalized and the absolute worst aspect, the company model: “small but mighty”. At my previous agency, our team was dedicated to one client and thus it was easier to handle timelines, production, meet deadlines etc. At this agency, the team was spread too thin, leading to mistakes, burnout, and frustration. I was definitely a little in over my head when starting out the first couple months. Once I got a handle on things, I saw all the cracks in the armor.
The beginning of the end was October 1st. We had a deadline with the client and due to the constant back & forth, I ended up working from 8am to 1am. This right around the time I started my YouTube channel, Where’s The Remote? So work days extending past 5 PM or being mentally/physically fatigued impacted my recording schedule. Constant pointless meetings, team members with limited availability due to lack of resources, a new level of delusional & irrational clients, working weekends & holidays. I was over it but two moments solidified it for me. Heading into the Thanksgiving break, there was dialogue amongst the group discussing who would make themselves available for Black Friday. While I was unavailable, when I returned to work the following week, it felt as if I had no time off. I dreaded having to be online, my entire break, I could only think about work. By this point, I was heavily stressed out, I wasn’t sleeping well and started suffering loss of appetite. I have never had that experience at any employer before. It then hit me on December 3rd:
“What if I quit?”
When the neurons in my brain fired off to generate that thought, for the first time in 3–4 months, my body felt at ease. Relinquishing the very thing that disturbed my peace sounded so freeing. I had a talk with my therapist and that Friday, I resigned. Heading into the holidays I told myself to decompress and then get back on the job hunt. That’s exactly what I did. From September to as of now, I’ve applied to 1000+ jobs. Of that amount I’ve had a total of maybe 5–6 interviews in total. Everything else has been a rejection or no response at all. Ranging from jobs at Trader Joe’s to roles at places I could do with my eyes closed. Most recently, I applied to a GenAI company for a customer support role. My time at Squarespace afforded me all the skills ideally needed to be effective in a SaaS company. I got a rejection email 48 hours after applying. Coincidentally, a former coworker at SQSP currently at this company let me know that the hiring manager was hosting a networking event. Originally I was not going to attend cause it felt performative having to go to an event just to say “hey i’m worthy to talk to.” My introverted ass pulled up, met the hiring manager and left after a couple hours.
The following week, he set up time to chat. Once we met, he immediately made it clear that this was just an informal chat and not an interview (weird flex but ok). We chatted a bit and he confirmed that I would have to go through the proper procedure and connect with a recruiter. The recruiter did reach out and provided an assessment test for me to complete. I had completed about 85% of the test in where I had another moment of clarity.
Why must I be reduced to this test in order to prove my worth?
I was barely spoken to. The test was clearly intended for someone who has extensive experience with the platform and/or GenAI. Which led me to believe that there is little to no training at the company. Just throw you to the wolves and either feast or famine. It also didn’t help that I saw little to no people of color present when I attended the networking event. Those sentiments told me, I am done with corporate America. I am tired of the red tape, the politics, the lack of humanity. Being forced to take directions from individuals who can’t even proof-read their emails before replying. Who have made work their whole identity and shun anyone who doesn’t feel the same. Companies making you go through Fear Factor-level obstacles to get an interview and get hired, only for some of your coworkers and senior leadership to be the most incompetent individuals you have ever experienced.
It was reported that the U.S. lost about 23K jobs and it has been constantly discussed online on how numbers being reported when it comes to unemployment are skewed given so many people have given up when it comes to their job search. You may count me in as one of those individuals. The last time I read a post on LinkedIn, an engineer shared a story about being unable to get a job for the past 2 years and has been forced to live inside his car. This is the state of the country right now. For the past eight months since I have taken that leap of faith, I have exhausted my savings, maxed out cards, spent every possible penny to stay afloat. I have fought too hard to lose everything I worked for. There are moments when I am either commuting into NYC or on my way back home and I get lost watching fellow young professionals just trying to maintain their livelihood. And I remember for years, I dreamt about the position I have been for the past 5 years. Losing my home, my sanctuary, being forced to possibly live with my parents or elsewhere would feel like a monumental setback (yes I know “minor setbacks for major comebacks”). But where I have rested these last few years have brought me so much peace that I never thought I could achieve. And even with that weighing over my head, launching and working on Wheres The Remote? Show, has been so fulfilling and gratifying. I am not sure if I would have been able to maintain my sanity without it.
So now that I have unsubscribed from the rat race, I hope to start venturing out and landing opportunities that truly feed my space. Develop consistency in treating my mental and physical health better. I was able to book my first podcast client, handling their post-production. At the time I am typing this, I am working on the second possible client. I hope to book even more. I am also contemplating taking a training program next month so I can become a production assistant. My love for film and TV has grown so much over the years that I want to be behind the scenes playing a part in the stories that are viewed by the masses. And I of course will do any and everything to maintain Where’s The Remote? as I have big goals with it not only an independent show but to grow it into something even bigger especially for people of color (shhh not too much on that though). By the grace of God, the universe, the ancestors, whomever, I hope this alignment continues to find me cause I am finally taking a stand and going with what feeds my soul vs. being just another cog in the machine. So yes I quit in one way, but just getting started in something more worthwhile.
