I Was Stuck at Work for Two Years. I Did Five Unromantic Things Instead of Quitting.

The Two Years I Was Stuck, I Did a Few Unromantic Things

In spring 2022, the business unit sent an email. Three lines. Annual promotions paused. Headcount frozen. The last line was "Thank you for your understanding."

I forwarded the email to my personal account, closed it, and went to the pantry to wash my cup. The water was hot. The tea stain on the rim would not come off. I used dish soap and scraped it with my fingernail. After that, the cup was clean. I went back to my desk, read the previous quarter's proposal from beginning to end, and fixed three typos. Then I saved it and closed it.

That day, I did not work overtime. On the subway, I opened my brokerage app. A field of green. I closed it. I opened a job app, scrolled for ten minutes, and closed it.

Later, I took an A4 sheet and drew four boxes. In the first box: no slot at the company. Second: skills not enough. Third: boss does not trust me. Fourth: industry is down. I looked at the boxes for a long time, then underlined the first and the fourth. My situation was this: the industry was down, the company was frozen. More effort inside would not produce a slot in the short term.

I set five tasks for myself.

First, hold the main job.

I did not plan to quit with nothing lined up. The mortgage had to be paid every month. The kindergarten fee had to be paid. I organized my project documents into templates and put them on the shared drive. When the boss asked for data, I sent it that night. When someone asked me to revise a proposal on the weekend, I revised it. In the past, I would have thought I was being taken advantage of. Now I thought: during a background check, if a former colleague can say "this person is reliable," that is enough.

One week, a new boss reassigned the core module I was responsible for to one of his old subordinates. I sat in the meeting room, hands on the keyboard, and did not type. After the meeting, I stood in the stairwell for five minutes. Then I came back and wrote the handover document clearly, down to the test account passwords in a table. A former colleague later asked me why I did not fight it. I said, if I fight it, the background check is gone.

Second, get a certificate.

I checked the certificates in my industry. There was an intermediate one. It required three years of work experience. I qualified. The fee was 1,200 yuan. I bought the textbook. Five hundred pages. I read for one hour after work every day. The book was thick. I used a highlighter. By the third week, everything I had highlighted was a key point. On weekends, I went to the library and sat by the window. A middle school student next to me did math problems. The pen scratched. I watched him for a while, then turned the page.

The first exam, I failed. Four points short. On the subway, I checked the score. The screen dimmed. I pressed it bright. It dimmed again. At home, I copied the wrong questions into a notebook. The second time, I passed. The certificate arrived at the company. I opened it and put it in a folder. I did not post it on social media.

Third, start a side hustle.

I started a WeChat public account and wrote industry observations. The first year, I had 200 followers. Someone tipped five yuan. I took a screenshot, saved it, and did not post it. Later, a former colleague asked me to write an advertorial. Eight hundred yuan. I took it. On weekends, I drew diagrams for people. Fifty yuan a page. Not much money. One thing came out of it: outside the company, I could earn money.

One night, a client changed the requirements at midnight. I sat in the living room, the laptop screen on. My wife came out to get water and asked, how much. I said, 300. She said, sleep. I said, after this. I finished at two in the morning. I turned off the computer, went to the kitchen, and drank a glass of water. The water was cold.

Fourth, look outward.

I updated my resume. I put the certificate on it. I applied to ten companies and interviewed with three. One final interview rejected me. HR said the experience was good, but the age was too old. I came back and wrote the interview questions in a notebook. I kept applying.

An interviewer asked, is your current company bad? I said, good, just no slot. He laughed. I laughed too.

Fifth, manage money.

I calculated that if I lost my job, the mortgage could last eight months. I sold my stocks and kept cash. I cut takeout and brought lunch. The glass container was heavy. Every noon, I went to the pantry to heat my lunch. Colleagues ordered takeout and asked, is bringing lunch a hassle? I said, a hassle, but it saves money.

There were nights I almost broke.

One night, I edited my resume until two in the morning. I applied to twenty companies. No replies. I sat on the toilet. My stomach hurt. My wife knocked and asked what was wrong. I said, nothing. She handed in a box of stomach medicine. I took two pills. The next day, I went to work as usual.

Another time, a former colleague got promoted and posted it. I liked the post. Then I turned off my phone and went running. Three kilometers. Afterward, I showered. Water ran down from my head. I stood there for a long time.

When you are stuck, first tell which kind of stuck you are. No slot at the company: prepare outward. Skills not enough: fix the hard threshold. Boss does not trust you: repair it if you can, document it if you cannot. Industry is down: keep stability, do not quit with nothing lined up, do not treat the stock market as a way out.

Five things: main job as the floor, certificate as added value, side hustle as a test, external market as a check, cash as a cushion.

Thirty days: sort your resume, pick one certificate, update your resume, contact three people in the industry, test one side hustle direction.

Ninety days: finish one course, make one portfolio piece, earn the first money from a side hustle, interview with two or three companies.

After six months: look at the feedback. Internal transfer, jump ship, scale the side hustle, or keep waiting.

I later had dinner with a friend. He asked, are you still at that company? I said, yes. He asked, does it not suffocate you? I said, it does. But my folder has one more certificate, my resume has one more line, and my bank card has one more side income. Last week an interviewer asked me, if we give you an offer now, will you come? I said, I will consider it.

He said, you changed. I said, no. I just saved my resume as a PDF.

That evening, I went home, opened my laptop, and edited my resume again. After I finished, I closed it. I went to the kitchen to wash dishes. The water was cold. I squeezed dish soap and wiped the plate with a sponge. The oil came off in one rinse.

Now, the hiring freeze has not lifted. I get up at seven every morning and make coffee. On the subway, I memorize vocabulary. At the company, I check email first. The boss is still the same boss. I still sit at the same desk. But after work, I open that folder. Inside are a certificate, a resume, and a ledger. The ledger says: side income, 800, 300, 50.

Last week, a former colleague asked me, are you still studying for certificates? I said, yes. He asked, is it useful? I said, I do not know. But I turned the book to the next page.