Fired to Hired
I was on a roll. I had been offered a job working as a very junior publicity assistant for Barbara Walters at ABC’s 20/20 while I was still in college. I jumped at the chance. Then NBC recruited me, and soon I was on a first-name basis with some of the biggest stars in broadcasting. Jane Pauley, Maria Shriver, Stone Phillips, and the late Tim Russert.
It was my responsibility to promote these superstars and their work. I called newspaper reporters across the country as well as the producers of TV shows from Entertainment Tonight to Larry King Live to sell them on what my stars were doing. And the answer was always yes.
“We’d love to promote Maria’s new special.” “Of course we’ll showcase that investigative piece on Dateline.” “What’s happening Sunday on Meet the Press.” I was kicking butt. And unbeknownst to me, my butt was about to get kicked.
One day, an HR woman told me to report to the office of the newly appointed president of the news division. When I walked in, he was sitting in his big leather chair, and he didn’t get up to greet me. Not a good sign.
He told me that anytime someone takes over a company or a division, he wants to put his own mark on things—new protocols, new processes, and a new team.
“Are you firing me?” I interrupted. He said, “You have thirty minutes to leave the building.”
I went into spin mode—I told him he was making a terrible mistake. Talk to anyone internally or externally, I said, and you’ll hear that I’m a great asset, that I really know my stuff, and I’m totally devoted to NBC.
He looked at his watch.
Changing gears, I said, “Give me three things to accomplish in three weeks, three months—whatever time frame you want—to prove myself directly to you.”
All I wanted, I said, was to stay at NBC News.
He listened, cold, devoid of emotion.
It was clear that I was not going to keep my job. As I stood up to walk out of his office—trying desperately not to burst into tears—his parting words were, “Tory, it’s a big world out there, and I suggest you go explore it.”
I walked out in shock. My world as I had known it had come to an end.
I walked to my apartment, climbed into my PJs and threw myself a good old-fashioned pity party, catered by Häagen-Dazs. I had lots of sleepless nights filled with self-doubt. I was embarrassed, humiliated, and just plain scared.
Not long after, I got an email from Maria Shriver, now California’s first lady but back then a correspondent for NBC News.
She told me that I probably wouldn’t believe it now—nor would I want to hear it—but that in no time I’d look back and realize that this was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I deleted the message—angrily. How could this successful, rich, powerful Kennedy girl, the gorgeous wife of a movie star, know how I felt? What did she know about having the carpet ripped out from under her, about being afraid where the next month’s rent would come from?
But there’s a reason Maria is a success at whatever she does. She’s no dummy. And after the benefit of some distance, I realized she was absolutely right. This was indeed the best thing that could have happened to me.
Category: Career, Career Development
Loading ...
Secured by
Great website…
Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors…
will smith dead snopes…
[...]took the item. ” In reality, no matter whether it can be about your mouth officer, or tibia and leg guards, it is [...]…
greenpeace indonesia report…
[...]his household and hundreds of 1000′s of world wide supporters, campaigners and celebs wait around patiently [...]…
Mike Lacey…
[...]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[...]…
Village Voice…
[...]Here is a good Blog You may Discover Interesting that we Encourage You[...]…
Wow!…
A very awesome post….
natural remedies for hemorrhoids…
[...]that may be the finish of this article. Here you?ll uncover some web sites that we think you?ll appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Wow!…
A very awesome post….
Pokrycia Dachowe…
… sometimes I can’t resist and link to ……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Wedding chair cover hire…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Wow!…
A very awesome post….
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
sopapilla recipe in spanish…
[...]well as fencing leader Per Henrik Ling (1777-1839), who examined massage on China[...]…
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
greenpeace usa washington dc…
[...]various factors where Decide Rodgers could have failed to exercising [...]…
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
soap news general hospital…
[...]practice in the location of game[...]…
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
greenpeace philippines address…
[...]I’ve granted definitely every thing to Ironman in excess of the past 5 years[...]…
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
car wont start…
[...]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[...]…
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Wow!…
A very fascinating post….
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……