Getting made redundant was probably one of the best things that ever happened to my career.

I know, another Mikey hot take, and I can tell you it absolutely did not feel like that at the time.

The actual redundancy itself is a story for another day, preferably with a pint and about 30 minutes spare, because it was handled in one of the wildest ways imaginable.

But one moment from it has always stuck with me.

I was told I could reapply for my role, knowing there was a pretty good chance I’d be going through exactly the same thing again a few months later.

I said no. When they asked what I was going to do instead, I told them I wanted to get a job in America.

They laughed.

This moment has carved itself into my brain forever. LAUGHED.

I remember walking away from that whole crappy experience angry, embarrassed, and I won’t dress this up as anything else - thinking about whether they were right.

I remember walking home, calling Emma and just being in a daze. I had bills to pay and rent to cover. I had stuff to do, things to update like a portfolio, case studies, a CV that was wildly out of date - all the stuff I’d happily neglected while I was in a job.

But this is the kicker, the big thing - I properly took stock of what I actually wanted to do next.

And the answer was America. Home of the hot dogs, Costco and more importantly - Major League Soccer (the MLS).

I worked for a couple of months as a freelancer; gosh, those days were exciting. I worked almost exclusively through a recruitment agency called “The Book” with the amazing Emma Thomson.

Then, because Design Twitter was actually a thing back then, I spotted a job, I replied, and I guess I applied.

About 2-3 weeks later, while working for them, I had an offer for a permanent design role in Fullerton, California. I just remember being dumbstruck - holy shit - that laugh suddenly became quite useful.

What followed was four years in America, a completely different world of work, and being forced to become a much broader designer. Suddenly, I was working differently, learning differently, meeting people I would never have met and taking on things I’d probably never have considered if I’d stayed comfortable.

It changed my career trajectory hugely and, weirdly, I still think about that laugh.

I’ve found myself doing a version of the same thing again recently. Taking stock, rebuilding the website, looking at what I’ve done and properly asking myself what I want the next bit to look like.

Thankfully, nobody’s made me redundant this time.

At the time, getting made redundant felt like something had gone badly wrong, and I was absolutely in panic mode.

Looking back, I think I needed the shove.