Crisis an opportunity, say 2001 crisis victims
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byYeşim Çobankent - Hürriyet
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 24, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The crippling economic crisis that gripped the country in 2001 proved to be a blessing in disguise for some who were forced to change careers and went on to attain more suceess in their new professions than ever before. However, most did have to go through a tough adaptation period before feeling comfortable in their new skin
At a time when the financial crisis claims more victims every day, those who say, "Every crisis creates its own opportunities," are likely to be criticized. But if 2001 is anything to go by, the saying rings true.
People whose lives changed after the 2001 crisis Ğ ones who were forced to leave everything behind but managed to create a second life for themselves Ğ have shared their experiences:
Yasemin Kibaroğlu, 35, who was a journalist before the 2001 crisis, is now a geography teacher. Esra Ulusoy, 40, who used to be an exchange market expert, is baking cakes for a living these days. An unhappy writer in the advertising business, Gizem Altın Nance, 35, became a successful customer representative in the public relations sector in the United States.
Crises experience
Çağatay Kahya, a 45-year-old engineer who has experienced three crises, happened to be the deputy president of one of the biggest advertisement agencies of Turkey.
Rana Güney spent stressful years in television journalism, and due to the crisis, she is a happy real estate broker at the age of 28.
Nurdan Şahin, a high-ranking banking official before the crisis, is running a foundation at the age of 50 and is satisfied with her position. Some of them were doing their dream jobs, and none of them were dissatisfied with what they were doing before 2001. Some of them miss their previous life; some of them do not. But their stories are similar: They all found a new direction and success for themselves.
Their friends, families and colleagues did not always believe in their newfound paths. Ulusoy’s friends still cannot believe that such a dominant executive is running a bakery, and they expect her to return to the sector.
Güney said, "I was afraid this would be considered a failure," when talking about her move to real estate from television journalism. Nance’s family did not like it when she decided to move to United States, but she said, "You know what is best for yourself," and proved to be right.
A friend of Şahin told her that running a foundation cannot be more than a passing fancy and that she would return to a "real professional" life soon. Yet, they are not back, and they are content. Güney, like Nance, is happier with her current position. "Now I work with people who respect their jobs and themselves without having the worry of who is going to pull the rug out from under me," she said, confessing that she still gets stressed when she sees a mistake during a live broadcast on television.
The only things that Şahin misses about her job as a banking executive are the travel and some of her friends. "The ones who trust themselves can become successful at other places, too. If you do not become one with your chair, it is not the end of the world," she said. Of course, the transition was hard and painful for some. Kibaroğlu was pregnant while going to university for the second time Ğ her classmates were 10 years younger than her Ğ to become a geography teacher.
"I was having a hard time at cartography lessons, drawing maps with my huge belly," she said, adding the lack of sleep and her conscience to the difficulties that she faced then. Ulusoy also found it hard to start everything from scratch and to adjust to a stationary life after the chaotic world of the exchange market. "But it was a luxury to determine my own work hours as someone who was restricted by hours for years," she said.
Looking at it from the opposite angle, there are ones who did not find the change hard at all. Kahya did many different things before achieving his current position: founded a club for married men online, which he described as "a social phenomenon;" wrote for Elle magazine; and worked as a guest scholar at a university.
Nance was not that satisfied in the advertising sector and lost her job in 2000, before the crisis. She wanted to study ocean biology when she got her green card but chose public relations instead. "Although I could not handle advertising at all, I became very successful in public relations," Nance said, adding that she has represented her clients in outlets like The New York Times, USA Today and Time.
And she made another career change in 2008 when she and her husband sold their properties and cycled around the world. She also wrote two traveling books on the trip and continues to write. "We chose a simpler life; this gives us the freedom not to do the things we do not want to," she said, defining every ending as a beginning.
People whose lives changed after the 2001 crisis Ğ ones who were forced to leave everything behind but managed to create a second life for themselves Ğ have shared their experiences:
Yasemin Kibaroğlu, 35, who was a journalist before the 2001 crisis, is now a geography teacher. Esra Ulusoy, 40, who used to be an exchange market expert, is baking cakes for a living these days. An unhappy writer in the advertising business, Gizem Altın Nance, 35, became a successful customer representative in the public relations sector in the United States.
Crises experience
Çağatay Kahya, a 45-year-old engineer who has experienced three crises, happened to be the deputy president of one of the biggest advertisement agencies of Turkey.
Rana Güney spent stressful years in television journalism, and due to the crisis, she is a happy real estate broker at the age of 28.
Nurdan Şahin, a high-ranking banking official before the crisis, is running a foundation at the age of 50 and is satisfied with her position. Some of them were doing their dream jobs, and none of them were dissatisfied with what they were doing before 2001. Some of them miss their previous life; some of them do not. But their stories are similar: They all found a new direction and success for themselves.
Their friends, families and colleagues did not always believe in their newfound paths. Ulusoy’s friends still cannot believe that such a dominant executive is running a bakery, and they expect her to return to the sector.
Güney said, "I was afraid this would be considered a failure," when talking about her move to real estate from television journalism. Nance’s family did not like it when she decided to move to United States, but she said, "You know what is best for yourself," and proved to be right.
A friend of Şahin told her that running a foundation cannot be more than a passing fancy and that she would return to a "real professional" life soon. Yet, they are not back, and they are content. Güney, like Nance, is happier with her current position. "Now I work with people who respect their jobs and themselves without having the worry of who is going to pull the rug out from under me," she said, confessing that she still gets stressed when she sees a mistake during a live broadcast on television.
The only things that Şahin misses about her job as a banking executive are the travel and some of her friends. "The ones who trust themselves can become successful at other places, too. If you do not become one with your chair, it is not the end of the world," she said. Of course, the transition was hard and painful for some. Kibaroğlu was pregnant while going to university for the second time Ğ her classmates were 10 years younger than her Ğ to become a geography teacher.
"I was having a hard time at cartography lessons, drawing maps with my huge belly," she said, adding the lack of sleep and her conscience to the difficulties that she faced then. Ulusoy also found it hard to start everything from scratch and to adjust to a stationary life after the chaotic world of the exchange market. "But it was a luxury to determine my own work hours as someone who was restricted by hours for years," she said.
Looking at it from the opposite angle, there are ones who did not find the change hard at all. Kahya did many different things before achieving his current position: founded a club for married men online, which he described as "a social phenomenon;" wrote for Elle magazine; and worked as a guest scholar at a university.
Nance was not that satisfied in the advertising sector and lost her job in 2000, before the crisis. She wanted to study ocean biology when she got her green card but chose public relations instead. "Although I could not handle advertising at all, I became very successful in public relations," Nance said, adding that she has represented her clients in outlets like The New York Times, USA Today and Time.
And she made another career change in 2008 when she and her husband sold their properties and cycled around the world. She also wrote two traveling books on the trip and continues to write. "We chose a simpler life; this gives us the freedom not to do the things we do not want to," she said, defining every ending as a beginning.