WRITING

My Sassy-Pants Up-Yours Piece on LinkedIn

I resisted the urge to tag a couple of people

Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash

I have never been a big fan of LinkedIn, but like everyone else I have a profile and I used to think it might someday help get me a good job.

Mostly, it’s helped other people market their MBA programs to me, which is ridiculous. If I were going to go back to school, that’s the last degree I’d ever choose. Anthropology, literature or sociology — you know, something I could use to make even less money than now — would be more likely choices.

To spend time on that platform is to read one post after another about someone posting how humbled they are to announce their new role, complete with a title that makes no sense whatsoever. It’s a stew of toxic positivity, so I hadn’t visited my profile for ages.

Thanks to a resume specialist I used back when I still thought I might someday score a real job, I had been advertising myself as a digital media specialist skilled in blah blah blah. But I just switched everything over to the truth.

I’m a writer

That’s it. I write. So this is what I posted:

Women of a certain age, this one is for you.

So, 2024 was my best year ever. As a freelance writer, I managed to exceed the income I made at every traditional job I’ve ever had, including editor of a daily newspaper and copywriter at an ad agency. And I did it by writing exactly what I felt like writing. I’m not selling courses or anything else (other than books). I’m just writing.

I published two books last year, a novel called The Trailer Park Rules and a non-fiction book, Strapped. I had a viral article on Medium in July that still brings in passive income every day. I launched my Substack, Untrickled, which focuses on income inequality. I have thousands of readers and subscribers.

Here’s the thing: I tried really hard for a long time to land a “real job.” Ultimately, I realized ageism was not going to let that happen. The last straw was not getting two jobs for which I was abundantly qualified. I decided that if nobody else believed in me, I’d stop trying to get hired and work for myself.

Turns out I did not need those jobs, because I can make significantly more money writing exactly what I want to write than I ever did writing for others.

So no, I’m not open to work. I make my own work now.

If you’re a woman of a certain age who can’t get jobs you’re qualified for, maybe you are not the problem. If you have solid skills, work for yourself. I am very glad I had the courage to do so.

Of course, I then fantasized about certain people reading it

“Damn,” I imagined the owner of the boutique healthcare writing agency who refused to hire me because I did not “look like a healthcare writer” thinking to herself. “I missed out! Clearly, I should have hired this amazing woman!”

Maybe she should have asked me about something besides my gray hair. When she said the carved wooden screen I used as a background for our video call was just like one her parents used to have, I knew she thought I was too old. (The fact that her website showed all her employees were women much younger than I am, other than one younger man, was another clue.)

[embed]Think Coloring Your Hair Is Expensive? Wait Until You Find Out What Going Gray Will Cost You! But to me, it’s worth itmedium.com

I will check my profile daily for messages of regret from her.

I also thought about the woman with whom I got to the final round for another healthcare copywriting job. Two of the people who worked under her knew me, and both of them had urged me to apply so I could join their team. I’d done a lot of healthcare writing and aced the writing test she gave me. The woman talked about what a good writer I was.

And then she didn’t hire me.

I am sure she will cry herself to sleep now, realizing what a terrible mistake she made. “How could I have passed her up?” she will sob.

If you’re a writer, you know landing a corporate position is (almost always) a lot more lucrative than freelancing. To be able to make enough money writing for yourself — particularly writing exactly what you want to write — is a pretty good accomplishment. Yes, I’m very proud of this.

I would go so far to say that someone whose writing is good enough to succeed as a freelancer probably would kick some major ass in a corporate role.

I enjoyed writing healthcare copy

I especially loved writing radio ads — some of them were quite clever and satisfying. OK, the billion times I had to write about colonoscopies might have been pushing it, but I did feel good about educating people and urging them to get needed screenings.

But nothing beats being able to get up every morning and ask myself, “What do I feel like writing today?” And then sometimes I work on a book and other times I write a piece like this.

Nobody ever tells me what to do, and that’s honestly pretty damned nice. And I love my co-workers, even though they mostly snooze in my office as I work.

Mr. Joe and Cashew are my colleagues now. (Photo by Michelle Teheux)

How will I do in 2025? There are no guarantees I’ll do as well as I did last year, and honestly I suspect I won’t. But there are no guarantees in corporate jobs, either.

I do know I will not be laying myself off or criticizing myself for having dared to have more than 50 birthdays, though, and that’s something.

About Michelle Teheux

I’m a writer in central Illinois. If you like my work, subscribe! I also write a Substack called Untrickled, about income inequality. My most recent novel is The Trailer Park Rules.