Rebounding from Unemployment: How Losing a Job Can Open New Doors

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In late 2008, Shannon Varney, now 27, found himself in a difficult place. He had just lost his job as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs--a casualty of the economic crisis that had settled in--and prospects looked bleak. But his misfortune would take him down an unexpected path to an entirely new career.
 
When first laid-off, Varney was left hurt, depressed and embarrassed. As his unemployment continued, he “sank into a funk.” He found comfort in his family and by preparing for the Boston Marathon. Varney’s training gave him structure and discipline. It was “downright therapeutic,” Varney said.
 
It was then Varney had a realization that would change his life and his career. “This would be a pretty powerful program for some population who is down on their luck like me,” he said
 
In spring 2009, Varney, founded Veterans Up and Running, a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing and motivating Boston homeless veterans through a team-based running program. It was a career move Varney never anticipated. He had volunteered before with non-profits such as Citizen Schools and Big Brothers Big Sisters. But he had never considered starting one of his own.
 
 
Before starting the organization, Varney received career advice that moved him into action and still resonates with him today. While unemployed, Varney went to speak with a former supervisor at Goldman Sachs. “My boss looked at me and said, ‘You need to make yourself necessary,’” Varney said.
 
The words inspired Varney to find a way to make his impact. When leading runs with Veterans Up and Running, he felt just that. “I felt necessary again and I felt that I was making a meaningful contribution and moving these guys forward,” Varney said.
 
 
Varney didn’t have an immediate connection to the armed forces, but he had long admired military culture and had mentors at Goldman Sachs who were veterans. Conversations with others, especially those who worked with homeless vets, led him to recognize that a group training program would remind vets of some of the best years of their lives — their years in the service “when they were part of a whole.”
 
With Veterans Up and Running, the veterans benefited from the runs and the team atmosphere while Varney and other volunteers were rewarded by seeing the “incredible” improvement in the vets. Seeing them work hard at their runs and make strides on their own prompted great feelings among the volunteers that kept them engaged, Varney said.
 
“You’re creating the environment, but they’re doing the work and they’re accomplishing their own goals,” he said.
 
In the summer of 2009 the organization hit a stumbling block when the homeless shelter Veterans Up and Running was meeting at did not want to be associated with the group. They were concerned that 
Varney’s group would be a competitor for charitable donations. Varney was told he could no longer start runs at the shelter. 

 
The flap was featured in a June 2009 Boston Globe article that caught the eye of Anne Mahlum, founder and president of the national non-profit, Back on My Feet. Mahlum's organization uses a structured running program to teach homeless individuals critical life and work skills.
 
Mahlum reached out to Varney because Back on My Feet, headquartered in Philadelphia, had been looking to open a chapter in Boston. After a number of meetings and discussions, Veterans Up and Running merged with Back on My Feet at the end of 2009.
 
“The more I learned about Back on My Feet, the more comfortable I became with associating our organization with another one,” Varney said. He is now the executive director of Back on My Feet’s Boston chapter, which will officially launch on May 24. The organization has three other chapters.
 
Varney’s career may have taken a path he did not anticipate, and his unemployment was a challenging period during which it was difficult to stay positive, but he says he has no regrets. “I feel fortunate that things happened the way they did.”
 
As for young professionals who may find themselves in transition or unemployed just as Varney was, he suggests that these YPs find purpose beyond their careers.
 
“Give your life that meaning,” he said. Whether it be through volunteering or helping out family, YPs in transition should find something to give their lives purpose and keep themselves active.
 
Photo (from left to right): A. J. Jenkins, a member of Veterans Up and Running, and Shannon Varney at an event last summer.
 
Read more from YPNation on young people who are making a difference.