Melanie Ehrenkranz cultivates community within the job market

Melanie Ehrenkranz (‘12) took a leap after graduation and moved straight to New York City with no job lined up. Determined to pursue a career in journalism, she quickly found her beat covering technology and wellness. Today, she is focused on growing her bestselling Substack newsletter “Laid Off,” where she interviews people who recently lost their jobs and fosters a sense of hope and resilience amid a turbulent job market. 

Ehrenkranz fondly remembers her time at San Diego State University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies. Ooe of her favorite classes was with Professor Amy Schmitz Weiss, where they developed a news app and created X (formerly Twitter) accounts.  

Two weeks after graduating, Ehrenkranz decided to move to New York with one of her friends and eventually got her first journalism job as a tech reporter for the International Business Times. 

“I met people who are still some of my best friends and who are doing incredible things,” Ehrenkranz said. “I think I was making like $20,000 a year, which is not much, and was so happy because I was writing and meeting all these journalists my age.”

Ehrenkranz called that first job a stepping stone. It helped her discover a passion for writing about technology and blending her interests in investigative and wellness journalism.

“I think you kind of trial and error, figure out what your beat is if you don't already know,” Ehrenkranz said. “There are a lot of people who go into journalism and they have a beat that they're really passionate about, and it's looking at writers that inspire you and that are writing a story that your like, ‘I wish I wrote that.’”

She went freelance in 2019, a move she says gave her the freedom to explore the topics she loved. Since then, her bylines have appeared in Vice, NBC News, National Geographic, Medium and other outlets.

Ehrenkranz now serves as the Head of Content and Community at Business Class, while continuing to grow “Laid Off”, which she launched in August. The newsletter now has more than 9,000 readers. She calls it “the coolest place on the internet to talk about being laid off.”

Each week, Ehrenkranz publishes an interview with someone who has experienced a layoff. Her subjects come from a wide range of industries, and the newsletter has expanded into a Discord community where readers share experiences and offer support.

“I don't want this to sound discouraging, but I come from Media and so you know, there have been a lot of layoffs at different newsrooms,” she said. “Most of my friends had experienced either being laid off or being somewhere where there were layoffs, and it was a conversation a lot of us had had a lot.”

Despite the tough job market, Ehrenkranz encourages students not to get discouraged. She advises aspiring journalists to find a beat they love, consider freelance opportunities, and embrace passion projects.

“13 years ago when I was in journalism school, we had people come and talk to our classes like, ‘look like you might not make a lot of money in the space or like there might not be a lot of opportunity in this space,’” Ehrenkraz said. “And that was something I was hearing over a decade ago, and still my peers and I went on to have amazing careers and make livings and have really wonderful experiences.”

“So I would just say first, I wouldn't be discouraged,” Ehrenkraz said. “I know it's deflating to look at the job market, but just figure out what you're passionate about and really focus on cultivating your community. Don't try and go it alone, and don't be afraid to ask for mentorship and ask for help.”  

Check out Laid Off and you reach out to Melanie on her linkedIn.