How To Survive Losing Your Job

Beth Comstock Was One Of The Most Powerful Women In Corporate America—Until She Wasn’t. In The Wake Of Her Unexpected Dismissal From G.E., She’s Learning A Lot About Herself.

- Stephanie Clifford

It may be day 253 of Beth Comstock’s unemployment, but her only concession to that state is a pair of fuzzy slippers. She’s been up writing down everything from dreams to possible LinkedIn posts since 5 a.m. Before the clock hits eight, she calls an Uber, changes into Ugg sneakers, throws various bags over her shoulder, and heads out the door to start a packed day.

Comstock is a legend in female corporate lore. Almost everyone knows that she began her career in public relations at NBC, then scaled her way to the top of giant GE, NBC’s onetime parent company, where she made history as GE’s first female vice-chair. Over nearly three decades, she became an industry powerhouse known for embracing new projects and ideas—Today’s outdoor music studio or NBC’s investment in Hulu or GE’s “Ecomagination” program, a sustainability strategy that redefined the industrial giant as forward-thinking.

Then in late 2017, when a new CEO replaced Jeff Immelt, Comstock’s mentor at GE, she was unceremoniously pushed out, and the thousands of professional women who looked up to Comstock let out a collective gasp.

The portfolio she ran included marketing, sales, a Silicon Valley–based innovation group, and lighting. Her job was so powerful that it came with a chief of staff, her reputation so established that she gave speeches and hosted panels everywhere from Davos to SXSW, her schedule so packed that she’d hold 6:30 a.m. meetings in her car. Until the day when Comstock, all of a sudden, didn’t have anywhere to go, anything to do, or anyone, it seemed, to be.

“I thought change was my thing,” she says. “Then, boom, I don’t work at GE. Suddenly, who am I? What am I doing?”