What I learned from being laid off ðŸ«
When it rains, etc. etc.
I took a break from writing this blog because, frankly, I was drowning in work stress. That’s all over now, though, because I was laid off. My last day was this past Friday. This is totally unchartered territory for me, and obviously I would’ve chosen to avoid it if possible. But, I’m choosing to see this as an opportunity to lean into my job search efforts and learn more about myself and what I want in my future. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
The world didn’t end when I lost my job.
On Monday, I woke up jobless. And instead of pitching myself into a world of despair and hopelessness, I went to my mother in law’s house for a Memorial Day cookout. Funny, right?
Our culture focuses so much on work that it’s easy to imagine becoming untethered without it. But it turns out the world still spins regardless of whether you’re clocked in by 9 am. I wound up having a lovely weekend, and found it refreshing not to think about which tasks I needed to prioritize for the week ahead. I have a lot of free time ahead of me, so while I don’t want to give myself too much time to relax, I still plan to allow myself the grace to do other things for awhile: deep cleaning my apartment, enjoying longer walks with my dog, and visiting the library are all on my to do list for my first week of unemployment.
People are nice. Like, really nice.
I’ve never been a big LinkedIn user, so I didn’t know what to expect when I published my #OpenToWork post. I was blown away not only by the engagement, but by the kindness I received. Reading thoughtful comments from people who worked with me, either as coworkers or as students, was exactly the mood booster that I needed after being laid off. It also inspired me to do the same. Despite my dislike of LinkedIn, I’ve decided to become more active so I can help celebrate people, boost their posts, and support job seekers in the way those people did for me.
I still need more clarity on what I want.
I previously wrote about (and subsequently unpublished, for clarity’s sake) wanting to work in product operations. And this is still true—I think it would be a good fit for my skills and interests. But this would be a long term goal and not something I could work in any time soon, given my current qualifications. So in the meantime, I’ve been largely targeting customer success and customer success operations positions.
The problem is, I keep finding other positions that excite me! For example, there’s a part of me that really misses working in nonprofit, and I’ve applied for some nonprofit jobs that were unrelated to customer success or operations. I know that the standard advice for job seekers is to zero in on one target role, though, and I’m finding that difficult.
Luckily, my previous manager is wonderful and happens to be a former career coach. She’s graciously offered her help and expertise, so I scheduled time with her this week to review my resume and talk more about how to choose a single role to apply for.
What’s next?
While being unemployed was certainly never part of my game plan, I’m excited to use this time to keep learning about myself and to dive into the deep end of job searching—and that includes picking this blog back up! I’ll continue posting as I apply (hopefully successfully), network, and find more clarity on what I want for the future.
Want to learn more about me? Know of any opportunities that sound like a fit? Let’s talk. You can reach me at brittleestill@gmail.com.