Reflecting on being laid off

Almost a year ago, I was let go—precisely the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Reflecting back on it, it was tough. It was the first time I was ever let go from a job. It feels weird. It’s hard to believe. Where did I fail? What did I miss? It’s impossible not to think that if I had worked harder, or done a better job, the company would have decided to keep me around.

Why? Well, a lot of folks were let go, but not the entire team. A few people were kept. I’m sure there was some sort of criteria to make that selection. But this is not the point. The decision was made. I had to move on.

To give more context, my wife was expecting and we had just gotten our home mortgage approved. Even though she worked, I was the primary source of income for our home.

I wasn’t able to sleep the night of the layoff. Who would? It’s crazy to think how life can change so fast. This sounds dramatic, right? Thankfully, this wasn’t a car accident or a serious illness. It was the end of an employment agreement—a source of income that wouldn’t exist anymore. Maybe now it’s easy to write this, but during the following days my focus was to disconnect from it and let it go.

I decided that the best move was to let the dust settle. I kept my laptop closed for the next few days. I focused on enjoying my now “free time” by doing things that I liked. I kept my early training and surfing routine, and that was maybe one of the best decisions I made at that time.

After talking to a few friends about the scenario, one particular reference caught my attention: The story of the Chinese farmer

We don’t have a way to determine if what happens to us is either good or bad. Only time will tell.

That was the main thing that helped me to move on. I somehow was able to face this situation as a happy accident. I didn’t try to blame anyone for it. Instead, I focused on getting ready to be back in the job market as soon as I could.

I was lucky that I was searching for a job not long before the layoff happened. This means I still had a few recruiters that I could reach out to. My LinkedIn feed was also very tuned to show me good job postings. That helped me to kick the job search off!

I’ll share more about my job search next.