It's been three days since I was laid off. I know everybody is saying to jump right in, update my resume, network, and whatever else I should be doing right now but I can't focus on any of that. I'm still putting most of my energy into making sure I don't fall apart. Everybody else seems to be doing so much better than I am. How? It's not that I don't have savings, I do. But I was never laid off before and it feels like a personal failure even if I rationally know it isn't.
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I got laid of in 2011; it really is the worst feeling. Like some said on the post, for the first week I applied like a crazy person and then could not; I had savings and took some time and did things I never had time to do. I took 24 months off, a bit out of choice and a bit of not taking low ballers baits. But in the end it all worked out; got the best job with the best team and boss. It is about learning resilience and knowing that "bad goodbyes always leads to good hellos".
I've been laid-off twice by Oracle and I'm currently back there working for a third time. I've also been let go from several other companies and I've also quit a few. I've got close to 35 years in the IT field and 25 years in the industry. All that said to let you know where I'm coming from.
The first couple of times I felt like you do, it was a hit to my ego. But, I've learned that change is good, it forces you to grow and every time I come back with a better job, more responsibility, and more dollars. Keep you head up, know it's not personal, see it for what it is, a growth opportunity and I'm sure you too will come out on the other side better!
You got this. Work at your pace. It’s not personal, it’s business. Take some personal time (with those savings). Create a calendar, choose a date, and march towards it. Meanwhile, love yourself, be with friends and family.
Best of luck to you and all of us in our next chapters.
Before WFH those who got laid off would go out for a beer together and commiserate. It's good to know you're not in this alone.
If you can, hook up with teammates in the same boat. Have a beer. Commiserate. Rant. Plot. Look out for each other.
Just take it easy... if you have savings, relax... time will come
Go for long walks and reflect. Give yourself a week or two. Oracle nor any job defines you.
What you are feeling is completely normal. Don’t push yourself to job hunt too soon. Process it all first. Otherwise you will probably not do well in interviews anyway. I speak from experience.
Same here. It's perfectly reasonable to take some time to process things. You'll be in a better state of mind to network and interview.
I was laid off in the 2017 August purge and I've been where you are. You feel completely untethered and adrift. Layoffs are not personal. Sadly, they're just part of doing business. You weren't fired for cause, you're a professional that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I personally found that taking a couple of weeks to focus on myself and being kind to myself was better than panicking about not having a job. You are so much more than your job, and so much more than an employee. Rest, be good to yourself, talk to friends and family. Find things every day to enjoy and be happy about that aren't. Then collect yourself, get your resume in shape and start putting feelers out there. You'll be fine, this too shall pass. And frankly, it's way better to be the one going out the door rather than the one left behind to pick up the pieces.
A community that's been shared is Albert's List. They can give you some support through the search: https://example.com/findyournextjob
When my spouse was laid off in 2020 it was the worst day of his career. He took a week off just to process it and decompress before he started reaching out to his network and applying for jobs. In the end, he took a job with substantially lower pay, but a much better work life balance and less toxicity. Two years later, I think he would say that the layoff was beneficial.
Everyone works on a different timeline, but you will get through this.
It's an unavoidable psychological trap. Just be conscious that you'll need to overcome it.