#93: Layoff Season Returns (Again)
Your job’s gone. But your purpose isn’t lost forever. I promise.
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Layoff Season Returns (Again)
Welcome to layoff season, where “spring cleaning” means getting scrubbed from the org chart.
Over the past few weeks, a fresh wave of pink slips has swept through corporate America—including my former employer, which just went through another restructuring. GROAN.
If you’re newly laid off, I’m sorry you’re here. If you’re still inside the building, juggling your job plus the jobs of three people who aren’t there anymore, I’m sorry for that too. And if you’re deep in the post-layoff fog—the one where job applications vanish into the void and every rejection email feels like a gut-punch—you’re not alone. Welcome. You’re in good company.
When I launched Laid Off Life, I wasn’t just interested in writing about lost paychecks—I wanted to write honestly about what losing a job really does to you, both professionally and emotionally. It’s not just a financial hit; it’s an identity crisis. A layoff can destabilize everything: your confidence, your routines, your ability to imagine a future. It doesn’t just mess with your schedule—it scrambles your internal compass. Suddenly, you don’t know which direction to go. You’re not even sure you’re a person anymore—or just a résumé with Wi-Fi.
For me, the scariest part wasn’t “How will I make money?” It was: “What if I never feel like I matter again?”
Because when purpose disappears, it doesn’t leave quietly. It takes the spark with it. Days blur together. Joy feels out of reach. You wake up and wonder, what is the point of any of this?—but still have to somehow force yourself to send off three cover letters and edit your LinkedIn headline like it’s going to save your life.
But here’s the good news: purpose comes back.
Two and a half years after my layoff, I’m not just turning a page. I’m writing a whole new book. Last week, I officially went back to work full-time. I’m deep into two creative projects that light me up in ways I forgot were possible.
No exaggeration: I am entering the most exciting professional era of my life.
Let me be clear: I’ve been working this whole time, but it’s been scattershot. Clients for my business, gigs that lasted a few weeks. But now I have something I didn’t before. Not just a steadier paycheck—a clear career goal that seems within reach.
For a long time, my post-layoff career strategy looked like a horse race: I threw every idea I had onto the track and watched to see which one would take the lead. It was messy, exhausting, and often discouraging. But what emerged was crystal clear: the world didn’t need me to keep chasing every opportunity I felt meh about. The world needed me to do my creative work. That’s what finally started to win.
And honestly? That’s what I had been starving for all along. Not another job title. Not another steady role with “growth potential.”
I needed to feel like I was doing what I was meant to do. That I had something to contribute to the world again.
When you find that, it changes everything. The days feel lighter. Your brain wakes up. You stop measuring your value by whether someone else picks you. And you start building something of your own.
If you're just beginning this journey, hang in there. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s easy or that everything will be fine. The path ahead is winding, weird, and often wildly unfair. But I can promise you this: it leads somewhere. Somewhere better than you can see from here. Somewhere with meaning. With purpose. With work that feels like yours. Not right away, but eventually.
You don’t have to have it all figured out right now. You just have to believe that your purpose isn’t gone for good. Let me be living proof that it finds its way back.
Have a question, suggestions, or thoughts? Want to share your layoff story? Message me!
Have thoughts about what you read, have suggestions for future topics, or a question you want me to answer? Want to share your layoff story with our community? Send me a message! I’d love to hear from you.
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