#46: Rerouting My GPS for Success

Destination: happiness! Plus, how to handle resume gaps.

Laid Off Life is a place of respite for the weary workforce. Whether you’re unemployed, underemployed, or just trying to make it through the workday, let this be your 5-minute mental break from the grind of late-stage capitalism.

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Rerouting My GPS for Success

Seventeen months have passed since my layoff, a period that feels like a lifetime but is just the beginning of my career rebuilding process (and the end of my COBRA). Like standing in the eye of a hurricane, I've watched the detritus of my former corporate life fall around me. The storm has ended, and for the last few months, I’ve cautiously emerged, assessing the damage, deciding what, if anything, I want to salvage.

Before my corporate job, I thought success was about the EGO things: the TITLE, the PAYCHECK, the RECOGNITION. But having reached those imagined milestones, I found them hollow and soulless. Sure, money is necessary (and fun to spend!), but it has never been my primary motivator. So, how did it become entwined with my definition of success?

Previously, I viewed my professional endeavors in a binary way: either I achieved my goals and was a success, or I didn't and was a failure. I spent so much energy trying to navigate around obstacles, evaluating past mistakes, and forecasting future ways to avoid failure, that I wasn’t living in the present. I wasn’t asking myself, Who are you? What is your purpose? Are you fulfilling it?

That was my only mistake. Not understanding that there is no such thing as failure, only the awareness that what you’re doing isn’t working for you, that you’re unhappy and it’s time to PIVOT.

When a friend recently asked me how I define success now, I answered, “Earning enough money to live doing things I love.” But even as I said it, part of me doubted that it was enough to qualify as success. But here’s my big A-HA: IT QUALIFIES FOR SUCCESS, JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE DOING IT. If you’re out there doing what you love, that IS success.

So, I’m rerouting my internal GPS and navigating to a new destination: HAPPINESS. That is the cornerstone of the new career I’m building. This means embracing a career that aligns with my purpose, rather than chasing titles, paychecks, and prestige. It involves pursuing work that brings me joy and fulfillment, and not being afraid to PIVOT when I’m no longer on the road to HAPPINESS.

I’m thrilled (and a bit terrified) about the journey ahead, even if the path is uncharted. By prioritizing happiness and fulfillment, I am building a career that is meaningful and authentic to who I am. This new destination may not come with what I thought of as markers of success previously, but it will be rich with the things that matter most to me.

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📬 Laid Off Life Mailbag: How Do I Handle Resume Gaps in a Tough Employment Market?

Hi, Ami!

I’d love to hear your perspective on handling resume gaps in this market.

-Joe

Dear Joe,

I’d like to caveat my answer by reminding you that I am not a career coach, a recruiter, or an expert of any sort. Here’s what I am. A person who writes honestly about life post-layoff. A hater of cover letters. A lover of paying Etsy witches to cast job spells. A human who is NOT currently seeking a 9 to 5. All of this to say that you should consider this my opinion — take it or leave it.

On a human level, I feel like there is no shame whatsoever in a resume gap. Sometimes life happens and you need to take a pause. Whether that be because you gave birth, you were caring for an ill parent, or you got laid off and are facing an unprecedentedly shitty job market. Your primary job as a candidate is not to hide employment gaps, but to explain them in a way that makes sense to a prospective employer.

That being said, in an extra competitive job market, if you feel that a resume gap could still put you at a disadvantage, you could consider adding freelance, consulting, or self-employment placeholders. Have you been taking on any freelance work? Consulting? Do you have an LLC you can add as your company name? Create a job description that neatly encompasses all the side-hustles, or temporary jobs you’ve been doing and feel free to put bright-ass red lipstick on that pig. You would not be the first or the last job seeker to do that.

Good luck out there in the wilds!

Best,

Ami

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Linkapalooza

This week’s most clickable bits n’ bobs.

Via @chloecondon on Instagram

An essay from the author of THE MYTH OF MAKING IT: A Workplace Reckoning that we all need to read//Who Are You?

Evan Shapiro

’s recipe for summer self-reflection// The real danger of the “Woo to Q” pipeline // We’re fumbling towards ecstasy…again! // Are you having a hot rodent boy summer? // So…bonnets are back // What happened to People Magazine?

Anne Helen Petersen

breaks it down// I never thought I’d use the words “Snapchat” and “opioid crises” in the same sentence, but here we are // We’re living in the queerest century yet //

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