#26: The Unemployment Diaries With Vipat Raksakulthai
On the healing power of tennis, co-workers who feel like family, and how to bypass several layers of AI metadata filter f**kery.
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The Unemployment Diaries With Vipat Raksakulthai
Meet Vipat Raksakulthai, a Biotech/ life sciences research and development manager. I’m thrilled he agreed to share his Laid Off Life journey with us.
If you’d like to be featured in The Unemployment Diaries in the future, email me at laidofflife@substack.com!
Vipat, tell us your layoff story.
I was just coming off seeing The Cure in concert and a long weekend in June and had my weekly meeting with my manager scheduled for Tuesday morning. We typically start with some small talk about what we did over the weekend but for this meeting before any of that got underway he said, “Hold on, Vipat, (our CEO) is hopping on”.
I’ve heard enough layoff stories in my time that I immediately knew what was to follow.
There is a happy ending though. I’ve just recently started a new job. Phew. But, of course, I will still be a LOLer for life.
What was your initial reaction to being laid off, and how did you deal?
While I was on with my manager and the CEO, I texted my colleague to let her know what was happening since I knew that she had a call scheduled with my boss right after me, and it was highly likely that she was going to get the same unwelcome news.
The crappiest thing for me was that we were a few weeks from starting a pretty big renovation project on our house, so I was dreading telling the contractor that we were putting it on hold. So, I made my wife do it.
What's one piece of advice you have for someone who is at the very beginning of their laid off life journey?
I always say the same thing to people who recently got laid off as those who recently experienced a breakup…“Good.”
I hate saying that things “happen for a reason,” but find a reason to love it. It’s an opportunity, possibly for the first time in your career, where you have the chance to reassess, dream, and reinvent yourself. Thought exercises are easy on the wallet.
What did you find to be the most challenging part of unemployment, both practically and emotionally?
Going through the process of collecting unemployment benefits from the state I live in and maintaining health insurance was the worst part for me.
What was the most annoying thing that was said to you about being laid off?
My dad told me that I should use this opportunity to go back to school full-time to get an advanced degree. That’s a whole other topic about first-generation kids of overachieving immigrants who value education above everything else you’ve accomplished. I applaud everyone who holds down a day job or any responsibilities at all and manages to take classes toward a degree but it’s not where my head is at right now.
What unexpected benefits or personal growth did you experience while being unemployed?
I got slightly obsessed with improving my tennis serve. I hadn’t played in about 20 years, but both my kids were taking lessons and my wife started playing as well. So, I would spend hours on the court with a bucket of balls and practice serving while listening to scientific webinars to prepare for interviews. It was extremely therapeutic.
What’s one piece of advice your employed self would give your unemployed self?
Keep in touch with recruiters and hiring managers who reach out to you while you’re gainfully employed. Put in the effort to take those calls even if you’re not actively looking. It’s something that I didn’t do, so at the beginning of my unemployment, it took me a few weeks to line up calls. There’s always a delay in the interview process, and even more so now as companies have tightened up hiring processes and lengthened hiring timelines.
What was the unemployment fear that kept you up at night?
That my two boys would find out and think I’m a loser.
What were your daily routines, rituals, and strategies for staying motivated, productive, and sane during your job search?
My wife recently returned to work after staying home to raise our kids, so for the past decade she did effectively all of the childcare. Being laid off was my opportunity to put a very minor dent in that imbalance. My kids are at the age (2nd and 5th grade) where they’re in school full time and have to be shuttled to their after-school activities most days of the week, so I still had a bit of a schedule that I had to adhere to. I tried to be as productive as possible in the mornings. We have a dog too, so there’s structure around keeping to her activity needs as well.
Remember how I mentioned that a colleague of mine was also laid off at the same time as me? I should add that I’ve worked with this person for over 11 years in total at three different companies. We quit our first company on the same day and went to work together at a second one. To say she’s family to me is an understatement. I know that may not be the most common situation, but for me, that’s what kept me sane. Being able to have a person who understands what you’re going through, to vent to or allow you to go to a dark place, but who knows when you need to be pulled out of a spiral…made the difference for me.
Did you develop any unusual habits while you were unemployed?
All of my unusual habits were pre-existing. I got really into Halloween decorations this year. I saw the Instagram reel of someone making the vomiting skeleton and I went CRAZY on fluorescent spray paint and UV spotlights. In my neighborhood, there were like 8 of the Home Depot 12-foot-tall skeletons and we had one. I painted it and became the envy of the block.
I’ve since been watching YouTube videos on how to “corpse” a skeleton, which is where you use a plastic tarp, wood stain, and a heat gun to make it look like your skeleton has remnants of flesh on it. My vision is to “Benjamin Button” this 12-foot skeleton over the next 5 years or so, gradually reverse aging it until it reaches the fetal stage. Fuck my neighbors.
Please share any networking or job search tips that have been helpful for you.
Spend some time thinking about past coworkers who you enjoyed working with, and reach out to them on LinkedIn. Take a look at their company’s career page to see if there are openings that might be of interest. If there’s a position that works out, there may be referral bonuses that can incentivize them into putting you in touch with the hiring manager or HR. A personal reference bypasses several layers of AI metadata filter fuckery, in my experience.
Speaking of dream jobs, what is your dream job, if time, money, experience, and reality were of no consequence?
Those who know me well know that all I want to do is sell grilled pork skewers with sticky rice on the side of a busy city intersection.
Otherwise, I'd like to develop an app where you can make your parents’ phones look like they missed calls from you.
What's the most absurd job listing or piece of job-hunting advice that you came across during your job search?
I saw a lot of Instagram content with people going on interviews with their phones attached to their computer screens and ChatGPT (or some other AI) was providing them with responses in real-time during a video call. I would love to know if that has worked for anyone IRL.
If unemployment were a competitive sport, what would your unique talent or skill be in that competition?
I would get a gold medal in denial and a silver in procrastination.
Most cringey job interview you’ve been on?
I challenged the CEO of a company I was interviewing with and brought up a technological competitor, mostly just to show that I had done my homework and get his take on it. Pretty standard question to expect from a candidate, but his mood changed pretty quickly and dramatically after I brought it up. He got defensive and didn’t answer my question in the end. Needless to say, I didn’t get that job and that’s probably for the best!
Worst thing you’ve done for money?
Worked for a shitty boss for longer than I should have.
Best thing you’ve done for money?
I’ve quit a job with maxed-out vacation and cashed it out.
What are your worthy time wasters? What are you reading/watching/listening to/consuming right now?
Instagram knows everything I need at the exact time I need it.
One cheap thrill that you recommend?
Leave your house without your phone.
Tell us about the last Internet rabbit hole you fell into.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep a worm composting bin in my basement to make plant fertilizer from kitchen scraps.
I also try to keep watch on whatever YouTube trends my kids are into. The last thing I got into was Skibidi Toilet when it was big. I’m being fed a lot of dog training content right now as well as nature videos of predator animals in nature doing what they do.
Where can people find you?
You can find me on LinkedIn or follow me on Instagram, my dark master.
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