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Jordan Gibbs arrived at work last November for what she assumed would be a routine day. You can read more about Jordan Gibbs here. a It was as it was. There were emails to be answered, meetings to be attended, and colleagues to talk to.
After that, the whole world was stopped. Gibbs was notified by email that she would be fired immediately. Her access to the computer from her job was lost for four hours.
“I just sat there in shock for the first hour,” Gibbs (31 years old) tells The Sunday Review. “It was surreal.”
Gibbs was a human resource manager at Lyft since just shy of a decade. of She was part of the team for four years. Part of the of She considers it one of First waves of Tech layoffs in the last year were caused by Lyft cut 13% of its staff.
Though it didn’t feel like it at the time, Gibbs now considers getting laid off in early November a blessing. She was able to look for the right thing. a Change of job prior to the current “bloodbath” She says that it all started. She says that since the beginning of More than 210 tech firms have fired over 68,000 workers in 2012 (as per the report). of Friday, January 27th Layoffs.fyiThe industry’s job losses are tracked by the.
The search for what you are looking for isn’t enough. a The transition to a new position was not difficult. Getting laid off decimated Gibbs’s self esteem and made her feel like a failure. She’s still working through those feelings.
“I’ve never felt like more of a loser in my life,” She says. “It’s embarrassing, but I define myself a lot by what I’m able to do for myself. When that tenant of your personality is gone, it’s like, who am I without this job?”
Layoffs can cause severe trauma. People who are affected by layoffs can be hurt. anxiety and depressionTheir self-confidence and self-esteem may plummet. Feelings of Shame and self-deprecation are very common. And that’s before the financial stress hits. It’s all in all, it was a good experience. can take years for someone to recover From a Job loss
According to all reports, Gibbs was exceeding her workplace performance benchmarks. She couldn’t figure out why she was the only person on her team who was let go and that bred resentment. At the same time, friends at other companies who were also laid off received more generous severance packages—Gibbs received 10 weeks of pay and the vesting period for her equity was sped up—which compounded her feelings of frustration.
It is better to let the pain and anger out than keep your mouth shut, says she. a positive attitude, especially when there’s no specific reason why something is happening to you that you can control. Her search for a job was complicated by the fact that she had to watch tech jobs disappear, which made it even more difficult. She also lost weight because of all this. of The stress.
“You go through the dark, disgusting rabbit hole of, ‘Why was it me?’” She says. “It’s death by a thousand cuts, the comparison. It became overwhelming. You really let the negative stuff to creep in.”
But Gibbs says she’s a She is a practical, responsible person who has bills to pay. This is why she started her career in recruiting a technology firm. Despite allowing herself to be emotional and indulge in binging, she was able to keep her cool. Real Housewives She started calling and filling out applications as soon as she lost her job.
Gibbs applied to 173 positions over the next few days. She had 42 interviews—some with multiple people—and received a For couple of Rejections at positions that she loved. She vlogged about her job search process on TikTokGrowing a She had a supportive small circle of friends who encouraged her and kept her accountable. She had to be up each day because she was filming her job hunt. Something.
Just before 10 weeks, on the 69th of each month of Gibbs would receive the legal notice that the term of the separation had expired. a Making job offers a She accepted a comparable salary, but less equity compensation, than in her previous job. She is no longer working. a She is happy to work for a tech company.
“I’m really grateful for this teaching me humility and resilience,” She said: a TikTok video Information about the search process
‘Finding a job is a full time job’
Gibbs refused to give exact figures, but she said that her earnings were in the six-figures for her former role. This was between her equity compensation and her base salary. It is a great feeling to be well-paid. a It was a blessing but also a restriction on what type of blessing. of She was open to applying for the job. An expense-based perspective, she desired to earn at least the base salary.
“It gets very overwhelming forming your life around that salary and then losing that money,” She says.
Gibbs was able to save her money by prioritizing emergency savings. layoff. As well, she was awarded the seperance. a She was able to pay a single lump sum so that she could know how much she would need. The financial stress wasn’t as acute for her as it is for many facing unemployment.
She still had many memorable moments. of Losers know the humiliation of losing. a job. Dealing with New York’s unemployment system and COBRA health insurance Gibbs was thereby made a More compassionate, she states.
“Finding a job is a full time job. Making sure you have your health care, filing for unemployment and doing it every single week…the administrative costs of being unemployed are so mentally taxing,” She says. “It’s a very scary thing. The government does not make it easy to understand or get these resources.”
In order to sublet her New York apartment, she also cut down on all non-essential expenses, such as coffees, meals out and trips to the nail salon. It was a privilege that she found herself in.
Gibbs’ best advice for anyone currently dealing with this issue is a layoff To accept the help of family and friends as well, or even strangers when you are able. She was able to live in her parents’ home without paying rent. She was greeted by friends who sent $5 to buy coffee. a Spa gift certificate; other people took her out to dinner. Unknown person on TikTok suggested that she send workwear to her interview.
There are many ways to help, and it is not limited to financial aid. Gibbs credit some of She was successful in finding success a New job, so fast to the words of Encouragement she received from those following her along the way was a great help.
“You realize it feels like shit now, but it’s going to be okay,” She says of Having a Network of support “Having that little bit of mental peace for even a second helps you get through the next four hours of hell.”
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