This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amanda Nielsen, a partnerships manager based in Denver. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her employment history.
I have worked in partnerships marketing my whole career.
I was at a company in the software space for four years when the company did a round of layoffs. I survived the cut, but a lot of my team was let go and the job didn’t feel the same. I was opening up to the idea of new roles when the perfect opportunity presented itself.
A manager from another company in the same industry reached out and made me a job offer I could not refuse.
I took the offer. Shortly after I joined, new leadership was brought in at the C-suite level.
In October 2023, close to my 60-day mark, the company laid off 30% of its staff. My entire team, including my manager and I, were let go.
It was a shock because the company had put in so much effort to poach me, make an attractive offer, and spend time onboarding me.
I felt naive and silly. I had just announced my job move to my whole network and told them all about my new responsibilities. There were practical worries too: I had just set up my insurance and had asked for my 401K to be rolled over. My entire team being fired also made me question my abilities and how this looked from the outside.
Job search struggles
Once I had collected myself, I went on to LinkedIn and let people know I had been let go and was looking for new opportunities. I also began applying for jobs online.
Even though I was open-minded about roles and had a solid resume and network, I struggled with my job hunt.
One thing that had changed since my last job search four years earlier was the pandemic and the rise of remote work. Suddenly, I was competing with people from around the US and the world.
In the past, I felt that cover letters and personalized applications got me through the door. But this time around, that wasn’t working for me.
Strategies that worked for me
I took a step back and tried a couple of other strategies.
I landed a job within three months. I currently work as a partner sales manager at Box, a job I landed in February. I credit it to some of the initiatives I took after my layoff:
These steps kept me occupied and helped me find job leads, including my present role.
When my current boss was looking for people to expand his team, he reached out to his network for recommendations. My frequent posting and constant networking had kept me on top of people’s minds and I was recommended to my boss by several people.
In retrospect, despite how painful it was, I’m grateful for the layoff because of the opportunities it opened up for me.
The post I was poached, then laid off 60 days later. I was embarrassed to talk about it, but doing so helped me get my next job. appeared first on Business Insider.
