Nearly 40% of Americans have been laid off or terminated at least once. And 99% of the time, it sucks.

* One of these statistics is true. The other is probably true.

  • Recognizing that I am not the only one that is going through this, and that I'm no more or less of a person based on my job status — that made a big difference.

    Paige G.

  • The pandemic crystallized for so many people that work is not as important as we've been making it out to be.

    Sarah D.

  • When you get to a point where you decide for whatever reasons, it's time to find a new place for yourself, that needs to be the loudest thing in your mind and in your gut.

    Maggie M.

  • When you push into spaces that you're uncomfortable in it's good for you. As much as I would say it sucked, I do think it was a good learning and a growth experience for me as a person.

    Ryan A.

Six months out from getting shit-canned, I’d had over fifty interviews. I’d been a final candidate six times. And been rejected every time. And yet, I kept having conversations rooted in a false positivity that led with a narrative that things were going great. (I was just being meticulous and working to find the right fit.) At a certain point, I got tired of the spin. I was desperate for a real conversation about how shitty it is to get rejected. About how to battle all the self-doubt. I wanted someone who had been there to tell me they’d felt despair too. I reached a breaking point. If one more person asked me how the job search was going I was going to yell “LAY OFF ME!”

So I decided to do it. (Find those real conversations, that is. I’ve yet to actually berate someone for asking me how it’s going.) I’m talking to all kinds of people and getting to know how they survived, and sometimes thrived, while being laid off. And I’m bringing those conversations to you at Lay Off Me - a podcast about being laid off.