Remembering yourself after a layoff: Don’t reinvent, rediscover.

Losing a job feels like a setback, but it can also be an opportunity to rediscover who you truly are. After my layoff, I realized that it wasn't about reinventing myself; it was about reconnecting with my skills and values. Today, I want to share some reflections on how I navigated this journey - and hopefully, it will resonate with others going through the same.

Enough time has passed for me to write this, although it still feels a bit strange to say it out loud. Almost two months ago, I was laid off. First, let’s address the obvious: Is it ever nice? No. Does it feel like a failure? Sure, at first. Does it happen to many people? Absolutely. Yet, no matter how common it is, nothing really prepares you for the experience - especially after more than 10 years in the same company, with the last three spent in the whirlwind of a toxic environment.

I won’t dive into the details, because that’s not the focus here. But one of the hardest parts of the journey was being repeatedly exposed to the message that I wasn’t good enough at my job. Even though I knew that wasn’t true - that I was always open to learning and growing - constant negative feedback and discouragement made it almost impossible to keep my impostor syndrome in check.

So, how do you detox from something like that? How do you move past months of harmful criticism and “reinvent” yourself?

In my experience: You don’t. Instead, you rediscover yourself.

Feel the Feelings

First of all, let yourself feel it all. As I mentioned, layoffs are more common than we realize, and they rarely reflect on your abilities or performance. Sometimes it’s about the closure of a department, poor leadership, or simply business decisions where employees become collateral damage. Whatever the reason, allow yourself to feel the anger, frustration, highs, and lows. Embrace those emotions; they are essential to moving forward.

Surround Yourself with the Right People

When something like this happens, you’ll hear a lot of “everything will be fine, just wait.” While that sentiment is kind and appreciated, you may need more. Surround yourself with people who not only give you positive energy but also remind you who you are. These are the people who know your worth, experiences, and abilities. They’re the ones who can help you navigate the waters of self-rediscovery and provide advice that pushes you forward.

Look Back to Move Forward

Take a walk down memory lane and remember what brings you joy. What do you love doing? What makes you, you? And since we live in a material world, find a way to monetize it. Often, your experience is enough to start. Build a website, create a portfolio, set up an online shop - whatever you need to show your skills to the world. This will help whether you want to become an entrepreneur or are searching for the next corporate job. In either case, you need to be ready to showcase your abilities and market yourself.

Personal Lessons

To bring this back to personal experience, here are two things that helped me get back on my feet - at least for now, because let’s face it, every day is a new challenge.

1. Study something new: One of the most important people in my life gave me this simple, but powerful, advice: "When in doubt, study something." This helped me reorient, reflect on what I wanted to do next, and continue developing myself. We all need to keep growing, whether we’re between jobs or not.

2. Connect with friends: During an unrelated gathering with friends, we ended up talking about our jobs (or lack of!) and our strengths. I can’t express how easy it was for them to list the things they believed I was good at and for me to do the same for them. Impostor syndrome is something many of us suffer from (especially women and marginalized communities), but no one sees your strengths as clearly as your friends. That’s why surrounding yourself with the right people can make all the difference.

   
   

A New Chapter

So, what’s the point of all this? Is it just to vent?

Not quite. The reason I’m sharing this is because I’m ready to take the next step. I’m excited to introduce this new portfolio/website. It’s a space where I’ve gathered the work I’m most proud of - showcasing my experience and what I love to do. You’ll find copywriting gigs, photography projects, and much more to come.

I invite you to explore it. I’m not only proud of the work itself, but also of the journey that led me to rediscover it - and, ultimately, myself - after a well-deserved detox.

If you’re interested in connecting or working together, let’s chat!

Thanks for reading.

Ce.