Mariana Kobayashi was laid off from LinkedIn in May 2023.
After traveling for six months, he landed a better-paying job at Google.
Kobayashi said being fired was heartbreaking, but it taught her not to make work so personal.
This is an essay based on a conversation with Mariana Kobayashi. The text that follows has been edited for brevity and clarity.
I realized that I was being deceived fired from LinkedIn in May 2023.
It was a company I had always wanted to join and I felt like it was my dream job.
Before I got my graduate scholarship in July 2022, I was rejected from several other positions at LinkedIn. In the meantime, I had other jobs, but everything seemed to indicate that my path was leading me to the world of technology. I think I had created an image of LinkedIn as the supreme, divine place of the industry.
I was very happy there, so when the layoffs came, I was shocked. I don’t watch the news, so I wasn’t aware of the gossip; the email just landed in my inbox out of the blue.
That day it seemed like everything changed.
At first, I felt shocked and confused because I felt like I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was doing my job well and was very happy at the company. I felt like a part of my identity was being taken away from me because, even subconsciously, I had built this job as a dream and now that was fading away.
Living in a bubble
I later realized that I had been living in a bubble while working at LinkedIn.
I went to the gym there, I went to the office every day, all my friends worked there, and even my partner worked there at one point. It made me question who I was without my job and what success really meant. When my friends asked me how I was doing, I felt like I had nothing to contribute to the conversation because I was no longer doing what made me worthwhile.
Mariana Kobayashi learned that she was going to be fired from LinkedIn in May 2023.Mariana Kobayashi
The experience taught me not to link my self-esteem to my job again or to become so attached to a company.
It seemed like LinkedIn could have avoided layoffs if it had made better hiring decisions. It certainly seemed like they had hired too many people after the COVID-19 pandemic and weren’t prepared for tough economic times.
Layoffs really affect company culture. Many of my friends who worked at LinkedIn and Google also quit their jobs in the last eight months due to bad mood.
Layoffs can be an opportunity
My best advice to those who have been laid off is to take it as an opportunity. Over time, something more suited to your needs will come along.
I look back at myself now and I’m proud of everything that’s happened. I’ve grown two levels in my career, something that wouldn’t have been possible if I’d stayed at LinkedIn, my salary has almost doubled, and I’m at a company that’s a much better fit for me.
After traveling for six months, Kobayashi landed a better-paying job at Google.Mariana Kobayashi
I decided to travel after I was laid off and eventually landed a position at Google’s Dublin office.
Read the original article at Business Insider
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