You Are More Than The Company You Work For

I am going through my third layoff in 18 months (woof, I know…)

I am so much calmer this time than the last two, not because I went through it before, but because I set things in place ahead of time to ensure I am never down bad in the same way I was the first time.

The first time I lost my job was one of the worst feelings I had ever experienced. I was left with no network, no income, and no idea where to even start. I had never been unemployed before and had never felt so lost. I didn’t just lose stability… I truly felt like I had lost my purpose.

I stared at the LinkedIn page wondering if I could even claim to be a recruiter if I was not in a recruiting role. I didn’t know who I was without my career, and that scared me even more than the lost of income. I felt like I lost a part of myself.

Being laid off felt terrible, and feeling like I had nowhere to go or no one to turn to was even worse. I set out to ensure it never happened again. 

I fought the imposter syndrome and called myself one anyway. Started reading other posts, and at times, even started to comment. From there, I started posting.

My posts started as recruiting insights and trying to show my worth. I knew that my language wasn’t the cleanest or most polished, and let ChatGPT completely water down what I wanted to say for months. 

It didn’t feel like me. 

I was sharing the information I wanted and had it packaged up with a pretty bow, but when someone has already unwrapped so many of those previously, they’re ready for something different. I didn’t understand the value one’s unique voice can bring, and especially not mine when I was feeling so low. 

The walls slowly came down. 

I went from recruiting and hiring insights that were overedited with AI to my actual unfiltered ones, to then mixing in the personal stories as well, and then… the memes.

Lots and lots of memes.

So many memes, in fact, I completely rebranded into the meme lady.

It unlocked something in me I have long forgotten about. I would stay up for hours on end on the internet looking at memes, reading wattpad or reddit stories, and just getting lost in different corners of the web. What I didn’t realize was that I could carry it with me into adulthood and into my work.

I love recruiting and my passion lies in helping others find work, but there is more to me than that. When I began posting memes and showing my humor/personality past the educational insights I can provide, so many things came to light to prove that.

• • People actually like hearing from real people? They’re sick of being told what to do by other “professionals”.

• • People are TIRED. Things are rough for both the employed and unemployed. We all need levity in our days.

• • Some things are universally funny and even the most professional of people can’t resist laughing along.

• • Value doesn’t inherently need to be tied to production or education. Entertainment is greatly needed and equally valuable to others.

I found my voice and my purpose through posting on LinkedIn and reconnected with myself through the process. There is a reason I am drawn to recruiting, and identifying that brought about a newfound sense of self. In that, I found a new path forward and a new sense of hope that’s reliant on none other than myself. 

You don’t need to start posting on LinkedIn to come to your own conclusions, though. 

You just need to find other parts within you to connect with and nurture.

Life is more than work; break things down, figure out what truly matters to you, and start living for it ✨