Dear Diari, I just got laid off :/

Let’s rewind to 2 months ago.

I had just got back from a much needed vacation. I spent precious time with my lovely grandparents in Nigeria and connected even deeper with my African roots.

Sunday morning, I landed back in Toronto, Canada. I was due back at work on Monday.

Monday morning rolls around. I wake up early, feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back to work.

I see what appears to be a one-on-one call scheduled with my manager. I thought to myself, “Weird. She typically sends a message on Slack to check in first, and given that I’ve been away for 3 weeks I’m sure she’d want ask how my vacation went.” Nevertheless, I thought nothing of it. So I joined the call.

To my surprise, my manager, the CEO, and the HR lead were all on the call. At first I thought, “is this what I think it is? No, let me not jump to conclusions.”

As I listen and I hear the words leave the CEO’s mouth, utter shock is all I can describe feeling in that moment.

I quite liked that job. I had just gotten into a rhythm. My manager was great. The company was growing and I was excited for my role to expand in the coming months. Little did I know it would all be snatched from me in the blink of an eye.

Did I cry? Yes. Was I terrified? Yes.

Let’s fast forward to now.

Two months later, I have got another exciting job at a real estate company. Not does this align with my recent curiosity for the real estate industry, the biggest blessing here is that I have increased my salary.

So what are the learnings here? I’ve summarized them into 3 main points:

1. Blessings come in disguise
2. Things may not make sense in the moment, but will make sense in retrospect
3. Don’t act like you’re invincible. Anything can happen to anyone, always be ready to pivot and chart a new course

Getting laid off absolutely sucks, trust me I know first hand! The economy is going through a rough patch. The job market it tough. It can be tricky to anticipate something like a lay off.

I say stay nimble, keep upskilling, update your resume, and always be on the lookout for opportunities.

Signing off,

Adanna