My first layoff was the best thing that happened to my career
I expect the recent layoff to be no different. Here’s the approach I’m taking for the best that’s yet to come.
I, along with thousands of others, was impacted by Meta’s layoffs last week. This is the second time I experienced a layoff. The first time happened in 2014 when 40% of my organization at Cisco was cut.
Cisco had been conducting layoffs every year for a number of years prior to that. I was one of the very few technical writers whose main responsibility was designing the user interface text in the Cisco WebEx Meetings products. I was also leading Cisco’s product dictionary, which governed the terminology, voice and tone, style guidelines, and localization across all of Cisco’s collaboration technology products. I learned on the web that the trailblazing work I was happily doing was called content strategy or UX writing.
When the layoffs caught up with me, I was relieved. I had been secretly hoping I would be next because I felt stuck after having worked on the same products for 12 years (6 years on user documentation and another 6 years on UX writing). I had tried looking for other opportunities but just wasn’t very active because I still had a job. I thought this would be a good change.
This feeling of relief was quickly eclipsed by shame and guilt. I started to speculate why I was selected, and why another person on the team was not. I’d gotten promotions and raises throughout the years. Maybe I wasn’t good enough after all, I thought.
With all the free time, I chaperoned my daughter and her class on a field trip during the week. I met some parents for the first time. One parent asked me, “What do you do?” “I’m umm… in between jobs,” I said.
My mom worked as a school teacher for 30 years before she retired. The importance of working and having economic independence as a woman rubbed off on me throughout my upbringing. Not to mention my husband and I had just purchased a house. I felt so embarrassed and guilty that I didn’t have a job.
All of that led me to believe I should quickly find a job. And I did in 3 weeks. It was a technical writing role.
A few days into the new job, I was busy learning about the product. My UX instinct kicked in. I started sharing my observations and thoughts about the product experiences, the design, and the wording and asked a lot of questions. It raised some eyebrows. My manager had a talk with me in a conference room. “People here keep a low profile,” she said.
It dawned on me that I signed up for the wrong job. I made a mistake. I should have known better from doing UX work for the past 6 years. What I missed terribly were discussing and scoping problems, iterating on solutions, and geeking out voice and tone and UI content. I was no longer satisfied with just describing the UIs and writing instructions. So, after the first week, I quit.
This incident affirmed my passion for product development and UX writing. I leaned into my network for companies that might be interested in hiring a UX writer. Some of the product designers I had the pleasure to work with at Cisco had left Cisco for [24]7.ai. They proposed to the Design leadership that they needed a UX writer, and connected me with the opportunity. I interviewed with the Chief Design Officer, got an offer, and accepted it.
I carved out a space for the UX writing discipline at [24]7.ai. A year into this role, I became a manager hiring UX writers in the Philippines, India, and the U.S. Content design leadership was rewarding and energizing to me. I continued on to build and grow a team from the ground up at Clover and eventually joined Meta to lead teams that were solving problems on a much broader scope.
The layoff from nearly 9 years ago pushed me to a whole new level. A place that I could not have reached had I not taken the time to reflect, listen to my inner voice, and course correct.
Today, it still sucks to be told that my position is no longer needed. What’s different is that I now embrace the challenge and potential opportunities the layoff brings.
Here’s how I’m going to apply the lessons I’ve learned to this transition. If you’ve also recently been impacted by layoffs, I hope they’re helpful to you.
Get closure, and move on
A layoff very likely is a tremendous blessing if you are able to see beyond. It’s definitely not easy as you may still be grieving the loss of your job. You may be disappointed, angry, or mad. You may be asking, “Why me.”
To get closure and move on, I remind myself of the following:
- It’s not about you. I was a strong performer at both of these companies. However, mass layoffs are business decisions. They are not a reflection of the impacted individual’s worth and abilities.
- Your career is bigger than a single company. I felt heavily invested in the work and the organization’s mission and priorities. When I got laid off last week, I was in disbelief that the company would decide to move on without me. If you’re thinking the same, well, they can take away the work from you, but the impact you made in your past projects, the strengths you demonstrated, the skills you gained, and the insights from the crucial conversations you had will go with you forever. When I think about this, I’m grateful to be able to strengthen my portfolio with the addition of the journey. I’m excited about paying it forward in my next role and the communities I serve!
Know what you want in your next role
The layoffs that impacted me nearly 9 years ago created the impetus for change in my career. Even though I recognized the change as an opportunity, it still took me twists and turns and emotional roller coasters to land in the right place.
That’s because we know intellectually that change presents opportunities. But as humans, we see unemployment as a failure on our part and naturally want to fix it as soon as possible.
The uncertainty is intimidating. It’s easy to feel flustered and grab whatever opportunity comes your way. However, spending even just a few hours reflecting on what you’ve done in your career, how it fits in your vision, and what new opportunities you’re interested in will provide clarity in your search for a path that aligns with your passion, strengths, and needs.
Reflecting on the questions above, I know I can’t imagine being in any role other than design or content design leadership. I’ve made a ton of impact by building and growing content design teams, coaching and mentoring content designers and product designers, and leading large-scale UX projects through design leadership. I’d love for them to continue to play a big part in my future role. No two companies share the same content strategy — I’d welcome opportunities to learn a new product domain and design an operating model that brings the most value.
Take some time for what brings you joy
The months of anticipation for the layoff finally came to an end. Now I’m in for some time off. The only break I’ve had since I started working was the maternity leave I took for each of my 2 babies. It wasn’t really a break, though!
I’m going to spend more quality time with my wonderful family. There will be more cooking projects that keep me happily busy and put smiles on my kids’ faces as they bring more homemade lunches to school. I’m looking forward to building a workout regimen with Pilates classes. I can’t wait to hit the hiking trails.
This morning, I stopped to listen to the birds chirping from my backyard. I would have been in a weekly meeting and missed the music if I was still working. It’s a beautiful realization that it’s the sound of freedom.
Are there things you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have time for? How are you planning to relax and recharge in the coming weeks or months?
Keep networking and learning
I love being inspired by connecting with others and learning from them. To me, networking and learning can be manifested through an act of service or simply engaging with a community of people on the regular basis.
Being on a break doesn’t mean I’ll stop those practices. I purchased a ticket to attend Lead with Tempo, the only conference for content design leaders, on May 10 and 11. I was a speaker there last year and learned so much from all the other speakers and workshops. It’s a conference I wouldn’t want to miss every year for support and growth.
I’m also continuing to serve as a lead in the UX Writing Leadership Guild. We are an international group of senior practitioners and leaders in content design. Contact me if you want to know more or join us.
Connections can happen in unexpected ways. A former Design colleague who was also impacted by the layoffs reached out to me on LinkedIn. We both agreed that we could teach each other some things, so we’re going to grab a virtual coffee and just chat and support each other.
Interacting with others gives me strengths during weird times such as this. If you’re shying away from people because you’re still feeling emotional about the job loss, that’s totally understandable. At least surround yourself with positive people.
I’m sending everyone good vibes, positive energy, and the best of luck in the world. If you have other tips about navigating the change, please don’t hesitate to share them. You never know; it might help other people who need them.
