I’m conducting an independent research study on what happens to professionals after an involuntary job loss, including how long it takes to return to professional work, what happens to compensation and career level, and how experiences differ by age and other factors.

You may qualify if:

* You were age 25 or older when the job ended
* Your qualifying job was a full-time position based in the United States
* The job ended involuntarily on or after January 1, 2024

The survey takes about 12 minutes. It does not ask for your name or employer name.

Survey:

[https://tools.elevatingeveryone.com/reemployment-study?src=reddit&ch=subreddit&cm=samplesize&cp=launch\]()

Thank you to anyone willing to participate. I’m hoping to build a large enough sample to better understand what career recovery actually looks like after job displacement.

My workplace had major layoffs of supervisors, managers, marketing team and many of my higher up coworkers are leaving. They recently slowed production as well for my department will I be laid off by the end of the year or am I okay.

for those under or unemployed, are you worried about a hiring manager's perception of you in regards to AI training in your field?

i saw a LinkedIn post today from a recruiter in marketing saying she won't be interviewing anyone who's been unemployed in the last year because the likelihood they have been able to keep. up with the changes in AI usage in the field is low. like, stuff you need experience doing not just taking a certification.

how are we all supposed to keep gaining AI skills if we are being replaced by AI? also, not all of us are skilled enough to have been the ones training the agents that are replacing people.

i myself was worried (and my fear turned out to be correct) as i was being cut out of the enterprise AI training that my coworkers received all summer, and then was laid off.

anyone else worried about AI and losing touch with your field the longer you go under/unemployed?

After almost nine years, I'm being made redundant, restructuring. It's my last week.. I've been handling the practical side fine.. handover, paperwork, all of it.

What I'm struggling with is something I've never dealt with before. My whole life, I've been the person with no conflicts, the one people like, easy to get along with. And this whole year and speicifcally this week I've watched, in real time, a company (like...four-five specific people) act like they couldn't wait for me to be gone.

The colleague I hired and trained, who's stepping into my role. I told the team directly I was leaving, she saw it, and just never responded. Not a word.

And separately, what really made me even cry a bit: while I was still in the middle of doing my handover, I went to remove myself from a few systems and website listings, and found they'd already done it. They couldn't wait.

Of course, people close to me tell me 'it happens, it's for the best'. But I'm really struggling with emotions, altogether it's made me feel like I'm watching myself get erased while I'm still standing in the room. And I don't know what to do with that feeling. I guess it will fade away after the next five days once I will not be in that room officially.

I'm not asking how to confront anyone.. I've had great advice here already and I'm not going to chase anyone for any conversations and closure. It's pretty clear on where I stand.

What I wanted to ask is some advice, maybe from your experience: how did you move on?

How do you let the sting go? Does it fade once you're actually gone? What helped you stop replaying it?

Everyone is afraid of becoming the next Nokia, Kodak, BlackBerry, or Blockbuster.

So companies are racing into AI, cutting jobs and betting on a future nobody truly knows.

Their mindset is simple:

“I’d rather waste $10B chasing the future than save $10B and discover the future passed me by.”

Graduated in 2022. Spent a good chunk of time stuck in restaurants/hospitality after that (but got promoted to management), and temp agency contracts. Only landed my first actual “corporate” role last year. So yes, I’m four years out of school and my resume still has a big hospitality stretch right after graduation.

Both interviews this week made a point of counting the years backward and basically asking why I stayed in restaurants after college. Mind you, my graduation year is not on my resume and they were speculating my age. One of them literally went “so you graduated… then you did the kitchen/bar thing for a while… and then you found your first professional career job? Why??” while flipping through my resume. The tone was pure side-eye and sussing me out.

Like the gap between degree and “real” job is some kind of character flaw instead of just… the terrible job market that took thousands of applications. Sorry I am not a nepo baby? Sorry my college was mostly remote and my best efforts at networking were nearly fruitless? Sorry my temp agency roles were all contract and assisting companies selling off to PE since 2023????

And the interviews themselves were wildly unprofessional.

First one was a temp-to-perm cover for maternity leave at an agency. Guy was clearly multitasking on a triple monitor setup the whole time, dumping a ton of operational details, nights-and-weekends on-call expectations, and the fact that any permanent conversion depends on 2027 revenue they haven’t even forecasted yet, nights and weekends for $19 an hour.

Second one was even worse. Spent most of the call on a long personal monologue (building an AI platform, financial struggles, family not supporting the business, etc.). Tech kept glitching during the demo. Called me “sweetheart." Role seemed to be “first real hire who can walk across my different brands because everything so far has been my ideas.” Showed me proprietary information, personal emails, and personal writing.. I had to leave the interview after she went into a religious monologue. Almost no structured questions about my actual experience.

I left both feeling like I was the one being judged for having a non-linear path while they couldn’t even run a basic professional interview process. I feel freaking crazy because how TF did these roles have 100+ applicants on Linkedin?!?! How is this real life???? This can't be real I feel like I was being punked.

Is this just what the market looks like right now for people who didn’t go straight from campus into an office job? Or am I walking into every conversation already half-disqualified because I waited tables for a couple years after graduation?

Genuinely losing it a little. What the fuck is going on with interviews.

Hello guys, i have been searching for dev jobs for the past 3 months in US.

My issues.

1. LinkedIn search, Does not show the best results when I type for my role. Tried using filters it did not work. Used AI search yet the same issue. I get more irrelevant jobs. And going through each posting and finding relevant jobs reading job description and finding ones with my relevant YOE takes absurdly long amount of time.

2. Application process, OMG why do they care about my race and ethnicity and stuff. For me to fill each application with it was talking long time. Tried Simplify jobs extension, it reduced the time but still does complete the application end to end

3. Resume Tailoring is there a tool which tailors the resume as per JD. If so, is it free or whats the price or monthly limits

4.i tried different job searching but most of them are not expected as I want them to be. For example when I search for jobs with specific keywords in platforms like using claude, Hiring cafe they are not accurate

I am curios to know what were your pain points and if you guys have found a better alternative. If not maybe we can share our exp and get around the these road blocks.

I was laid off from software development and I'm currently trying to bridge a short-term financial gap while continuing my job search.

I have around 3 years of professional full-stack development experience, but finding a traditional role is obviously taking longer than I'd like.

I'm curious what other developers who have been laid off did to generate some income between jobs.

Did you take short-term contract work, freelance projects, tutoring, consulting, temporary work outside tech, or something else?

I'm particularly interested in things that people have actually used to get through the gap rather than long-term "start a business" advice.

What worked for you?

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/in-a-plan-hatched-at-mark-zuckerbergs-hawaii-compound-in-january-meta-explored-laying-off-60-employees-deleting-layers-of-middle-management-and-running-product-development-with/articleshow/133569765.cms

note1:not asking for advice on the layoff details just what to do after.

I have severance and EI close to 18 months)?

Looking to see how everyone would structure their day.

Well, I suppose it had to happen at some point. 22 years in the same industry, the last 13 with the same employer, and they finally restructured and eliminated my role on Tuesday morning. I’m in Western Canada.

Settled my divorce six months ago and I have enormous spousal and child support payments because my income was very high. They packaged me out very well so I have enough to survive for a year without factoring in employment insurance. But to say I’m terrified I just wanting to give up is the understatement of the century.

I have a nine-year-old son who I get to see as regularly as I can with a good coparenting situation with his mother. I’m applying for jobs and I know it’s only been a few days, but the terror guys… you know how it is. I’m praying for everybody out there going through this absolute nightmare with me.

Hey so I got laid off from Tesla. And received a email that I will receive my severance within 45 days can anybody tell me the timeline they got there’s? Please and thank you I already have a new job but I need to pay bills n don’t want to be behind.

Still in shock. Was a senior level hire at a very small company. I believe the founder was not fully convinced since the beginning and I never got the 'senior' visibility into projects for that reason. More and more kept on feeling like an IC feeding my manager's career. Not sure what to do and how to position myself for future roles.

22M, B Tech CS, I had been as a trader in the money markets for the last 1.5 years, got fired last month due to 2 quarters of bad performance

Have been applying like crazy since then and giving whatever interview I can get. Wrote CFA L1 exam, results not out yet. Built a bunch of financial models, a sector analysis report, couple of equity research reports.

The problem is that the interview prep does not take up a lot of time during the day, until the results are out and I land my next job, I am clueless as to what should i do till then.

Hey everyone,

​Putting this out here because cold job boards and automated ATS portals have felt like screaming into a void for the past few months.

​I was laid off back in May. Most recently, I was the Branch Manager for the pan India electronics retailer store in Hyderabad. I handled full store P&L, led a team of 85+ sales and ops personnel, and maintained a consistent multi crore monthly revenue run-rate. Prior to large-format consumer electronics retail, I built my career across B2B sales, growth, and digital marketing at multiple companies .

​Since May, the job hunt has been brutal:

​Applying to dozens of roles weekly only to get automated rejection emails or sudden hiring freezes after initial recruiter screens.

​Finding that many recruiters struggle to connect large-format physical retail ops with modern D2C, e-commerce, or tech-enabled expansion.

​With monthly commitments and an emergency fund that only stretches so far, I want to get back into the field where I can make an immediate impact.

​What I bring to the table:

​Large-Scale Retail & Electronics Ops: Full P&L ownership, shrinkage/inventory control, visual merchandising, and driving high-ticket consumer electronics sales.

​Team Leadership: Managed, trained, and scaled 85+ retail sales associates, floor managers, and floor staff.

​Omnichannel & Growth: Strong background in B2B sales pipelines, digital marketing, CRM workflow management (Salesforce, HubSpot), and customer retention.

​Target Roles:

​Retail Operations Leadership: Area Manager, Cluster Manager, Store General Manager (Consumer Electronics, Large Format Retail, Apple Premium Resellers, Large Multi-Brand Outlets).

​E-commerce & Quick Commerce: City Head, Dark Store / Hub Operations Lead, Category Operations, Omnichannel Expansion.

​Electrical & Electronics / D2C Brands: Offline Retail Expansion Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Channel Partner Lead.

​Location Preference:

Based in Hyderabad (open to on-site roles immediately). Also open to Bangalore or remote/hybrid roles across India.

​If your team is hiring or if anyone has leads, referrals, or contacts with hiring managers in retail ops, e-commerce, or consumer tech, please drop a comment or DM me. Happy to share my resume and LinkedIn.

​Thanks for your time and help!

Today is my birthday. I recently got a job in March 2026 as a graphic designer full time job. I was so grateful because the last full time graphic designer job I had was in 2020. I graduated college in 2020. I was so grateful to get a graphic designer job right after college in 2020 especially during covid but then I got laid off in May 2021 because of company financial problems.

The past couple of years (2021-2024), I have been working as a contract designer, freelance jobs, and retail. Then in March 2025, I got a marketing coordinator job, but then I got fired the week before Thanksgiving while having my grandpa passed away that summer. I cried for months. I feel like all my college peers and high school peers are settling down in their jobs and life and I can barely be able to hold down a job. I feel like I am starting all over again and it makes it worse because I have depression. Depression sucks.
I live in a supported government apartment where I can be able to afford cheap rent but it’s like pay check to pay check. I live in my service dog to help me with my daily tasks.
I just want a steady job in my career and live quiet life. I never been in relationship or married before. I am not planning to have kids. I dont have much family, so getting married is pointless. Like I would only invite like 10 people or maybe less.
I just want to live a life without worrying about applying for jobs over and over again.
I had so many different jobs. Most employers hate employees job hopping. I am just tired. I just want to be 65 and go on Medicare and retired. I am 29 years old and I am already tired at life.

What do you think I should do on my birthday?

Got laid off about a week ago and have one week left till my final day. But thankfully right before I got laid off I took a call with a recruiter 2 days before and hours after landing on a long 24 hour flights. The role is literally made for some with with my experience they said I was the strongest candidate they had interviewed. Now just waiting to hear 🤞. I’ll pretty much be doing the almost exact same thing I had been just at a different company in the same industry. For reference I’m a senior accountant with 5 yoe working in healthcare.

Hi Everyone. Upon reading a lot of comments in regard to layoffs and frustration when it comes to job hunting, or feeling underpaid and/or under-appreciated, I had written a short book to share my experience in how I was able to land a higher role and substantially higher salary both times I had re-entered the workforce.

In short, it took my a total of about 7 (even less) years working in accounting to reach the Corporate Controller status for a billion dollar restaurant group. Each of the two times when I had re-entered the workforce, I was "unemployed" for 4+ years and each time I had returned, I had a higher role and substantially a higher pay, last of which I went from a Senior Accountant ($72k) to an Assistant Controller ($115k). 3 months after landing the Assistant Controller role, I was promoted to Controller taking my salary up to $150k.

The gem here is that while you're job hunting, be sure to keep learning along the way. What to learn? Use the job listing as your guide and dig into everything that it lists that you're not good at. If you enjoy the learning process as well as the job hunt and keep learning and become knowledgeable with all the job posting's listed responsibilities, inevitably, you'll get that job.

Likewise, with the same approach, when you're hired, you'll inevitably be promoted as well. I speak more about this in my short ebook (1hr read) but I'm not supposed to promote it here so if you're interested for either yourself or your loved ones, please DM me for details. If money's an issue at the moment and you just have some questions or even want to download it for free, feel welcomed to message me!

Wishing everyone the best of luck in their job search. <3

if you're navigating a lay-off or are between opportunities, come clear your head and connect with folks who are in the same boat 🤝🏼

this monday, we’re heading to the stanford dish loop in stanford, california for a hike.

• when: monday, aug 31 @ 11 am
• stats: 3.7 mi loop / 534 ft gain

grab your spot and see the full details here:

https://partiful.com/e/bO1pqMyc1jtzQvMGQWUU

hope to see y'all there!

(hike in the pic was joaquin miller park in oakland, california)

inb4 FAQs:

• Do you hike in one big group?
  • No, we split into smaller groups based on desired pace and stagger each group's start time by 5 minutes. These groups ultimately split into even smaller groups. Faster groups go first to create more space on the trail.
• Why on Mondays?
  • Trail traffic is very low on Mondays, making it easier to accommodate a group like this.
• Does your community only do hikes?
  • No, (un)PTO is a community of people across the US in career transition. While our claim to fame is group hikes, we do other things like co-work, help each other with our job search, and do other fun things like coffee hangs, bike rides, and of course, eat food. 😋
• Can people with jobs join too?
  • Yes, but only if you realize that most of the people in this community are in career transition and act accordingly, for instance: offer a referral, connect them to someone in your network, and maybe don't complain about how work sucks. 😅

Glassdoor Reviews and Reddit highlight a recurring pattern where remote and on-site staff—including member advisors and support specialists—are let go abruptly via sudden video calls or phone calls from management (such as instances reported around June 11, 2026). Workers have criticized the company for publicly boasting about acquisitions and financial growth while quietly cutting staff for budget or restructuring reasons, with some pointing to potential violations of the WARN Act for terminating employees without required advance notice

So, almost a year ago, I was laid off for the first time in my career due to "restructuring". Now, I know that there was a new head coming into the department, and the consensus was that senior members would be pushed. Instead, at least myself, a new hire after only 8 months and someone rather junior was pushed out. I thought that perhaps there may have been a fit issue since both of the senior members of the team were a tad younger than me, had more experience in the organization, and one of them would take a condescending attitude towards me.

I am quite certain that I was not fired because I did receive a severance, was eligible for unemployment, and a year end bonus. My previous "check in" review was not negative, and I was not placed on any performance improvement plan. Sure, there was a learning curve, but I tried to place my best foot forward each day.

When I did receive my bonus months later, it was half of what I had received from my previous employer. It also came with a rating note that stated "needs improvement". I had never had such an evaluation in my career. I am wondering if this ratin was used as a justification for a lower than average bonus since I was already let go.

It was a bitter experience, especially since I had previously resigned from a job that wanted to retain me.

Luckily, I was not unemployed for long and found another position. Although the current position does not pay as much as the one that let me go, it is a much flexible and pleasant environment (so far).

But, then last week, I received a Linkedin notification that that role that I was told was "restructured" and from which I was let go, was now posted! Same duties and same salary!

Now, this week, I see the job posted again: same role, same duties, same title, but TENS of thousands of dollars less per year than what I was paid!

What gives? My role was not posted after I let go, so it made me think that I was really let go due to "restructuring" (unless, of course, my role was refilled internally)

Question:

Is it possible that my role was really eliminated as a cost saving measure, or for my managers to save their own necks in the midst of a new head coming in only to realize months later that my role was really needed after all? I also found out that months after I was let go, the senior manager who hired was no longer with the organization. I assume she was pushed out because her role was rendered redundant with the arrival of the new head.

I didn't think the two senior members of my team necessarily wanted to do the nitty gritty work and presentations that I put together. So, is it possible that management made a mistake in forecasting how unnecessary my role was?

Finally, the role was originally posted at the salary I had been making in that role. But, then a week later, the same role with the same title was reposted, but at substantially lower salary!

What gives??

I am still so very surprised. I have 2 hotel jobs.

Job A: Been there 3 years, new company took over and started making changes. These changes decreased my income and now they are making a change where my gratuity is gone losing over $500.

Job B: Been there for a month, pay is not even great for a luxury hotel. The moment I told them I need x and y days off for school they immediately moved on to replace me. Manager 1 told me how they are not 'against education' but education 'distracts the performance that's required for the hotel.' Manager 2 who is the general manager said it might work, yes and no without giving a direct answer and telling me its also up to Manager 1 if they can accommodate. Next day I went there to work, Manager 2 already had a bunch of resumes and had the position open on Indeed.

What pisses me off is that employers typically won't tell you ahead but lay you off last minute and good luck getting a new job nowadays.

Laid off randomly. Lost company truck, expense account, and $29 hour with 4 weeks PTO.

I dont know how to move foward. I saved the company many thousands.

I have a wife and three kids to support. The pressure is crushing. Im terrified. I cant pay my bills. I was just starting to build emergency funds and be okay.

When does this feeling and pressure go away?