This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Jerehmiah Jessee-Lantz, a 42-year-old based in Kansas City. He was an employee at Oracle up until March and is still looking for full-time work. His words have been edited for length and clarity.
In March, I got an email at 5 a.m. saying I’d been laid off from Oracle.
There had been layoffs at the company before, and as a manager and leader, I had been on the other side of those rounds. So, I wasn’t surprised that the cuts happened, I just didn’t expect to be included this time. I had been doing good work and didn’t feel like a likely target. But if you live in the industry long enough, you know this could happen to anyone.
Up until this point, I could afford to be very conservative in my job search and apply only to roles I was very passionate about. Now I’m casting a wider net because eventually my savings will run out.
I tried not to take the layoff personally
There’s an emotional response to being put in a position like this, but at the same time, it’s not a personal decision Oracle made. It’s not a statement about my competence or how I align in the job market.
I’ve had to lay off people who I know were very competent and very good at their jobs. So, people shouldn’t ever let a situation like this make them feel like it’s because they weren’t good enough or weren’t skilled. It’s just that the company wanted to invest in different things.
I live a pretty conservative life, and I had enough in savings to know I wasn’t desperate, so I didn’t immediately start applying for new roles. I knew I’d need money again, but I wasn’t in a position where I had to take any offer right away.
The first thing I did was start an LLC
I had a periodic data-tracking app idea I’d been wanting to work on for a long time, but never had a chance to. After the first couple of weeks, I knew my passion-project app was probably not going to pay my bills, so I started looking for new roles.
I would work on my project in the morning, then the second half of the day was dedicated to applying to jobs.
The most surprising thing about being back in the job market after so long is the slow speed at which these processes move. Companies have taglines like “Oh my gosh, we’re rocket speed, everything moves at light speed,” but then there’s a 14-step interview process that takes three weeks, and it feels contradictory.
It’s hard to make human contact during the job search process
I’ve gotten far in a few interview processes, but it’s very hard to get a foot in the door and make that first human point of contact.
One of the jobs I was pretty excited about, I applied for, and I got a rejection at 4 a.m. on that Saturday. I don’t think a human had looked at my application at all, and that is shocking to me.
I understand that this could be in response to the very large number of AI applications likely coming in for these jobs, but it’s a challenging situation.
I’ve used AI very minimally in my application process. I’ve used it to help with my résumé and to identify what I need to highlight from my experience, but I haven’t been using it for automated applications.
I’m still looking for my next role, but I’m staying calm
Even though I’m applying to more types of roles now, I’ve still been making sure that whatever I apply to, I do so mindfully. I don’t want to get a callback from a company I’m not actually super interested in.
I know we don’t always have the freedom to do things we love, but I can certainly prioritize it. I feel like that’s pretty important.
My best advice from a practical standpoint is to try to find those human recruiters and reach out to identify people who have a real job they’re trying to fill. It’s more successful in getting a response than just blindly applying.
I’m sure there are lessons I can learn about myself from this experience, but honestly, I’ve been approaching it pretty calmly and haven’t had any big revelations about my work or worth. I think the thing that’s probably changed about my behavior is that, even when I’m regularly employed again, I’ll probably keep some feelers out and be more open to looking for another job than I was before.
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