This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dominique Alexander, a job seeker in her 40s who lives in Louisiana. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Over the past decade, I’ve lost multiple jobs. I’m still trying to recover from the financial and mental toll.
Since my contract role at Microsoft ended in late 2021, I’ve dealt with a lot of rejection, which can really mess with your head. I’ve read that for humans, some of the most stressful types of situations are ones where we don’t know how long they’ll last. This is part of why job searching can be so stressful.
One piece of advice I have for other job seekers is to be vulnerable about what you’re going through. Telling people you’re out of work can help lead to opportunities.
I thought having a connection would be more helpful in landing a job
In late 2018, I was laid off from my finance manager job at a major US tobacco company. As I looked for work, I moved to Atlanta, where I had family and a connection who worked at Coca-Cola, which is headquartered there.
I spent most of the next year focused on getting a role at Coca-Cola. I thought my inside connection would give me an edge, but despite applying to dozens of roles at the company, I only landed a couple of interviews.
I started growing concerned about my finances, but that summer, I landed an interview for a senior manager role at Coca-Cola. After months of interviews, I received an offer — and started in November 2019.
A few months into my role, we went remote due to the pandemic, which significantly affected my onboarding and training. I navigated this challenge until I was laid off in January 2021.
I struggled to find work and took part-time and contract roles
After my layoff, I began looking for work but struggled to find any. A few months later, I started a part-time role at an Amazon warehouse to earn some income.
Later that year, a friend of mine said he knew someone at a small consulting firm who was looking for contractors to work at Microsoft. In August 2021, I started a contract role as a finance program manager. But in November 2021, my contract ended, leaving me without a job again.
I spent most of 2022 focused on landing a role at Microsoft. I thought my contract experience would give me an edge. In hindsight, though, I think I wasted a year of my life; the company was laying people off, and I think hiring may have slowed more than I realized.
Read more about people who’ve found themselves at a corporate crossroads
I took a break from job hunting to reset
By 2023, my job search was taking a toll on my finances and mental health, so I decided to scale back. I moved to Louisiana, into a home my parents owned. This helped financially, as I only had to cover maintenance and utilities.
I was still struggling mentally in 2024, so my parents and I agreed that I should stay off LinkedIn for the entire year and not think about job hunting. I tried to mentally decompress; I traveled and had fun, hoping that I’d be in a good headspace to job search again in 2025.
Since the beginning of 2025, I’ve hit the job search hard, focusing on finance and project management roles. I also earned a project management professional certification, which I hoped would help. However, I’m still looking for steady work.
In January, I started a seasonal tax advisor job that went well, but it ended in April.
About a month ago, I got my hopes up when someone from Amazon reached out to me about applying for a finance role, but I recently learned I didn’t get the job.
What I’ve learned about layoffs and job searching
Through conversations with recruiters and hiring managers, I’ve realized one of the most frustrating parts of my job search: Even if a company posts a job online, they sometimes plan to fill the role internally — if they plan to fill it at all. It’s probably not worth my time, but I have no way of knowing that upfront.
One of the biggest downsides of dealing with layoffs — in addition to the financial pressures they cause — is the résumé gaps they create.
Even if you were a great worker and do all the right job-search things, you’ll likely still be left with some gaps. Recruiters have told me that employers can look down on applicants with gaps, even when they’re out of your control.
I’ve tried to stay hopeful that things will get better and, in the meantime, face each day with courage and patience.
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