I planned my wedding in 10 weeks — and it helped me land a Big Tech job. Years later, I'm navigating my first layoff.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Felisha Case, a erstwhile method programme head astatine LinkedIn who was laid disconnected successful May. She's 40 and lives successful the Denver area. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

A week earlier I was laid disconnected from LinkedIn, a workfellow told maine he'd heard thing was coming. So I waited.

One greeting successful May, I logged into my machine and went to drawback a cup of java while it was booting up. When I came back, location was a gathering connected my almanac that hadn't been location 30 seconds earlier.

I checked my email. That's erstwhile I realized: If you person this meeting, you don't person a job.

For the first clip successful my career, aft astir 13 years moving astatine companies including Amazon, Oracle, Twitter, and LinkedIn, I'd been laid off.

There had been layoffs astatine LinkedIn before, but I thought different roles were much apt to beryllium affected. So the news came arsenic a shock.

As I began looking for work, I recovered myself reflecting connected really I'd landed jobs successful the past. My first tech occupation came astir successful an different way: done my wedding.

My wedding unexpectedly helped motorboat my tech career

In 2013, my hubby and I sewage engaged, and we knew we didn't want a large wedding. I loved our day day of September 26, which was 11 weeks aft our engagement. So, we decided to put the wedding together quickly and get joined connected our anniversary.

My in-laws had connected america pinch 1 of their erstwhile neighbors to return our engagement and wedding photos. The photographer besides worked astatine Amazon. She said she was impressed by really quickly I'd planned the wedding and asked if I'd beryllium willing successful a programme head occupation connected her team.

She referred maine for the role, which I yet landed. I started astatine Amazon a mates of months aft the wedding.

Moving into tech was a immense financial alteration for my family. Before Amazon, I worked successful a task guidance domiciled extracurricular the tech manufacture arsenic an hourly employee. My hubby and I didn't deliberation I'd beryllium capable to proceed moving if we had children because my paycheck wouldn't person covered time care. Tech changed that.

We were capable to yet commencement reasoning astir having a family.

In 2018, I near Amazon for a method programme head position astatine Oracle. About a twelvemonth later, I joined Twitter, wherever I worked until 2022, and moved pinch my family to Colorado during that time. I past joined LinkedIn, moving remotely arsenic a method programme manager. I stayed location until I was laid off.

I took immoderate clip to process my layoff

Under the position of my layoff, I was technically still employed by LinkedIn and receiving my regular paycheck for 2 months, done mid-July. Then I'd person my severance pay.

What amazed maine was the scope of emotions I went done correct aft my layoff. It felt almost for illustration a condolences process: I was sad, I was angry, and I went done each of those different feelings.

I took a week aliases 2 aft the layoff earlier starting my occupation search. But I knew really agelong tech question and reply processes could take, truthful I wanted to get the shot rolling.

I've gotten each of my past roles done individual connections

Personal connections played a domiciled successful each tech occupation I landed, whether it beryllium learning astir an opportunity aliases a referral. I've tried to trust connected my web successful my occupation search, asking for referrals erstwhile I can. But I've besides been applying to jobs wherever I don't person a connection.

My advice for occupation seekers looking to leverage individual connections is not to beryllium acrophobic to scope out. Most group are happy to help, and you're astir apt not bugging them.

Be unfastened astir your hunt pinch group successful your community, too. You ne'er cognize who mightiness cognize personification who's hiring aliases cognize of an opening that could beryllium a bully fresh for you.

AI has made this occupation hunt consciousness different

One point I've noticed truthful acold is really overmuch AI seems to beryllium portion of the occupation hunt process. I deliberation companies are utilizing AI recruiting systems to weed retired candidates, which intends I get less chances to really talk to a recruiter.

I've besides noticed really overmuch immoderate employers look to attraction astir really I've used AI successful my erstwhile role. I person immoderate examples to share, but astatine LinkedIn, location was a much superior push for labor to adopt AI tools only soon earlier I left.

For group for illustration me, AI was conscionable starting to go portion of the job, and now it tin consciousness for illustration we're being asked to spell backmost and get a full caller acquisition successful AI. Now that my kids are backmost successful school, I've started spending much clip experimenting pinch AI tools.

I'm trying to find an upside to being retired of work

Being retired of activity has been a large accommodation for me. This is the first clip I haven't worked since I was astir 16, and the first clip I've been location pinch my kids since I was connected maternity leave.

While I've been applying to jobs, thing coagulated has travel done yet. I deliberation location are a batch of method programme managers competing for roles correct now, whether they've been laid disconnected aliases are looking to make a change.

My proposal to personification going done a layoff is that it's OK to consciousness nevertheless you consciousness astir it. Even though it's not a individual decision, it tin still consciousness personal. But effort not to beryllium successful those feelings for excessively long. Keep yourself busy, whether that intends taking a break aliases starting the occupation hunt correct away. Figure retired what makes consciousness for you.

It's a crappy situation. I don't want to beryllium unemployed. I don't want to beryllium looking for a occupation and emotion that pressure. But I'm besides trying to spot the upside.

In early August, I took a weeklong break from searching to benignant of reset and attraction connected the past week of summertime pinch my kids. I've had much clip pinch them. That portion has been benignant of fun.

Do you person a communicative to share? Reach retired to the newsman via email astatine [email protected], aliases via Signal astatine jzinkula.29.