I didn't plan to send another note this week, but I got a heartbreaking reply to yesterday's email.
A product leader – we'll call her Tanisha – wrote and said:
Hi Phyl, your post today prodded me to write to you.
Then she explained how Never Search Alone helped her find a job.
I was laid off May 2022 and after a long struggle, I came across your book and linkedin group...and also found my next opportunity.
Amazing.
The work's exciting and the company values resonated.
Even better!
But, then she added this –
Today, after exactly 9 weeks, I was laid off as part of a large RIF.
Oh, no!
I am shocked and confused.
Of course you are, I said back to her.
Then I told her that her story broke my heart *and* that it was not the first time I'd heard something like this. This is way beyond her control – we are in a topsy-turvy economy, especially in tech.
Then, without skipping a beat, she said:
I will go back to your book, and apply to join another Job Search Council. Thank you for the good work you have been doing.
A surge of sad/happy electricity went through me as I read these words from Tanisha.
I'm sorry she is going through this – hard to imagine her level of anxiety, fear, and shock.
And, at the same time, I'm proud we have *all* built this community so Tanisha does not have to suffer – nor search – alone.
Phyl
