Layoff lessons as a Data Scientist

It had been 8 to 9 months working in a technology startup and I was pretty focused on making a difference. I remember telling my family how I was growing in my job and how 2022 was going to be a great work year.

Life's uncertainty hit me the hardest on Wednesday, February the 2nd, (02/02/2022, the date is almost poetic) when I received an unexpected call from a senior in the organization, where I was told that Wednesday would be my last working day and I’d be cut off from the startup’s network after they cut the call. There was some conversation on how my health insurance would proceed in the coming month and then I was asked — “ Do you have any questions? ”

I sure did! The problem was I had TOO MANY, and 2 months into the incident I still have a ton of questions, but at that particular moment, I blanked out and couldn’t think of anything constructive at all. But I remember asking them to be honest about what was going on. It was apparently a company-wide decision that was made in the best interest of the business, and had nothing to do with my performance.

As a 26 y/o individual, who’d always done well academically this was one of the biggest setbacks of my life. I’d heard of people getting laid off, but to think it would happen to me was something I hadn’t fathomed. The reason this felt like a major setback was because of the brutality of the process, the way you’re cut off from the company channels makes you feel criminal, and I felt immediately robbed of your livelihood.

Layoffs are more common than I’d thought, across various experience levels. The elimination strategy companies usually use is last in first out, or at times the decision can be more financial in nature. Startups especially have leadership and strategy changes all the time, and while working at a startup has been a fabulous experience, it’s important to understand the gravity of the uncertainty and risk that comes with it. I definitely failed to understand that. What’s important to know is that layoffs are generally company decisions and we must not attach them to our self-worth and abilities.

In no way do I mean to say my problem was a big one, I’m sure people go through a lot of bigger struggles in their career.

While my Data Science skills are a continuous work in progress, I do consider myself to be earnest, and I believe sharing my story could prepare people for something like this.

With this, I’m celebrating my first published article on medium, and this in itself is a huge win. Additionally, I have landed 5 onsite interviews out of the 6 companies I interviewed with within 1.5 months and have converted multiple of them.

I hope my previous startup does well, they have good ideas and great people, and I’m even happier to move on to a newer opportunity and phase of my life.

Reaction to layoffs -

https://medium.com/career-relaunch/the-stages-of-grief-after-being-laid-off-4b75ad9d7036

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