Made redundant at-21 felt like i'd been dumped

Being let go from a job you love sucks. Lilandra felt the heartbreak, and it was all too familiar. Is there really plenty more fish in the sea? Lilandra shares why her redundancy was like a break-up, and how she’s going with getting back on the (job) scene.

I wake up each morning well relaxed after a sleep-in. It’s only after I lay in bed endlessly scrolling through social media for a while that the sinking feeling starts to set in. Gradually I grow bored of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and soon LinkedIn, SEEK, and Indeed start to call my name.

What was a little exciting and rather interesting a few weeks ago, searching through job title after job title, is now exceedingly tedious and demeaning. Fewer positions are posted online during the holidays, and yet more social situations force me to answer the question: “How is that job you love going?” with “I got made redundant.”

I tell Aunty Susan and cousin Josh that I actually don’t mind having some time to myself—especially during this lovely weather—to sort out what my plans are for my next career move. Realistically I feel beaten by constant rejection and I spend more time sitting around feeling guilty about my lack of job or grand career ideas then what I do utilizing my free time to get outdoors or read that book I’ve been putting off.

It felt like I’d been dumped

I enjoyed my job and loved spending time with my team, and then out of the blue I was pulled away from my desk and told my position was no longer needed.

Everybody expected me to be drafting up cover letters and reaching out to LinkedIn connections the very next day, but I felt heartbroken. Just as one feels after putting consistent blood, sweat, and tears into a relationship to make it as perfect as it can be, I also felt as though someone I trusted dearly took that hard work and threw it out the window for no real reason.

I couldn’t simply jump on Tinder the next day and start chatting up potential dates about how amazing I was when my last partner didn’t even fight to have me around.

Cue the break-up clichés

I struggled with friends indifferently asking how work was going. I unfollowed all my ex-company’s social media pages hoping they wouldn’t notice. I was downtrodden to see former colleagues post about the seemingly amazing Christmas party in which everyone looked so happy without me.

I even started to focus on working out and looking after my body, venturing into my apartment gym for the first time since I moved in 11 months before.

And then there was the ghosting

Then I had to deal with something increasingly frustrating for daters and immensely infuriating for myself as a job searcher: ghosting.

After putting a great deal of time and work into crafting great cover letters, altering my resume, and uploading it all to company application pages, I submitted with a hopeful attitude. Time and time again I was completely ignored.

I knew my message was ‘seen’ thanks to the automatic emails I received (many of which stated that I would be contacted even if my application was unsuccessful). Each rejection email made my stomach sick, but each time a business dropped off the face of the earth and never contacted me again made me feel worse. Just as it is on the dating scene, ghosting is not only rude but also confusing and shall be the very first thing I outlaw should I ever become a CEO or business owner one day.

Now weeks have passed and I feel a little less bitter about the redundancy, I have to focus on hoping the future holds my perfect match: a job that allows me to grow as a person and has a hot body to match (just kidding!)

Although you may have not been unceremoniously dumped by an employer in the fashion I was, there are millions of ‘single’ girls out there like me who are stuck in dead-end jobs, trying out as many career paths as they can, or looking for something else.

With a little bit of luck and a well-worded pick-up (read: cover letter) perhaps there’s hope that I too can find my dream job or at least a fun rebound.

Source: https://www.fya.org.au/2020/01/27/made-redundant-at-21-felt-like-id-been-dumped/