Thirty-day journey to find new work, a.k.a. job loss aftermath.

/ Devakumar Sai Chinthala

Introduction

What does it feel like to be laid off with only a two-hour notice for the first time? I have worked in the technology field for more than 20 years in various organizations. I always thought that being a federal contractor offered the highest level of job security. However, it is a myth to assume that a job symbolizes security. I never re-questioned what kind of security I was looking for–was it paycheck security or growth security?

Backstory.

Being an immigrant to the United States, I faced my fair share of ups and downs in obtaining citizenship. Despite this, I am fortunate to have had a few challenges obtaining my green card. I was lucky to have employers who paid on time and helped me find jobs while on non-immigrant status. During this time, my only focus was getting my green card, which necessitated a survival mindset to succeed on the job against all odds.

When I was on non-immigrant status, I was fully aware that my stay in the country was temporary, so we must make the most of it. This means we must do everything possible to stay employed to get our green cards. This focus comes with a shift in mindset to survive on the job against all odds. It is a mindset that looks for survival, which ultimately translates into our comfort zone.

There is something special about the comfort zone. It is a state of mind that is much sweeter than honey. Once we reach it, it is challenging to escape. I am one of those people who has fallen into the hands of my comfort zone. It feels good, and I assumed being in my comfort zone equals happiness. While there is nothing wrong with striving for happiness, there is a difference between happiness derived from the comfort zone and happiness derived from one’s effort and hard work.

Once I received my green card, I could work at prestigious institutions in the Washington DC metro area. I would see happy faces on my commute or at work, and I believed that working in the federal space would be stress-free and lead to an easy life. I looked for opportunities to work as a contractor in the federal space. Again, my luck favored me in the shape of a neighbor who was working at a wonderful organization that supported a federal agency’s mission. I joined that organization as a subcontractor and eventually became part of the organization while slipping even deeper into my comfort zone.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was granted citizenship, and life became even more beautiful with work from home and family time. The beauty of being in my comfort zone made me believe that life would always be comfortable since I had my citizenship. However, there is a blind side to being in my comfort zone, which I chose to ignore in favor of my citizenship and federal contracting space. Most of my colleagues were talking about retirement and asking questions like “How long would you like to work?” in their early 40s. Even though I found this thought process odd, I started to believe that life should be easy from there onward until reality showed up.

One day, on a Tuesday afternoon around 3 p.m., after a long weekend in February, my employer called me and said, “The contract office representative (COR) asked some team members to stop charging against the contract.” These are the time’s remote work. They were becoming a norm while hiring people over an interview on a computer, and firing people over a phone call is becoming a standard. So I asked, “Is today my last day?” He said, “Yes.” It took me some time to process this announcement. All these years, I used to sympathize with people who got laid off on short notice, and I wanted to avoid such embarrassment by staying in the same place for as long as possible. This two-hour notice shook me as my fears came true.

There is a silver lining to my layoff: my wife informed me that her contract is ending in 30 days as well. As my kids came home from school and the reality of my layoff set in, I noticed a slight shake in my right hand. However, I also thought about the timing of my job loss during private sector companies laying off thousands daily. My wife and I took a short walk to commiserate. The only question on my mind was whether we could continue to pay for our mortgage and other bills.

In the following blog series, I will present our mental states, attempts, coping strategies, tools, and techniques to find new work in the next 30 days.

What we will cover in this post.

Conclusion.

There’s a reason why I choose to call this a journey. Finding work, whether a job, a contract, or an opportunity, is like embarking on a journey. Reflecting on how we fared during this time can tell us much about ourselves. By reflecting on the process, we can see our strengths and weaknesses from our experience. There’s no greater teacher than your own experience. You’ll remember only the things you did with your muscle memory; everything else is just information.

I enjoyed this process and am grateful to everyone who helped me during this transition. The journey made me stronger and gave me a sense of direction. I now know what I want to do going forward.

How about you? Does any of this experience sound familiar or relatable to you?

How would you have handled a similar journey?

Leave a comment