When Your Career Takes an Unexpected Turn
What to Do After a Layoff
“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you…plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope” — Jeremiah 29:11.
For months, employees had been laid off in waves at a pace that was hard to ignore. So when my layoff finally happened, I can't say I was shocked. But picture this:
It's Wednesday afternoon. A Teams meeting pops up. My manager is there. HR is there.
Friends, nobody schedules a surprise Wednesday afternoon Teams call with HR because they're giving away free Starbucks gift cards. I knew immediately.
And just like that, my job was over.
Now let's address the elephant in the room. Getting laid off hurts. There is nothing — and I mean nothing — quite like hearing that your role is being eliminated and immediately wondering whether it means you weren't valuable. But, friend, a layoff has far less to do with you than it does with a company's budget, priorities, or organizational chart. In other words, it's just business.
And while work is important, our Catholic faith reminds us that our dignity comes from being made in the image of God — not from our email signature or job security. So what do you do after a layoff? I have no official credentials in this department other than surviving one, but here's what helped me:
First, Go Outside (after you've had a good cry)
And by "good cry," I mean ugly cry. Get it all out of your system. Then go outside.
Daily walks became a ritual mainly because I was restless. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't enjoy a book. I was interviewing — honestly, probably too much. I made coffee appointments with local businesses and friends. I was a busy (stressed-out) bee and those daily walks gave me somewhere to put all that nervous energy. They got me out of my house, away from my computer, and — most importantly — out of my own head.
There was something about being outside that made it easier to remember that God was still in control. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?”
Then He tells us to look at the flowers in verse 28: “Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.” I love that Jesus didn't tell us to think harder about our problems. He told us to look around and notice all the things He has done. St. Teresa of Ávila put it another way: "Let nothing trouble you; let nothing frighten you. Everything passes. God never changes." On those walks, I started to believe that a little more. I'd take my walk to the local park, find a bench, and read All the Cool Girls Get Fired. I had read Alex Harrel’s book review a month before, so it was already on my TBR list. After being laid off, it was bumped straight to the top. It turned out to be exactly what I needed.
Then Celebrate (yes, really!)
Not because unemployment is fun. Not because severance paperwork sparks joy. But because if God allowed it, He isn’t abandoning you.
I remember telling my husband, "Well, there must be something better coming." At minimum, I thought, maybe fewer Teams meetings (a girl can dream!). Now before anyone accuses me of being too positive, let me be clear: I cried for days. Sometimes I felt hopeful. Sometimes I felt terrified. Most days I felt both before lunch. I was on an emotional rollercoaster. Underneath all of it was also a strange sense of relief. My layoff was God's will, whether I was comfortable with it or not. There was relief in knowing that even though I didn't understand it, He had a plan.
St. Paul tells us in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Not all things are good. That's an important distinction. Being laid off didn’t feel good. Losing financial security wasn't good. The anxiety and uncertainty weren't good. But God can take even the things we would never choose and work them for our good.
That, I think, is worth celebrating.
Tell Everyone (and I mean everyone)
I posted on LinkedIn. I shared it on social media. I told my family. I updated group texts. I basically became the town crier of my own unemployment. And you know what happened? People showed up.
People prayed. People encouraged me. People connected me with opportunities. The beautiful thing about letting people into your struggle is that it gives them permission to love you through it. That's exactly what happened. Former colleagues reached out. People I hadn't talked to in years checked in. Contract work landed in my inbox. Opportunities appeared from places I never expected.
I learned something important: sometimes we don't need to have everything together before we let people help us. Sometimes we just need to be honest enough to say, "Hey, I'm having a really hard time right now."
People can't show up for you if they don't know you need them. So tell everyone. And I mean everyone. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your former coworkers. Tell your LinkedIn connections. And tell the saints!
One of the things I have come to love most about being Catholic is the communion of saints. We have an entire heavenly family ready to pray with us and for us when we don't have the words or the strength to do it ourselves.
It reminds me of something C.S. Lewis wrote: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Maybe part of the purpose behind my layoff was to learn that sometimes God doesn't remove us from the hard things. Sometimes He sends people — and saints — to walk through it with us.
Prioritize a Normal Schedule (because it's tempting to cry in bed all day)
It was tempting to cry in bed all day. I mean, what do I do? I’m not clocking in. I’m not buried in a spreadsheet or sending off a hundred emails each day. I was lost. So I kept to my Catholic Gal’s AM Game Plan!
I got up at a normal time. I made my coffee. I got dressed. I did my hair and makeup. I even put on my favorite outfits. I wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't attending a meeting. There was absolutely no reason I needed to look presentable to anyone,but I did it anyway.
Maybe it sounds silly, but those little routines mattered. They reminded me that just because I didn't have a job to clock into didn't mean my day — or my purpose — had disappeared. My job had changed overnight, but I was still me. I still had a husband to love, a home to care for, people to serve, prayers to pray, and a God who was inviting me into whatever came next.
Keeping a normal routine helped reset my mindset and reminded me to stay open to God's blessings throughout the day instead of spending the entire day anxiously refreshing my inbox.
Psalm 90:17 says: “May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!” Even without a job to clock into, I still had work to do. Some of it was applying for jobs and taking interviews. Some of it was taking care of my home and my relationships. Some of it was simply allowing God to work on me.
Sometimes blessings arrive wearing a disguise (and sometimes it looks suspiciously like a layoff)
One friend told me, "This will probably be the best thing that ever happens to you." At the time, I didn’t see how that could be possible. A few months later? Turns out she was right.
Now, before this starts sounding like one of those "everything happens for a reason!" inspirational posts, let me be clear: being laid off was really tough. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone. But God used it for His glory.
God used my layoff to sharpen my character, strengthen my Catholic faith, and bring me even closer to my husband and family. He gave me opportunities I never would have pursued if I had stayed comfortable. He introduced me to people I never would have met. And He taught me to trust Him when I couldn't see what was coming next.
One quote from Elisabeth Elliot really stood out to me while I was going through my layoff: "He makes us wait. He keeps us on purpose in the dark. He makes us walk when we want to run, sit still when we want to walk, for He has things to do in our souls that we are not interested in."
Oof.
That one hurt a little. I wanted answers. I wanted a plan. I wanted to know where I was going and how quickly I could get there. God had other plans. And maybe that's the uncomfortable beauty of faith. We don't always get to see what God is doing while He's doing it.
Sometimes we're asked to walk before we know where we're going. Sometimes we're asked to wait when we'd rather run. And sometimes, we're asked to trust that God is doing something in our souls even when we'd much rather He just fix the situation.
I don't know what God is doing in your particular situation. Maybe your next chapter will come quickly, or maybe it won't. Maybe you'll land somewhere better than you imagined, or maybe the road ahead will take longer and look very different than you expected. But I do know this: He has never abandoned His children.
So if you're reading this after receiving that Teams call, take heart.
Go for a walk. Pray. Call a friend. Ask a beloved saint to pray for you. Let people love you.
Remember: you may have lost your job, but you did not lose your dignity, your vocation, or your future. He isn't finished writing your story yet.
Amber Apple is a Digital Marketing Manager and writer. When she’s not weaving tales for her novel, you can find her in her natural habitat—snuggled up on the couch, lost in the pages of a book, clutching a cup of tea. Her love language is baking French pastries, so if you’re craving a daily dose of mouthwatering recipes and delightful musings, visit her blog, mrsamberapple.com, or connect with her on Instagram @mrsamberapple.