I got placed through campus recruitment during my postgrad. Being one of the first few to get placed felt like an achievement, but I had also set an expectation for myself - to learn quickly, make the most of the opportunity, and prove that I deserved to be there.
Back then, I didn't realise that the people I saw almost every day for two years would soon be living in different cities and even different countries. The people who were once part of my everyday life would now need a planned trip and a calendar invite to meet.
Life changes. We know that. But sometimes, it takes living through it to understand what it really means.
I'll write about those people someday. This one is for a fresher who entered the working world with a plan, only to be laid off and left to navigate a recession.
First job. First layoff.
I started looking for jobs. There were interviews, rejections, and opportunities that taught me to be more careful about what I was willing to accept. When you're unemployed, it's easy to feel like you should take whatever comes your way. But not every opportunity is worth taking just because you need one.
The hardest part, though, wasn't always finding a job. It was getting the chance to explain myself.
Four months. Ten months.
Being in HR myself, I know what a resume can tell you and what it can't. I've asked questions about short stints, too. But experiencing it from the other side made me realise how much context can sit behind a few dates on a page.
And sometimes, you don't even get to explain. Your resume gets screened out before a conversation can begin.
There's also something I've struggled to put into words: the kind of workplace I want to be part of.
I've often found myself drawn to startups. Maybe it's the pace, the learning, or the opportunity to take ownership. Maybe it's the people. Or maybe it's simply the feeling of working somewhere where what you do feels like it matters.
Perhaps it's not about startups at all. Perhaps it's about finding a place where the work feels worth showing up for.
I'm still figuring that out.
I don't have a neat lesson to end this with. Being laid off doesn't automatically make you stronger, and uncertainty doesn't always arrive with some hidden purpose. Sometimes, it's just exhausting to keep applying, explaining, and trying to sound confident when you're still finding your footing.
But I'm learning that an uncertain career isn't necessarily a failed one.
And maybe that's enough for now, to keep figuring things out without treating every unexpected turn as proof that I'm falling behind.
With love, Aishwarya Experienced enough to know, still junior enough to prove
