You Are More Than Your Job (First-Gen Chronicles)

A few years ago, I was laid off by my company. I remember feeling so many things, a sense of confusion, loneliness, and overall just uncertain about what came next.

I remember calling my mom, and I realized I didn't even know the word for "laid off" in Spanish. Because the reality was that both my parents (both immigrants) had worked jobs no one else wanted, and those jobs didn't lay people off. Those jobs rarely came with layoffs or corporate restructurings. It became another moment where I realized I was learning to navigate something my family had never experienced before and...I felt alone.

The following weeks, while my kids were at school and my husband was working, I found myself alone with my thoughts. In this quiet space, I found myself asking,

"Who am I if I am not my job?"

"What value do I bring to this world?"

"What am I going to do now?"

If you're here right now, I want to tell you something simple. Something that I wish my older sister, if I had one, had told me. You are still you. You are still valuable. You are still loved.

A job is something you do, it is not who you are.

The sad reality is that we live in a world that ties worth to productivity, output, and achievements. So when work shifts, it can feel like your identity is shifting too.

We rarely talk about the emotional weight of it all. The grief and the anxiety to immediately move forward and bounce back quickly and better than before.

You don't have to rush through that.

You are allowed to pause.

You are allowed to breathe.

You are allowed to grieve.

You are not behind, you are in transition.

And when you are ready, here are a few grounded next steps to begin with:

• Post on LinkedIn and let your network know you are open to new opportunities

• Lean on your community, the people who know your work, your heart, and your character

• Ask for LinkedIn recommendations or skill endorsements while your work is still fresh on people's minds

• Update your resume and LinkedIn one section at a time is enough

• Keep a simple document of your wins, projects and impact to help rebuild confidence, prepare for interviews and help you reflect on the work you love

  
  

Most importantly, create structure for yourself outside of job searching. Go for walks. Rest. Eat lunch away from your computer. Meet up with an old friend. Read a new book. Remember, your humanity still matters here, too

You don't have to do everything at once. Just start where you are.

Take your time. You're still becoming.

What is meant to be yours, already is.

Con amor,

-Tu Hermana Mayor