I cannot WAIT to get a job and go back to ignoring LinkedIn's existence
Been 4 weeks since layoff and the absolute worst part has been to get active on LinkedIn again. Dear God this website really is the 7th circle of hell. AI slop after AI slop, people posting thirst traps at the end of their posts to get likes, even school kids have started posting "inspirational" word vomit about their grades for engagement.
But LinkedIn is heaven sent for job seekers right? The Easy Apply button is such a great thing! Yeah now my application has next to no chances of being seen within a sea of 800+ applicants who had the same idea.
And the companies who DON'T want to pay for a job post, tell the senior management or HR to make #hiring posts asking candidates to DM or mail in their applications which this dumb algorithm doesn't bother to show you till a days later, when thousands of people have already applied because clearly a random boomer's GPT story of what they learnt about consumer psychology after his wife divorced him was clearly more important. I missed the deadline to a global recruitment call at a company I have been wanting to work at for years because LinkedIn never put it on my dash despite me following the company's page.
I dread opening that cursed blue and white square but I also can't stop in case I miss something again. It's a vicious cycle I cannot wait to end, which will only happen once I am employed again.
Jobadvisor
The FOMO loop you're describing is genuinely awful — you hate being on it but you can't afford to leave it. That's a really well-designed trap (for LinkedIn, not for you).
A few things that might reduce how much time you spend dreading it:
Break the doom scroll cycle — instead of passively opening the app and suffering through the feed, go in with a specific mission. Search for jobs, check notifications, check the company pages you care about directly, then leave. The feed is the enemy.
Set up job alerts by email so LinkedIn notifies you instead of you having to check. For that company you follow, turn on their page notifications specifically — there's a bell icon on company pages that sends you alerts for their posts.
The 800-applicant Easy Apply problem is real — the workaround most people land on is going directly to the company's careers page and applying there, often before the LinkedIn listing even exists. Following target companies on LinkedIn (for the alerts) but applying off-platform tends to get better results.
The feed itself — you can hit "I don't want to see this" on posts aggressively for a week or two and it does eventually get better. It won't become good, but it can get less insufferable.
The broader thing you're feeling though — the indignity of having to perform on a platform that feels fake while you're already stressed — is completely valid and a lot of people going through layoffs feel exactly that. Four weeks in is still early, even when it doesn't feel that way.
Broke my back and got laid off in the same week.
I was hiking out to grizzly peak in Jefferson wilderness, and I shattered my t12 vertebrae (stems from a previous injury). I was rescued by Search and Rescue and spent two days in the ER, then went home. The next morning, I got laid off from a startup that I was at for roughly 4 years.
On one hand I’m happy i was laid off because I have a little nest egg and I can fully focus on healing for a full year.
On the other, I’m struggling mentally a bit for a few reasons.
- I’m stuck on the couch and can’t do much to clear my mind, ruminating is inevitable. I’m mourning the loss of my professional career and also managing the void I feel not being able to get out into the forest to clear my head.
- I currently live in Oregon, and I have decided it’s logically a good idea to head back home to Pennsylvania so that I have some support from my family. A bit of an identity shock as I’ve lived in the PNW for over a decade and I’m not ready to pack up my house and leave.
- I will have to limit myself to remote roles for the next year or two. In the current job market this seems like it’s a big limitation.
- I worry about the large gap I will accumulate this year while focusing on other things, and also the time it will likely take to land another remote position.
Life goes on I guess! I’m not sure what’s next for me but I’m definitely focused on healing my body this year and will figure out the rest as I go.
Jobadvisor
That's a brutal combination of losses hitting all at once — physical, professional, and the landscape that kept you grounded. The fact that you're still holding a "life goes on" attitude through all of that says something real about you.
A few thoughts, for whatever they're worth:
The gap won't hurt you the way you fear. A year off after a serious spinal injury isn't a red flag — it's a completely legible story. "I shattered a vertebra and spent the year recovering" is one of the clearest, most human explanations a hiring manager will ever hear. You won't need to defend it.
The remote market is rough, but your timing might actually work in your favor. You have a year to heal, which is also a year to be selective, to build relationships slowly, to pick up a skill or two from the couch if you feel like it — without the pressure of needing something now. That's a genuinely rare position to be in.
The identity piece is the hardest one. A decade in the PNW, the mountains as your mental health toolkit, a career that gave you structure — losing all three at once is a lot of grief to carry, and calling it "struggling mentally a bit" is probably an understatement. That's worth naming clearly to yourself, and maybe to someone else too. If you're stuck on a couch ruminating, therapy over video call could actually be worth the time — not because something is wrong with you, but because you have a lot to process and your usual outlets are temporarily offline.
What was the work, if you don't mind sharing? Curious what kind of role you're thinking about on the other side of this.
Rock bottom- Denials over and over again- Time to say goodbye to this rat race
That's it. I'm done. I don't know what else to do anymore. Denial after denial. Being told you're overqualified, being told your resume is great and having good conversations. Getting to final round interview after final round interview only to be sent the "we regret to inform you" email. I actually can't keep doing this. I actually can't go through the screaming embarrassment of being asked every f***ing day, "how is the job search going" from the nosy neighbors. I can't keep up with the shame of waking up to not going to work and sitting there sending application after application only to know that it's not going to amount to anything.
I was a top executive of a pharma company that was let go without any explanation. Got the classic 4:30 PM meeting invite with CEO and HR only to be told we are no longer continuing your employment due to corporate restructure (I would have much rather the truth because a week later my old job was posted). being told I would be considered for a CEO role for the company at some point, being told that I really embody the company values. Being known by everyone in the company. It was all just BS. I won't go into every detail, but essentially the classic story. I gave everything, got nothing back. Put my family second to my career (BIG MISTAKE). Made the company a metric f*** load of money and got nothing back. Invested my time and energy into something that was all smoke and mirrors. So many emotions that I know many of you feel. Anger, sadness, defeat, confusion. It all chips away at your confidence.
After I was let go, I was told over and over again not to worry, I'll land on my feet and it will all be ok (that's the worst thing to tell someone who just got laid off). I get it, the higher you climb on the corporate ladder, the harder the fall. Well it's true. Never have I been depressed. Never have I contemplated suicide. Never have I thought such awful things about myself. I don't have any energy left. I can't keep putting everything into applications and interviews. I can't handle the constant denials. It's been about 5 months of feeling this way and honestly, I'm not writing this for anything other than an outlet. Consistent thoughts of me not being here and having to deal with this is enough for me to say enough is enough.
My job defined me. It gave me confidence. It made me who I was. Without the career i'm just lost and everytime I start to get my confidence back in the job market with next round interviews etc. I loose all confidence when it just doesn't land. Before I lose my house, my family and frankly any ounce of self respect, I think I need to deeply consider whether I should exist in this suffocating ocean of denials. Am I alone in feeling this way?
Jobadvisor
You're not alone — and I'm really glad you shared this.
What you're describing — the suicidal thoughts, feeling like you shouldn't exist — that's a crisis, and it deserves real support right now. Please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988 if you're in the US, or visit 988lifeline.org). If you're outside the US, the International Association for Suicide Prevention lists crisis centers at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
What you're going through is genuinely brutal. Not just the job loss, but the specific kind you experienced — being told you were valued, promised a future, then discarded with a lie, while watching your old role get reposted a week later. That's a particular kind of betrayal that goes beyond just losing income. It attacks your sense of reality and your sense of self.
Five months of final-round rejections after that would grind anyone down. The shame spiral from neighbors, the identity crisis when a role that defined you is suddenly gone — these are real, heavy things. The feelings make complete sense given everything stacked against you.
But those thoughts telling you the world is better without you — they're the pain talking, not the truth. They feel convincing right now because you're exhausted and depleted. That's exactly when they're least trustworthy.
Please reach out to a crisis line today — not because you're weak, but because you've been carrying something enormous, and you deserve actual support, not just an outlet.
Manager told to Accept PIP or Resign, what should I do?
I'm a communication engineer with 1.5y exp in india. For the past 4 months my new manager is not happy with me even though I performed well with max effort. I'm the 6th guy getting fired by her in the last two years. Many in the office know this. But I can't beat politics. I have evidence to show her bad feedback. I'm thinking of speaking with the director and section manager, but it looks like they can't do anything. But Yesterday I had a 1-1 with the manager. She gave two options
Note: PIP period 6 Weeks and Notice period 6 weeks.
Accept PIP (6 WEEKS, if I do well I will continue with the same role if not then I need to serve the notice period at the end)
Resign myself after 6 weeks without any pip ( no work load and I can take WFH for these 6+6 weeks)
Suggest me what should I do? Which option to choose and by showing my bad feedback evidence can I will the higher table?
Jobadvisor
This is a tough spot, and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. Here's a clear-headed breakdown:
Understanding What's Really Happening
Your manager has likely already decided the outcome. The PIP is almost certainly a documentation process to make termination cleaner for the company, not a genuine improvement plan. The fact that you're her 6th target in 2 years makes this pretty clear.
Comparing Your Options
| Option 1: Accept PIP | Option 2: Resign after 6 weeks | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 6 weeks PIP + potentially exit | 6 weeks notice, WFH |
| Outcome | Very likely fired anyway | Controlled exit on your terms |
| Stress | High — weekly scrutiny, likely setup to fail | Low — just coast and job hunt |
| Severance | Possibly none if "fired for performance" | None, but you have 6 weeks paid |
| Reference | Risky — PIP on record internally | Cleaner exit |
| Job hunting | Hard to do while under PIP pressure | 6 weeks free to interview |
My Honest Recommendation: Option 2 (Resign after 6 weeks)
Here's why:
- 6 paid WFH weeks = a free job search runway. Use every day of it to apply aggressively.
- PIPs in India rarely result in continuation — they're usually legal cover for termination.
- Being fired at the end of a PIP is harder to explain than a clean resignation.
- You avoid 6 weeks of micromanagement, documentation traps, and stress.
About Your Evidence
Going to the director or section manager is worth trying before you decide, but go in with realistic expectations:
- Do it strategically — frame it as a pattern issue affecting team health, not a personal complaint. Mention she's fired 6 people, and you have documented feedback showing your performance.
- Don't show your hand emotionally — stay professional and factual.
- Likely outcome: They may listen but won't reverse the manager's decision. However, it protects your reputation internally and creates a paper trail.
Even if it doesn't save your job, it signals that you won't be pushed out quietly — which sometimes leads to a better exit deal (extended notice, positive reference, etc.).
Immediate Action Steps
- Don't sign anything yet — buy time, say you need a day or two to consider.
- Escalate once to the director, calmly and with evidence, before choosing.
- Start applying today regardless of which option you pick.
- If you choose Option 2, get the terms in writing — WFH, no workload, full pay for 6 weeks.
- Collect all your evidence (emails, feedback, performance records) on personal storage now, before access is cut.
You've done nothing wrong here. This is politics, and sometimes the smartest move is exiting cleanly and finding somewhere your work is actually valued.