Laid Off After 11 Years: Navigating the Next Chapter

The day started like any other Monday. Adam and I were getting James ready for school, making breakfast, easing into the week. Before the hustle and bustle of the morning began, I glanced at my work calendar for the day ahead.

There it was. A 9:30am meeting titled “Sync – Kelly & Justin” with the description: “Hi Kelly. Sorry for the late notice but please prioritize this call.”

I didn’t panic. I didn’t spiral. I just looked at Adam and said, almost calmly, “I’m getting laid off today.”

The Moment You Just Know

Intuitively, I knew.

The two nights before, I had dreams that Salesforce was doing layoffs. The week prior, I found myself emotionally distancing from work as the possibility lingered in the background. And in the weeks and months leading up to that moment, there were subtle clues and small signals that things weren’t moving in my favor.

That same day, promotions were being announced. I had been put up for promotion and was waiting to hear. A teammate reassured me that this meeting was probably good news — my skip‑level manager sharing the outcome. But still, something told me that this call was not going to be that.

And I was right.

Even when you sense it may be coming, nothing truly prepares you for being laid off. They tell you it’s not personal, when it feels anything but. My conversation with Justin came and went, falling flat and brutally detached. He read from the script he had been given and I was left wondering what it all meant. There was no room for context, nuance, or the reality of the work I had poured myself into. And just like that, it was over.

I spent the rest of the day numb, checking in on my manager and fellow teammates who had also been let go. My team members and I processed it all in real time — not just the job loss, but the sudden unraveling of something we had invested so much of ourselves into.

The most ironic (maybe poetic) part of the whole experience was that I was wearing my Salesforce sweatshirt when I saw the meeting invite and assumed I was being laid off.

11 years. 2 months. 17 days.

That’s how long I spent at Salesforce before that calendar invite appeared. Eleven years of growth, learning, pressure, opportunity, reinvention. Eleven years of working with people who challenged me, supported me, and shaped me. Eleven years that fundamentally changed the trajectory of my career and my life. The last three of those years were especially meaningful and my role was as close to a dream job as I could have imagined. I was doing work I deeply cared about, focused on employee experience, career development, and growth. Work that aligned with my values and work that truly mattered.

Which is why the hardest part of all this isn’t just losing a job. It’s being told that my role was no longer “business critical.” My first thoughts in finding out the news weren’t about what it meant for me, but rather what it would mean for my fellow colleagues – to potentially not have the career programming and resources I had worked so hard to build. I won’t even get into how short-sighted it all feels, especially when the data tells us positive employee engagement drives business results. 

Navigating a Layoff in 2026

For a long time, my career followed a script many high achievers quietly live by: work hard, be loyal, focus on business outcomes, make yourself valuable. And if you do all of that well enough, the story will continue to unfold the way you expect it to. For years, that script worked. I built a meaningful career, grew into roles I loved, and poured myself into work that mattered. And then, with one calendar invite, the script changed. 

I know I’m not alone in this. It’s important to name the reality of the moment we’re in. This is the toughest job market we’ve seen since 2009. Layoffs are frequent, roles are fewer, timelines are longer, and exceptionally talented, experienced people are competing for the same opportunities. Being laid off right now doesn’t just come with emotional weight; it comes with real uncertainty about what’s next.

If you’re reading this because you’ve recently been laid off (or fear that you might be), there’s a few things I want you to know: 

1. This is not a reflection of your worth or your impact. Layoffs are often driven by short-term decisions, shifting priorities, and financial pressure, not by the value you brought or who you impacted.
2. Give yourself permission to grieve before you rush to reframe. There’s a lot of pressure to immediately “stay positive” or “look ahead.” But abrupt endings deserve space. You’re allowed to feel disappointed, angry, relieved, scared (or all of it at once).
3. You don’t need to have a plan right away. Clarity rarely comes on command. It often arrives after rest, reflection, and space. Creating pause is not the same as falling behind. Give yourself grace in this moment.
4. This part of your story doesn’t erase the career you’ve built. One chapter ending doesn’t negate everything that came before it. In time, you’ll be able to tell this story with more intention and power than you might imagine right now. Everyone I have talked to who have experienced a layoff have told me it was a blessing in disguise. That’s what I’m choosing to focus on too.
5. You don’t have to navigate this alone. Whether that looks like leaning on your community, having honest conversations, or working with a coach — support matters. It’s amazing the power of connection that comes when something like this happens.

When your career gets rewritten without your consent, you don’t have to rush the rewrite the narrative. Instead, it’s important to pause long enough to decide what you actually want next. This is a moment to reread the last chapter. To question the beliefs you were living by. To choose more intentionally what carries forward and what doesn’t.

This is the work I do with my clients. And right now, it’s the work I’m doing myself.

Moving Forward in the Next Chapter

After the initial wave of disappointment settled last week, something unexpected surfaced. Excitement. Not the loud, forced kind, but a quiet sense of possibility. I’m getting space I didn’t know I needed. Space to rest, to be, to share my story more honestly, to show up even more deeply for my coaching clients (especially those navigating layoffs and career transitions of their own). It’s also giving me the opportunity to finally give 100% to my coaching business (something I’ve never truly had the bandwidth to do) while remaining open to future corporate roles with leadership who genuinely value this work.

This next chapter of mine hasn’t been written. I don’t have the ending figured out yet. But I trust that this pause is leading me somewhere more aligned, whether that’s in my business, the corporate world, or a combination of both. Along the way, I’ll be continuing to share the good and the messy as I navigate what’s next.

If you’re in a similar in-between season, I hope this reminds you of something important: This layoff does not define you. You still get to decide what comes next. And there is more power in that than you may realize right now.

If you’re seeking clarity, support, or a steady place to land as you navigate your own transition, my coaching practice exists for moments like this, whenever the timing feels right. Feel free to book a call here.