Post by Avantika Penumarty

When I was let go in 2023, I woke up to a locked laptop and an email. Today, after 3 years, this photo showed up in my memories. My team. A dinner we had sometime before everything changed. Some of the most brilliant, kind and genuinely fun people I have ever worked with. Two weeks before the layoff, I had a serious conversation with my manager about my performance and my future on the team. He looked at me and said "you have nothing to worry about." So I made travel plans. I flew to India to be there for my father's retirement. The man who sacrificed his entire life and most of his happiness to make me who I am. That moment needed me there. I chose to be there. While I was celebrating him, the layoffs hit. Org was down. It was not about my performance. Or so we were told and I believe. Many brilliant engineers who I know are better than me, with more experience and stronger credentials, were let go. I was one of them. The entire org was shut down. Even my manager did not see it coming. I want to say something to anyone who has been through this: If you got let go and your performance was not the issue, please do not carry that weight. Choosing your family during a chaotic moment does not make you someone who deserved to lose their job. Prioritizing the people who matter most to you does not make you less of a professional. It makes you human. But here is what that day taught me that I want everyone reading this to hear: Your company will not warn you before a layoff. Not two months. Not two weeks. Sometimes not even two days. So I made a decision after that. I would never be caught unprepared again. I keep “open to work” on. Not because I am desperate. Not because I am disloyal. Because I know now that this is a professional relationship that can end at any time from either side. Interview continuously. Know your market value. Keep the door open. The most dangerous place to be in your career is comfortable and unprepared at the same time. If you have ever been let go without cause, this one is for you. You are not alone and you did nothing wrong. Cherish your memories and move on. Do you keep open to work on? I genuinely want to know why or why not. PS: thank you for always being supportive throughout my time working with you Joshua Ferguson