This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Fatema Ali, a job seeker in her 30s who lives in Texas. She previously worked for IBM as a project manager before being laid off in 2024. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In early 2024, I began to worry that my time at IBM could be coming to an end.
I was a delivery project manager based in the Dallas area and had been working remotely since joining IBM in 2018. That January, IBM announced that all US managers would be required to report to an office or client location at least three days a week or risk losing their jobs. There was an office about 15 minutes from my home, and I started going in regularly.
In February, my manager started warning me that broader layoffs could be on the horizon. By the time I was laid off in April, I wasn't completely surprised.
More than two years later, I'm still looking for full-time work.
My husband and I were suddenly both out of work at the same time
What made the layoff more difficult was that a few months earlier, my husband had left his job to pursue a startup idea that wasn't yet generating income. We had three children to support, and suddenly neither of us had a traditional full-time job.
One thing working in our favor was that we had already paid off our house. That gave us some breathing room and relieved some financial pressure.
Even so, there was a lot of financial uncertainty. We cut back where we could and tried to live more simply, including traveling less with the kids. For a period, we were largely living off savings and the severance I received, which amounted to about three months of salary.
I started looking for work immediately, both inside and outside IBM. There was one promising internal opportunity I applied for, but it would've required me to move to North Carolina. I had recently bought a home in Texas, had family nearby, and didn't want to uproot my three children.
Instead, I focused on finding opportunities closer to home, primarily in project and program management, while also applying for roles in higher education, nonprofits, and government.
The job search feels harder than it did during the Great Recession
When I graduated from college in 2008 during the Great Recession, the job market was difficult. Looking back, it almost feels like a walk in the park compared with what I've experienced over the last two years. Back then, I was getting more interview opportunities.
One of the most frustrating parts of the process has been dealing with applicant tracking systems. I have dozens of résumé versions for different roles because I know résumés can be filtered out if they're missing the right keywords. It feels like strong candidates can be overlooked before anyone has a chance to review their experience.
I can spend hours tailoring an application and never speak with a human recruiter. It's become a nightmare.
I try to reach out to people in my network. If I see a mutual connection who works at an organization where I'm applying, I'll try to reconnect with them directly. Simply applying online without a referral has become one of my least effective job-search strategies.
I've landed a few interviews over the last two years and have made it through multiple rounds with some employers. In many cases, companies ultimately chose an internal candidate or someone with more experience in a specific area. Occasionally, I check LinkedIn to try to figure out who ended up getting the role based on their title and start date.
Read more about people who've found themselves at a corporate crossroads
I've tried to make the most of my time away from work
While I've been looking for work since my layoff, I haven't always been consistent with my applications. I spent time helping my husband with his startup and devoted a lot of time to caring for my youngest child.
Last year, my husband decided to focus less on his startup and return to the workforce, landing a new job in November. That provided some financial relief for our family.
As my children have gotten older, I've also had more freedom to focus on my career again. By the middle of last year, I became much more consistent with my job search.
While I'm still looking for work, I've scaled back my job search somewhat in recent months to spend more time pursuing projects with my husband, notably P1loop, an app we launched together. My husband used his experience as an iOS developer to help build it.
The app is designed to help teams communicate about urgent operational issues. It isn't generating any income yet, but we're hopeful. My layoff experience has forced me to rethink stability, take a risk, and try to build something meaningful from scratch.
The biggest lesson I've learned is patience
I've been working since I was 19, and I'm looking forward to returning to work.
My job search has been stressful, but I didn't want that pressure to show on my face. I don't want my children to feel like there is anything wrong. I want to carry on with the day and stay grounded as best as I can.
Being unemployed hasn't felt like much of a break. When you're dealing with financial uncertainty, caring for children, looking for work, and trying to build something new, your mind is always racing.
My best advice to anyone going through this is to stay patient, whether you've worked really hard and things are going exactly the way you hoped, or things aren't falling into place yet.
While I'm still looking for the right opportunity, I've learned the importance of staying the course.
