I was laid off by Amazon and am still jobless. What once felt like a paid vacation now feels like a ticking time bomb.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Joanelle Cobos, a 38-year-old job seeker who lives in Las Vegas. She previously worked for Amazon as a design manager until being laid off last October. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Last October, I was getting ready to head to the office when I noticed two text messages from Amazon that looked like spam, asking me to click a link or check my email. I soon learned that after nearly four years with the company, I'd been laid off — my third layoff since 2019 and the fourth in my career.

Since I'd dealt with job losses so many times, I don't think this layoff affected me emotionally as much as it did some of my coworkers. The idea of having so much free time ahead of me was exciting.

Now, my job search feels like a ticking time bomb, but I'm not in a rush to jump into another large corporation.

I was prepared for my layoff, so it felt like a paid vacation

After dealing with nine months of unemployment during my previous layoff, I'd started planning my life around the possibility of losing my job.

By the time I started at Amazon in 2021, my unemployment beforehand had left my savings a little lean. I was making a six-figure salary at Amazon, and my goal was to grow my emergency fund to cover several months' worth of expenses. When I was laid off, my emergency fund had grown to about $25,000, which I felt gave me a cushion of roughly six months.

I was also preparing to be laid off at Amazon, because my tenure had been plagued by whispers of voluntary resignation programs and job cuts, basically once a year. My job never felt particularly secure.

Because of the financial cushion I'd built, the paychecks I would receive from Amazon during my continuation period, the severance that followed, and my experience dealing with layoffs before, I didn't feel immediate financial pressure.

Rather than jump into the job hunt, I decided to take a pause from October through the end of the year. This time period felt a little like a paid vacation, and given that it overlapped with the holidays, it was almost the perfect time to get laid off.

Then January came. I'd done some research in the prior months to help inform my next career move, but I knew I'd have to ramp up my job search.

I have up to a year until I run out of money

I've started actively applying for jobs — including creative project management and creative operations management roles — but I haven't had much success landing interviews yet. I'm not too stressed for now, but I know my paychecks and severance won't last forever; I'll eventually need additional income to stay afloat financially. Accounting for my severance and emergency fund, I have about 10 to 12 months before I run out of funds.

I've had a hard time staying employed at large corporations for any extended period of time. I've been either laid off or left because the pay and benefits weren't good enough. For now, I'm targeting roles at smaller companies that may not be able to pay as much as a larger company, but where I wouldn't feel like just a "number" and the job security might be better.

Smaller companies might also offer more work-from-home flexibility. Prior to the layoff, I'd been required to work from the office five days a week, which was about 45-to-50 minutes each way of commuting. I was still the only one in my office on my team, so there was no in-person collaboration for me to benefit from.

I'd like to take a lower-stress, lower-paying job with good health benefits and bridge the financial gap with income from my own business, though I'm not sure what this would be yet. If my job search drags on, I'd be open to exploring more freelance and contract roles.

My advice for other people who have been laid off

After my previous layoff, I landed a job at Amazon in part because I had a relative who worked there. I doubt my résumé would have been seen without an employee referral. I'm still looking for my break this time around.

To boost my chances, I've been using generative AI tools to help with résumés, cover letters, and identifying roles I might be qualified for. It's made the job search far less stressful. What used to take a full day now takes just a few hours.

I have two main pieces of advice for others who have been laid off, including other affected Amazon employees. First, take the time to be upset, but don't stay in that headspace too long because that doesn't help you. Layoffs aren't personal — they're a business decision.

Second, before looking for a new job that is very similar to your prior role, consider whether it's the best fit for you. If you can swing it financially, take some time to think about where you want to go and what you want to do.

While job searching can be frustrating, it's also given me the opportunity to reexamine what I want in my career. If there's anything good that's come from the layoff, it's that it's forced me to take time to reflect.