Laid Off Two Weeks Before Christmas, a Supportive Family, and Giving Yourself Grace | Maria Tanner

Описание: Maria Tanner spent 20 years working her way up from handing out faxes to Director of Government Contracting. Then, two weeks before Christmas, she got the call: no severance, no package, just "today's your last day."

In this episode, Maria talks about the shock of sudden job loss, the flood of predatory recruiters who showed up in her inbox the moment she switched to "open to work," and how she's leaned on her husband and two daughters to get through it.

She shares why she started using ChatGPT as a kind of therapist (and why her husband laughs about it), her relentless approach to networking, and what she's really looking for in her next chapter—a place where someone says "you being here has made a difference."

We also dig into the language of job loss, remote work loneliness, and why she keeps reminding herself: give yourself some grace.

🎙️ Adventures in Job Searching is the podcast you never want to be invited to appear on.

0:00 – Introduction
0:35 – Maria's background in government contracting
1:07 – The layoff: two weeks before Christmas
2:12 – Supporting a family through unemployment
3:08 – The phone call and handling it professionally
5:36 – When the shock wore off
6:29 – Predatory recruiters flooding LinkedIn
8:52 – Feeling scammed and wanting to educate others
10:00 – The reality of unemployment pay
11:24 – Grieving job loss and using ChatGPT as a therapist
13:24 – How AI helped reframe rejection
19:40 – The lost art of in-person job fairs
22:32 – What she misses most about working
25:22 – How can workers protect themselves?
28:21 – Leaning into faith
29:39 – Realizing how driven she is
31:52 – Being "niche" in a job search
33:00 – Remote work as a blessing and a curse
35:14 – People-pleasing in the job search
40:00 – What she wants next: to make a difference
44:42 – A typical week of job searching
48:41 – The language of "my role was impacted"
50:21 – Advice to herself: give yourself grace
52:40 – What gives her hope
55:45 – It's okay to feel the feelings
56:55 – Why hire Maria? "I'm just me."

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