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I got laid off from Meta as a low performer. I wish people told me to budget, downsize, and create a plan immediately.

By Anonymous
1 minute read
I got laid off from Meta as a low performer. I wish people told me to budget, downsize, and create a plan immediately.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittney Ball, a 36-year-old former Meta employee based in Washington DC. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I didn't anticipate being unemployed for over a year after my layoff at Meta. I assumed that, coming from Meta with my skillset, there's no way I'd be searching for long. I underestimated the job market.

I got hired in 2020 as a documentation engineer and served as the global head of the Black@Pride ERG. Since my layoff in February 2025, I've built and sold a startup, and started a Substack newsletter and podcast to build my personal brand as a documentation expert.

I've created alternative forms of income, but I'm still applying for full-time work. My advice for people in the most recent round of Meta layoffs is to budget like you're going to be unemployed for the next year, downsize, and create an action plan now.

I could've saved myself a lot of grief if I knew just how unforgiving the job market can be.

This job market isn't anything to play with. If you plan to reenter the workforce, you have to job hunt like it's your full-time job.

There are so many talented and smart individuals on the job market now applying for the same position as you, so it's not enough to just submit your résumé and hope you get an interview.

It seems as though you have to have something to show for the time you've been out of work. Establish yourself as a public speaker, write about your expertise on LinkedIn, start a podcast, or build your startup in public. I've had more job opportunities come to me since I started posting about my startup — an AI-powered documentation platform — online and writing on Substack.

Building in public and sharing my journey has created more streams of income for me. My substack, where I audit AI tools and share my research. started to gain traction in the academic world and the AI community, and has helped me establish my brand identity as an AI ethics expert.

I have paid subscribers, and companies have reached out to me directly on Substack to request audits of their AI platforms or to schedule consultations. It's become a great source of income and provides me with some cushion as I look for full-time work.