Laid Off After 20 Years. Now What?

The Intentional Next Act with Tabatha Jones

What happens when the career you've spent 20, 25, or even 30 years building suddenly changes, and the decision isn't yours?

With recent layoffs impacting so many of my former Comcast colleagues, I changed my plans for this week's episode. After nearly 28 years with the company, these aren't just former coworkers to me. They're friends, mentors, and people I consider family.

This is a deeply personal conversation, and yes, I get a little emotional toward the end.

I left corporate by choice at 50, so I won't pretend to know exactly what it feels like to have your position eliminated. I do know what it's like to face reorganizations, reapply for your own job, and experience the uncertainty and survivor's guilt that come when colleagues are laid off.

In this episode, we're talking about the grief that can accompany job loss, the complicated relationship between our careers and our identities, and how to begin moving forward without pretending everything is okay.

We also cover three practical steps you can take right now:

1. Document your impact. Capture your accomplishments, results, leadership experience, and the problems you've solved before those details fade.

2. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations. Let former colleagues, leaders, and business partners help tell the story of the difference you've made.

3. Reconnect with your network. Start conversations, rebuild relationships, and explore opportunities beyond the company you've known for years.

I also have a message for those who weren't laid off but are navigating survivor's guilt, increased workloads, and uncertainty about their own futures.

Your One Intentional Hour: Spend an hour documenting your career accomplishments. If you're not emotionally ready for that yet, take the hour to process, breathe, or connect with someone who cares. That counts, too.

A message from my heart

To my Comcast friends and family, and anyone navigating an unexpected career change:

Your career is bigger than one company. Your value is bigger than your job title.

You may not have had a choice in how this chapter ended, but you still have a voice in how the next one begins.

You're not starting over. You're starting from experience.

I'm developing additional job-search resources and workshops, including ways to use AI to make the process less overwhelming. I'll share those as they become available.

Until then, please lean on your people. You don't have to figure everything out today, and you certainly don't have to navigate it alone.

With love,

Tabatha

The Intentional Next Act | Career, Business, Money & Reinvention

Content note: This episode includes discussion of layoffs, job loss, grief, and some strong language.