Emma took the weekend to mope. She felt like she deserved it. She didn’t tell her family or friends about being laid off. She was too embarrassed. She didn’t know how she was going to make it, but she also didn’t know how she was going to get by without help.

The weekend passed and she woke up on Monday morning, knowing she needed a plan. Her company had given her some paperwork before she left. She went back to the box, still on the table, to find the folder with the paperwork.

She found the folder and started to look at the papers. The paperwork included how much she was getting for her time off that she was saving. Her hope was to take a vacation later this year, but that was out the window.

She had three weeks saved up, so that would help with some bills over the next month. The folder also included information on filing for unemployment. She would have to file for that to even have a chance to make it, until she could find a new job.

The paperwork gave her information on how to get on the internet to file, and how to manage the process. It provided recommendations on when to file, which was helpful as she thought about the future.

The only other information in the folder was a letter from her boss, recommending her to a new employer. She was grateful for the letter, now she had to think about where to send it.

Emma combed through job ads, looking at what was available in her area. She decided that she didn’t want to move at this time, so she focused on jobs in her area, and other jobs she could do remotely.

She hadn’t ever thought about working remotely, but she had to think about all her options. Most of her recent job was reviewing digital files, so it would be easy to do remotely. She looked at different job boards, looking at all the options. She noticed that many of the jobs were posted in different places so she found the site with the most jobs and focused on that one.

Emma updated her resume, and posted it online. She included the letter her boss wrote, and made sure that she included the reason for her job search, including being laid off from her previous position. She also made sure to mention that she would be able to start as soon as possible.

Emma started reaching out to other coworkers that she still had contact with for additional recommendations. She applied to jobs she found with her updated resume, and hoped for the best.

She felt like she had done what she could, and now had to wait. She struggled when she didn’t hear from her applications. She got a couple “no thank you” letters, which made her feel even more defeated.

Emma went into a tail spin, having trouble getting out of bed to continue her job hunt. She had good and bad days, with the bad days starting to be more frequent.

Her family knew about her job loss, and was offering help, but Emma declined, for now. She started to look for anything that would be an income, just to keep up with bills. She was living on her credit cards, and getting worried about how to pay them back.

It had been 6 weeks since losing her job and she wasn’t any closer to finding a new position. She continued to sift through another round of job postings online, applying for more jobs as they came up.

On a Thursday, while searching again, a message popped up on her screen. It was an email about a newly posted job at a small startup company looking for someone with her exact skill set to join their team remotely. Intrigued, Emma read through the job description and it seemed like the perfect fit.

Without hesitation, she polished her cover letter, highlighting her experience and enthusiasm for the position. Emma attached her updated resume, and her recommendation letter, and hit send before self-doubt could creep in. A wave of nervous excitement washed over her as she waited for a response.

Days turned into weeks, and just when Emma started to lose hope again, an email notification lit up her phone screen. The startup wanted to schedule a virtual interview. She had gotten so many “no thank you” letters, she tried not to get excited, but couldn’t help but hope.

Ecstatic yet anxious, Emma prepared meticulously, rehearsing possible answers and putting on her best professional attire from the waist up. The day of the interview came and she was ready, but what would happen. She braced for the interview, and hoped for the best.