I got laid off from my dream job at LinkedIn. 6 months later, I got an offer from Google for almost double the salary.

• Mariana Kobayashi was laid off from LinkedIn in May 2023.
• After traveling for six months, she landed a higher-paying job at Google.
• Kobayashi said being laid off was heartbreaking, but it taught her not to make work so personal.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Mariana Kobayashi. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I found out I was being laid off from LinkedIn in May 2023.

It was a company I'd always wanted to join, and it felt like my dream job.