Former employees of Twitter and Meta share their experience of being laid off from TikTok

Companies such as Facebook's parent company Meta and Twitter have recently carried out large-scale layoffs. Many former employees flocked to TikTok to share their layoff experiences and take this opportunity to build contacts for future employment.

A TikTok user who claimed to be a former Twitter employee posted a video inviting viewers to get ready with me to see if I get fired. The video has been viewed more than 500,000 times and has 80,000 likes. Some even shared videos of them being fired.

This simple act of posting challenges people's conventional thinking that the general feeling of shame and silence after being fired. Those who posted said it helped them cope with the layoffs, empathize with others in their situation, and build connections for future employment.

Daizha Brown worked on the marketing team that promoted Facebook's services to small businesses. She posted on TikTok within an hour of receiving her termination notice.

I was stunned and couldn’t believe it was going to be in my inbox, she said in an interview, referring to the email notifying her of her job loss. Brown, who lives in Seattle is now using the TikTok platform to document his life experiences in a series of videos called The Days After Layoffs.

Brown said in the video, the reality is out there. Is this my journey? I'm ready to find 'something better that I and others keep telling me. But the hardest part is living Now. I'm going to take it one step at a time. I know that my future self is cheering me on.

Most of the comments Brown received expressed support for her, and many followed her up. TikTok reminds you that you're not alone.

Brown said,

because a quick search for layoff turns up dozens of videos on how to cope with unemployment.

She said,

if you are crying every day, this kind of life can be very difficult. But you will also see that there are other people who are crying every day. This lets us know that unemployment is not unique, many people are going through The same thing.

Megan Arroyo was also fired from Meta, where she worked in recruiting. When the layoffs happened, I knew 11,000 people would lose their jobs, she said in an interview. So I'm not the only one going through mixed emotions, both disappointment and sadness for losing the job, but also because I have served such a great family. I’m proud to work for the company I’m working for. Arroyo, who lives in Chicago, said she made several friends after seeing some people post TikTok-like videos.

Arroyo said the vast majority of comments were positive and friendly, with people listing her as a friend on LinkedIn, a professional networking site, and offering to recommend her for jobs. But others are critical, arguing that talking about work online can be risky. For example, someone commented: Oh, you cried on the Internet, if I were the hiring manager, I would never hire you. In response, Arroyo retorted, well, that's great, but I really do not give a damn about.

The effects of economic uncertainty are increasingly extending beyond the tech sphere. Marjana Maksuti, who worked in marketing at Global Citizen, a nonprofit that aims to end extreme poverty, lost her position in New York last week.

Masuti said: "Losing your job is a shame and it can be one of the most stressful and loneliest experiences we've ever had in our lives. But I do think it's important for many people to share and be open about these experiences. , because it really brings people together so they don’t feel isolated.”

Jordan Gibbs was fired from Lyft's New York recruiting team this month. She said she is now posting videos every day to combat the numbness that comes with emotional shocks. Gibbs said in an interview: Basically, I have to figure out a way to get myself out of bed every day. If I try to film my fired life every day, it will help me really make progress and accomplish certain things. Since then, Gibbs has sent out dozens of resumes and interviewed at several companies, including TikTok itself.

Before November, Gibbs had about 1,000 followers, mostly friends, colleagues, and other acquaintances. But in the roughly two and a half weeks since she started posting unemployment videos, that number has nearly tripled. She laughed and said, I don't want to be a celebrity, that's really not my style. But the unemployment video has a wider impact than I expected. It seems that everyone is going through similar things. There are many people who find comfort. I'm interested in shooting.

Since Gibbs started sharing her unemployment experience, she has seen many of her friends in the tech industry share similar content, often with weekly updates.

Gibbs said, twitter is like a place where you vent your anger, Instagram is a great way to showcase your life through photos, and there’s something very special about the TikTok community that naturally draws people in.