This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Barbara Jamelli-Sefchik, a 55-year-old former SAP employee and the founder and owner of Talent Development Innovations from northeastern Pennsylvania. It's been edited for length and clarity.
But during a meeting with my manager and my organization's HR business partner on February 13, they notified me that"my skills were no longer required" and that my last day would be March 15. The situation paralyzed me for a few days. I couldn't even read — it took too much brainpower to process the words. I spent my daytime hours crying and bingeing"And Just Like That" and"The Morning Show."I applied for a total of 134 jobs, and all of them were for talent-development or learning-and-development leadership roles.
A friend asked if I could help build learning content for his company. I consulted with my"personal board of directors" — former and current chief human-resource officers, a CTO, and a chief legal officer who were already in my network. Their perspective was that I should try to see myself as they see me, and, more importantly, as they see my work, which inspired me to take a chance on consulting.