One calls LinkedIn a pit of despair.
Another feels an overwhelming lack of purpose.
Yet another groused about simply feeling stuck.
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I was having these chest pains and for a second I thought, is this my heart?
But ultimately, it was panic.
I went to see my doctor who did a bunch of tests and everything is ultimately fine.
(L-R) Karen Jones,Robert Mortonand Laverne McKinnonCourtesy
But he asked, Do you want to talk to somebody?
And I was like, Listen, I know what the issue is.
I didnt feel like I needed to go talk to a therapist.
I know what the issue is and a therapist isnt going to help me find a job.
I am kind of miserable.
And I think many people dont recognize how they are grieving.
Its the toughest Ive seen since probably around 2009 when it was really tough, too.
Its getting them past that.
Its not a doom factor, its not a crisis, and it will get better.
Just dont ask how long the job search will take because coaches like McKinnon cant say.
No one has experienced the acute level of uncertainty that people are living with today.
Our minds literally cannot tolerate not knowing, says McKinnon.
So when clients ask me that question, all I can say is, I dont know.
You have to go inward, not outward, to make it make those decisions.
The hope comes from using this pause as an opportunity to do that personal development work.
And Im like, No one can tell you that.
This is an opportunity to use the pause to get really clear on whats important to you.
Thats what happened forKaren Jones, aveteran PR executive who left HBO in 2022after 23 years with the company.
She took a year to decide what to do next.
It was just a deep amount of reflection, recalls Jones.
I didnt take it lightly.
I was in therapy.
I was talking to my family, trusted advisors.
I was talking to my financial manager.
I mean, there were many different factors, both internal and external that went into it.
Ive tried to be very transparent about what the journey of the in-between feels like.
It is uncertain, and you cant power your way through it.
There was a bit of an ego thing there where I thought, Oh f*ck.
Theyre seeing these signs in the Palisades.
Its where the concentration of all of the successes in the business lives.
And there was a moment where the ego hurt.
What do I have to do?
I want to get out.
Its like theyre in prison.
I help them break out of the yard!
