• Amazon hired 27-year-old Jenny Cho right out of college.
• Cho said she instantly became a high achiever and completely burned out after five years.
• After taking a mental health leave, she switched her focus to trade-offs instead of balance.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jenn Cho, a 27-year-old Amazon software developer in Seattle. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I got hired at Amazon directly out of college in 2019 and made work my life and identity.

I put so much pressure on myself to be a high achiever and to prove I was a valuable employee in my early career. By the end of 2024, I had completely burned out.

I took a 12-week leave to focus on my mental health and realized my job wasn't the issue, it was my mindset. Here's how I identified my burnout and how I'm trying to prevent it from happening again.

Everything was great for me until a stressful project in 2024

When I got hired as a support engineer, my job was really exciting. We moved quickly, and I felt like a sponge, absorbing everything, and craving to learn more.

Then, in 2024, Amazon entered a very stressful layoff season, which greatly affected my team. Our organization underwent a lot of restructuring and reprioritization of our projects.

I started working on a particularly difficult project and really put pressure on myself to be on point at all times. But in the pursuit of doubling down on work and working longer hours, I started lacking motivation, struggling with focus, and feeling emotionally exhausted. I was able to keep up with deadlines, but I felt like I was in survival mode.

When I stopped enjoying my hobbies, I realized I was burned out

The wake-up call that something needed to change didn't come until I realized I wasn't even enjoying the things I love to do — working out, spending time with friends, pursuing hobbies. I knew I was burned out.

A friend of mine who had recently burned out and taken a leave, encouraged me to take my own leave. After sitting on the idea for a while, I submitted a request with the support of my therapist, and I was approved for a 12-week leave at the end of 2024.

Taking a break from work and building something for myself was fulfilling

At the start of my leave, I broke out in full-body hives, which I suspect might've been stress-induced. After nearly six weeks of treating my health issues, I finally settled into my leave.

I explored Seattle more, got back into my workout routine, and even started working on some personal projects like a food blog site. It was so fulfilling to build something for myself. I considered taking a sabbatical or a more extended leave, but ultimately decided to stick with my 12-week plan.

I realized the biggest thing that needed to change when I was to return to Amazon was my mindset. Finding fulfillment through my hobbies made me realize that work shouldn't be my life; it should fuel my ability to live my life and pursue my passions.

When I got back from my leave, it felt like nothing had changed, and I needed to set boundaries

I was concerned about taking a leave, but I don't think it hindered my career at all.

After returning to work, I realized that I was just one of thousands of employees. The company doesn't stop just because one person leaves. As workers, we tend to prioritize work, but our employers prioritize profits, so it's up to us to create boundaries between work and life.

I'm trying to embody my new mindset by setting boundaries. For example, working out is crucial for my mental health, so I've set a boundary that I will not cancel a workout class to keep working. It's a hard stop.

I've also been writing down my to-do lists for the day, but not just making them centered on work. Sure, my work will be at the top of the list, but I've also been writing down the personal things I'm looking forward to doing after work, like getting dinner, seeing friends, or working on the food blog.

I'm focusing on trade-offs instead of a balance

On a day-to-day basis, it feels nearly impossible to find a balance between work and life. I have so many things I want to do, but not enough hours in the day. So, I'm looking at the bigger picture instead.

There will be periods when work is very busy and demanding, and I have no choice but to put my effort into it. But I have to remind myself that life shouldn't be like that 24/7.

Maybe I'm focusing on work in one moment, but later, I can take time off to prioritize something for myself. I'm still learning to strike the right balance, but it's up to me to make sure I nurture my identity outside of work.

If you burned out at work and want to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Google hired Alana Karen in 2001 to review and approve ads on the site.
• Karen said after 10 years the company shifted and she started to consider whether she should quit.
• Her Q&A system helped her determine the right time to leave Google.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alana Karen, a 47-year-old ex-Google employee, author, tech leader, and speaker based in Palo Alto, California. It's been edited for length and clarity.

By the end of my 23-year career at Google, the company felt like my bad ex-boyfriend. The one who didn't give me everything I needed, but I still stayed.

I really felt like I had to keep proving myself, but after 20 years of being a solid employee, it felt demoralizing. High performers need to feel valued. I did not.

I still feel very fortunate to have worked at Google for as long as I did. I watched it transform from scrappy startup to global power, but after 20 years, four questions helped me decide it was time to quit.

My first decade at Google was a rocketship

I was hired at Google in November 2001. My job was manually reviewing and approving ads that people submitted to run on Google.

When I started, Google had only a few hundred employees, but we were constantly changing buildings and shifting desks to accommodate more people. I enjoyed the rapid pace of development because I faced a new challenge every day and never stopped learning.

It was intense, nonstop work, but I loved it. I spent most days deep in nitty gritty work, solving tough problems with many really smart, fun people. I felt excited to work for a company with a mission I supported — making information more accessible. Plus, the company was small enough that I really felt like I was contributing to it personally.

I wish I had taken advantage of the perks

There's all this talk in tech about the perks like table tennis or bouncy balls, but in those early years, I didn't have time for any of that. I do think other people took better advantage and took better breaks, but I remember it being rare to have a break.

Though this wasn't necessarily a negative. I never burned out because I felt connected to Google's vision, I saw my purpose, and I felt like I was doing good for the world.

Over time, I felt the company shifting away from its scrappy, startup feel, and I found myself sitting in lots of long meetings with charts and graphs and people myopically arguing about numbers.

I considered quitting a couple of times after working at Google for 10 years

I hit my 10-year mark while on my second maternity leave in 2011, and I considered leaving. Instead, I found a new role within Google Fiber, a fledgling startup creating high-speed internet access, which had me hopping into another fast-paced role that reignited my passion for my work.

I loved my new role, and I didn't question my career again until 2017 when Google Fiber reversed directions, and I, alongside hundreds of people, had to find other roles in Google or get fired. It was a true heartbreak.

I created a Q&A system to help me determine if a Google role was the right fit for me

For much of 2017, I worked full-time as director of the access transition team. In this role, I helped coworkers find other roles at Google before deciding where I wanted to land next. I started to feel the stress in my body and had to question if I was truly OK to stay.

I decided I would continue with Google, but I was wiser to the fact that I can't put all my faith into the company. I knew it was up to me to protect my health and emotions. I transitioned to the core of Google, Google Search, as a program manager, quite intentionally. I wanted to work somewhere I knew Google was concretely invested.

My new role rekindled my excitement, but I came up with four questions to ask myself at the start of every year, to make sure I was still happy at Google. Do I like what I'm doing? Am I having fun? Do I like the people I work with? Am I still learning?

By 2021, my job was getting harder and I absolutely felt at risk of being laid off

I felt my job was taking up more of my personal energy. A structural reorganization followed by a series of layoffs really took a toll on company morale.

Plus, in the race to develop AI, I felt pressure to work around the clock and crank it out, but with fewer people due to layoffs. I noticed people sending emails in the evening or on weekends more, trying their best to look indispensable.

I knew I was great at my job, but I worried the company would see me, a well-paid program manager director, as a line item they could no longer afford. But, I wanted to stay because I still loved many of my coworkers, I felt responsible for helping my team through this major adaptation, and because I was the main breadwinner for my family.

I gave myself an ultimatum. Then I quit.

I checked in with my four checkpoints, and my results were degrading. I wasn't learning, and in the midst of tough layoffs, I wasn't having fun.

In 2024, I applied for the next progression of my program manager job in hopes it would spark some new learning. I told myself if I didn't get the job, I'd quit.

Well, I didn't get the job, and I immediately went to my HR person to quit. My ending felt very complete, and I was happy to have left based on my own decision.

I miss my coworkers, but I make time to keep in touch. The biggest thing I've learned since leaving is that I'm a whole person without Google. It's been nice to give myself the space to explore new avenues.

If you have worked in Big Tech for over 20 years and would like to share your story, please contact the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Ritendra Datta worked as a software engineer for Google and Meta between 2010 and 2023.
• He compared the culture, promotion process, and workload, and said he burned out at both companies.
• Datta said, despite burnout, he felt a better influence, impact, and monetary gain at Meta.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ritendra Datta, a software engineer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I worked at Google from 2010 to 2019, then transitioned to Meta for just over four years.

If I look at it strictly from an engineering perspective, my first few years at Google were the best in my career. The company felt extremely mission-driven, and I was inspired as a builder.

At Meta, I worked more hours and experienced higher stress levels, but not necessarily in a bad way. In fact, working for Meta was a better experience overall than working at Google.

I loved Google, but I saw the company culture change

My early years at Google had a rare mix of being well-funded and feeling driven by a mission, not profit. Google was slow, steady, and careful with everything it rolled out. I knew the ins and outs of everything my team was working on.

I spent my first four years working out of the Google Pittsburgh office, where we had foosball tables, food options, and areas to hang out. No one cared if I spent an hour or two just jamming out with colleagues in the music room, and I loved it.

I think the company was betting that very inspired, well-intentioned engineers would build awesome things regardless of whether they worked 10 hours or four.

Google felt completely different when I transitioned to the Mountain View office

I switched to the Google Mountain View office because I was tired of East Coast winters and figured there'd be more opportunities. That location had amenities like lap pools and volleyball courts, but people seemed more heads down and focused on work. I think it was partially due to differences between the East Coast and Silicon Valley, and partially due to a cultural shift within the company toward beating out the competition.

After nearly a decade, I started to feel complacent. I was repeating the same tasks, collaborating with the same people, and no longer learning. I ultimately left Google and accepted an offer with Meta in 2019 because of a pay increase and the hopes of growing as an engineer.

I started working at Meta and immediately felt the difference

Meta's motto at the time of my hiring was "move fast and break things," and I felt it immediately. The second I felt like I understood something, they'd say, "Let's pivot, let's drop this, let's switch priorities." We failed often, but the amount we innovated outweighed it.

I felt good stress when we hustled to build a compelling product, and our motivation was clear. On the other hand, I felt bad stress when I didn't understand the motivation behind certain strategic shifts and would have to rally my team behind a strict timeline that I didn't even understand.

I think many people who come from Google don't ever really adjust to that change, but I think I adapted well.

I experienced burnout at both companies, in completely different ways

Somewhere around the middle of my career at Google, I started worrying I was falling behind. On the outside, it looked like I had an illustrious career, but what people don't see are the patches of very slow progress and extreme frustration. The pressure I felt to progress in my career burned me out.

The burnout I had at Meta was for moral reasons. In 2021, Meta was under scrutiny when a whistleblower presented scathing documents about the hate speech and misinformation that Meta allowed. This made me question whether I was fighting the right fight and building a better society.

I had a lot of doubts about my career and didn't even want to go to work despite having a big team to run.

Promotions worked differently at Google and Meta

The promotion process at Google felt fair, but it became more competitive, especially after I moved to the Mountain View office. I would create a promotion packet with my manager, and then a totally independent set of senior leadership would review it.

At Meta, the people who decided my promotion were either in or peripheral to my organization. Plus, it wasn't just important to do good work, but you also had to market your work.

We had an internal version of Facebook where people would post about their accomplishments, which caused a lot of competition. I became keenly aware of my team's visibility because marketing our work was just as important as doing it.

I developed a muscle of constantly thinking about visibility, and I don't think it was in a good way.

Meta shuts down jerky behavior more than Google

The feedback process was very strong at Meta. Everyone gave feedback on everyone, and if one person was a big jerk, their career would likely be affected by it.

Additionally, everyone's engineering levels were hidden except for some pivotal employees, like a director or VP, so there was no definitive hierarchy.

At Google, the emphasis was less on how well you collaborated and more on the technical work you did. People were very public about their level, meaning they might leverage their higher status to override decisions.

I preferred Meta over Google

My early years at Google were amazing. But when I consider influence, impact, and monetary gain, Meta was overall the best.

Despite this, I quit Meta in 2023 and accepted an offer for a role at a startup. I'm happy where I'm at now, but I truly believe both companies can be amazing places to work.

If you work in Big Tech and have a story you would like to share, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Phil Stafford moved to the Bay Area from Fresno, California, to work in cybersecurity.
• Stafford's wife lost her sales job as soon as the couple relocated.
• He says networking has helped him get contracts, but it's not enough; the system is broken.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Phil Stafford, a 45-year-old cybersecurity professional based in Oakland, California. It's been edited for length and clarity.

After I struggled for two years to find consistent tech work, my wife and I took a leap of faith and moved from Fresno, California, to the Bay Area — the tech hub of the country, located three hours northwest.

However, a week after moving, my wife got laid off from her job, and we went into full survival mode. I had never been more frightened for my ability to exist than at that moment.

We've spent the last six months scrambling to find work and having difficult conversations about our future. Here's how we're supporting each other during this time and staying afloat.

I've been applying for jobs for two years

For about a decade, I managed all technical needs for the janitorial business my wife and I owned. Then the company shut down.

After that, I started doing contract cybersecurity consulting work while working toward my bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and information assurance. I earned my degree from Western Governors University in 2022, but my freelance opportunities started to dry up in Fresno.

Since then, I've been able to find some contract roles, but the last two years have been spent unsuccessfully applying for full-time jobs.

Every rejection feels personal

In the early days, I used Indeed and LinkedIn to apply for jobs a lot, but I landed maybe two or three interviews in all the time I was on there.

I used to dedicate a lot of time to customizing each cover letter and résumé, and I'd catch myself getting my hopes up and fantasizing about what my life would be like with that job. I simply don't have the emotional bandwidth to do that anymore.

Every rejection feels like a social wound. It's hard not to tie it back to my self-worth as a person.

AI has been helpful, but networking has given me more success

AI has been a great tool for helping me write my cover letters while giving me back physical and emotional time. Since utilizing AI, I've started getting more rejections, as opposed to radio silence. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

The only real success I've found has been through networking and connecting on a human level. In Fresno, I found some contract jobs by directly reaching out to people via LinkedIn or email. People have been able to help me find opportunities or introduce me to someone else who can.

But ultimately, I felt like my job opportunities were limited there. We left our month-to-month rental in Fresno and have been staying in Airbnbs in the East Bay Area ever since.

My wife and I moved to the Bay Area six months ago

We're currently working on locking down a more permanent arrangement with an Airbnb host.

After my wife got laid off, not only did we now have no reliable income, but we had just uprooted ourselves from our entire support network at home. Moving was a leap of faith, and since then, we've been scrambling to make ends meet.

I've found a lot more work since moving, plus networking is so much easier, so I feel like it was absolutely the right choice to move. That being said, we're still not making nearly enough as we'd like, but we've decided there's no going back. There simply isn't enough opportunity in Fresno.

Here's how my wife and I have been supporting each other during this time

My wife and I have always had great, open communication, but the last six months have probably been the hardest on that particular mechanism. We've had lots of tough conversations about how we're going to pay our bills.

Even though things are financially chaotic, the most helpful thing we've been doing is staying interested in our hobbies, entertaining each other, and having deep, emotionally fulfilling conversations.

After a meeting with my engineering research group, I can come home to my wife and say, "Hey, these are all the cool things we're doing," and she doesn't have to understand; she just has to nod and say, "That's awesome."

She can also talk to me about the people she meets at church or nerd out with me about history. We are a unit, and that's not going to change.

We're trying to diversify our income streams

I'm still applying for jobs and hunting for more consulting work, and I won't give up.

My wife is applying for new jobs while also starting to build her own patient advocacy firm.

The biggest thing I've had to remind myself of is that I'm not alone. It sounds trite, but it reminds me that this is not a personal failure. This is just a broken system, and we're all suffering.

If you would like to share how you're managing long-term unemployment while searching for full-time work, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Sales director Dan Dougherty strategically targeted 70 startups to land a job within 60 days.
• He used different web and AI services to find the perfect companies and optimize his résumé.
• Dougherty said job seekers have to stay proactive; applying and hoping to get picked won't work.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Dougherty, a 46-year-old sales director from New York City. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I jumped into the job hunt immediately after losing my sales job at a startup and set a goal to land a new job in 60 days.

I applied to some jobs on LinkedIn to test the waters and received rejection after rejection, even on jobs I was fully qualified for. I realized I'd need to be more strategic and intentional if I wanted to stand out, so I decided to treat the job hunt like a sales cycle.

I treated it like a sequence of steps to follow to close a deal with a customer. Only this time, I was the product. I realized that being intentional and strategic is crucial to landing a job in this market.

I started by zeroing in on 70 companies

Per a friend's suggestion, I signed up for a Crunchbase subscription and spent about a week prospecting 200 to 250 companies in the startup or scale-up phases. I figured they were most in need of salespeople.

Then I narrowed my list to 70 companies that had a high run rate, a solid leadership team, and were in an industry I was excited about. I logged each company's information into an Excel spreadsheet.

I checked their website for any specific job openings, but I planned to reach out to all companies regardless. I gathered recruiter emails and used Hunter.io to find emails of CEOs and VP-level people to reach out to.

I spent a few hundred dollars to optimize my résumé

I'm not much of a grammar person, so I bought a $19 monthly subscription to use Kickresume's AI function to optimize my résumé's grammar and formatting and to store multiple résumés. I also hired a few people on Fiverr at $50 to $100 each to make me a résumé.

I compared the Fiverr résumés to Kickresume's suggestions and kept the commonalities. I found Kickresume to be more useful because I needed to customize each résumé.

Finally, I used ATS scanner sites to scan my résumés and flag any errors that would prevent it from passing through the first round.

I tailored my résumé for every job

If I were applying to an enterprise sales representative role, I'd edit my previous job descriptions to highlight my work as an enterprise rep and use the keywords and phrases that were listed in the job posting.

Even though my job experience isn't explicitly a ton of enterprise, I think it's important to tell a consistent story in my résumé to grab the recruiter's attention.

I used specific email tricks to stand out

I typically emailed the recruiter and CEO of each company I was interested in. I knew my emails could get passed around their organization, so I made sure to customize every message.

In an email to a CEO, I might personalize the message by saying that I noticed their company was raising money and working with XYZ VC groups, meaning they were likely in need of salespeople. Then I'd describe how I could specifically help.

I used ChatGPT to draft example emails. I asked AI what its response would be if it were a CEO receiving my email, and it typically gave me formatting suggestions or ways to reduce word count.

I was meticulous about following up

I typically sent my emails late at night because I figured the CEOs would either see them at night when their inbox wasn't being flooded or it would be at the top of their inbox in the morning. I'd also follow up each email with a LinkedIn message stating I shot them an email and was looking forward to catching up.

I was meticulous about following up. On weekends, I'd send emails with catchy subjects like "I know it's a Sunday morning…"

I used email trackers that notified me every time someone opened my email or forwarded it to someone else. I also knew recruiters would go to my LinkedIn after looking at my resumé, so when I'd get a notification that my profile was viewed, I'd reach out to them and say something like, "I noticed you checked out my LinkedIn profile. I'd love to connect more."

I ended up landing my new job in 57 days

My targeted approach helped me get interviews with recruiters and C-suite level people, and I interviewed with various companies before getting officially hired on day 57 as a head of sales.

The biggest takeaway from my job hunt is that applying and hoping to get picked won't work. You have to be proactive whether you want to or not. I sold myself using my sales skills, but I encourage people to leverage whatever skills they have to stand out.

If you took a unique approach to your job search and would like to share your story, email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Tobi Adekeye quit her six-figure tech job to rest and explore different interests.
• Adekeye said she plans to accomplish a different personal goal each quarter during her career break.
• She credits her decision to take a gap year during a tough job market to being a Gen Z worker.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tobi Adekeye, a 27-year-old content creator and project manager based in Toronto. It's been edited for length and clarity.

In mid-2024, I started playing around with the idea of quitting my job, but I hesitated.

I felt it would be shameful to already be taking a career break at 27 years old. At the same time, I realized the longer I waited to take a break, the harder it would be to do it without consequences.

So, I officially quit my six-figure tech job in December 2024.

I have moments of doubt about my decision, but my time away has made me realize how much time work steals from my life. It has also changed the way I'm approaching my career moving forward.

I had a great job, but I wanted to leave

I find project management intellectually stimulating and rewarding, but I started to question whether I wanted to continue on the same career path without exploring other possibilities.

I had just been promoted to project manager at a tech company and worked with amazing colleagues. My six-figure salary not only allowed me to live comfortably but also allowed me to buy my first investment property by the age of 26.

Here I was with all of my boxes ticked off, and I still felt myself asking, "What's next?"

I used my investment property savings to fund my career gap

I had been saving up to make a down payment on a second investment property, but I decided to pivot and use the money to fund my career break instead. It was a tough decision because I'd be potentially sacrificing investment gains and income, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

I didn't create a strict timeline for my career break, but I have a comfortable financial runway of about a year.

I'm following a loose plan for my gap year, but sometimes I feel I'm not doing enough

I decided Q1 of 2025 would be about resting and focusing on wellness, Q2 would be about exploring new career options, and Q3 would be about taking action on an idea. It's very vague right now because I honestly have no idea what's next for me.

When I first quit, I found myself trying to stay productive all the time and even planning my days in Google Calendar. But, I've been trying to remind myself that future me would regret not utilizing this time to rest. Still, I have moments where I feel like I'm not doing enough.

On days when I have too much downtime, I begin to worry if I made a huge mistake

Sometimes, I wonder if I made a mistake leaving my secure job, and I worry about how a career gap might look on my résumé. I also wonder if taking a break will make it harder to find a job in an already tough market.

On a more personal level, I worry that I'm slacking or falling behind my former timeline for how my life should look.

A few things that help silence those thoughts and are a priority for me are moving my body, leaning into my faith, spending time with loved ones, and pursuing creative hobbies like content creation.

I'm really trying not to limit myself

If I feel like watching a movie at 1 p.m. on a Monday, I go to the movies. But, surprisingly, I don't have as much free time as I thought I would.

Whether it's cooking, laundry, or grocery shopping, I feel like there's always some adult responsibility keeping me busy. It's crazy to think that I used to only have the weekends to do those tasks when I should've been spending that time resting and connecting with friends and family.

I've been very intentional about who I tell about my career break

I know that not everyone will understand my decision to take a career break, so I've been avoiding certain people. I don't need anyone else to seed fear in me, and I don't feel like explaining to them why I'm taking a break to explore different interests.

I feel like my generation, Gen Z, is breaking societal expectations and seeing that there's more to life than just work. I'm realizing that I can create my own path and work the way I want.

Up until this year, I believed I'd work until I made a certain amount of money and then retire. Now, I'm heading into Q2 of my career break — my exploration phase — and I'm looking forward to diving deep into new sectors that excite me.

If you made a decision that impacted the way you approach your career and would like to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Evan King worked for Meta for five years before quitting to start his own business.
• King said startup life was more difficult than expected and three lies slowed down his success.
• One of the lies is that good marketing is necessary for a new product to take off.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Evan King, 30, a startup cofounder in Los Angeles. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I got hired at Meta in 2017 as a software engineer on the integrity team. I loved my job and had no intentions of ever leaving, but I quit in 2022

When a product I made for fun with a Meta coworker unexpectedly gained traction, I left behind my six-figure compensation to go all in on our idea. It was a huge risk and a deeply humbling experience.

Startup life was much harder than I expected it to be. After we sold our first product in February 2023, we tossed around dozens of other ideas before finding new success. Launching my first startup was deeply humbling, but it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything because I've learned how to move on to better ideas sooner and so much more.

The stress of responsibility was so much higher than at Meta

When I left Meta, I realized I had only developed precision on a narrow subset of tasks and that my breadth of knowledge was basically nonexistent. Growing the startup was much harder than I expected, and I got pretty down on myself.

Every problem ultimately landed on my shoulders, and that weight took some getting used to. I remember bringing my laptop to a friend's birthday party, which is something I always did in case of emergency. I later found myself sprinting home on a Saturday to fix an issue when our primary database went down.

Our product became fairly well known in the Web3 space, but we weren't seeing the financial payoff, so we sold it in February 2023. It wasn't the life-changing exit that we were after, but it did give us cash to fund our future ideas.

After selling our first startup, we were completely directionless

We went back to the drawing board and started using a system for developing new startup ideas. We'd spend one day developing a new idea and decide if we had enough information and conviction to spend two days on it. Then it would grow from there.

We used this process through dozens of ideas, and most of them were quick nos. A few made it past a couple of months, and we even built some pretty impressive technology that we sold.

After several months of trial and error, we took a step back to reevaluate. We were innovating in spaces where we didn't have any expertise, like construction and trucking. We decided it was time to dive into something we know well — Big Tech interview prep.

Three misconceptions kept us from moving on to better ideas sooner

Our current startup is a hub for automated AI mock interviews and Big Tech interview preparation resources. We launched it technically in May 2023, and it's been growing since then.

After coming up with dozens of failed ideas, I realized there were three lies I kept telling myself that kept us from moving on to better ideas sooner: "We just need better marketing," "The product just needs more time to take off," and "A little success means we should keep developing."

I used to feel like we had good products, we just needed better marketing. But when you have a good product, even in its simplest form, people will want to use it. I've also learned the importance of counterbalancing my excitement about a product with realism about its success.

I miss parts of Meta, but wouldn't go back anytime soon

I used to come home from a day of working alongside friends and interacting with different people at Meta and just be able to sit on my couch and relax, feeling intellectually and socially stimulated. Now, I finish a day of work from home and I feel like I need to see a friend or do something else to feel satisfied.

I'd consider going back to Big Tech, but not anytime soon.

If you left Big Tech and would like to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• An entrepreneur named Liane Agbi struggled with balancing her relationship and business.
• She hired extra help, used automated systems, and made her husband an accountability partner.
• These changes revamped her work-life balance and boosted her profits to over $190,000.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Liane Agbi, a 34-year-old entrepreneur in Jersey City, New Jersey. Business Insider has verified the profits mentioned in this article, which has been edited for length and clarity.

When I launched my web design agency in April 2021, I had some business acumen, but I really didn't understand how timelines or boundaries worked.

My fiancé, now husband, and I were both going to be working from home, so I figured we'd spend so much more time together and have the freedom to do fun midday activities. That wasn't the case.

Most days, I'd log on to my computer around 8 a.m. and work until 6 or 7 p.m. After having dinner and maybe watching a show together, I'd be back on my laptop, falling asleep on the couch with it in my lap.

A difficult conversation with my husband made me realize I wasn't living the life I wanted, and I had to make drastic changes to the way I navigated my business. After implementing three changes, I worked less, my relationship was stronger, and in one year I increased my productivity and grew my profits to $192,000.

The reality of entrepreneurship was not how I imagined

As time passed, I found myself cutting meals with my husband shorter, keeping interactions to a "hi" and "bye," and rescheduling date nights in favor of work. I didn't know how to shut off my work brain.

Around the end of 2021, my husband and I had just gotten married, and he sat me down for a tough conversation. He asked me if the way I was operating, sacrificing everything for my business, was the vision I had for our marriage and my life.

That simple question opened my eyes to the fact that my current lifestyle was unsustainable.

Setting boundaries with my work schedule has made a huge difference

I started with a 7 or 8 p.m. cut-off time for work and moved it earlier as I got more comfortable disconnecting.

Nowadays, I don't respond to clients after 4 p.m., and if someone tries to reach me in the evening, they might receive an auto-response stating I'm out of the office and will get back to them the next day.

For the longest time, I was too nervous to use an automated email message because I thought it would signal to clients that I was unresponsive, but this change has brought me a huge sense of relief by helping me turn off my work brain and be present with my partner.

Hiring people to help with my business grew my revenue

In 2020, I hired a $4,000 business coach for a seven-week program to help me create workflow systems for my emerging business.

The most lasting lesson she taught me was the power of leveraging automation, such as email scheduling, to get back time. Hiring a business coach was completely worth it for me, and I still have access to meet with her monthly.

Two years later, I decided to hire a part-time junior developer for $1,000 a month. I used to take pride in doing everything myself, but outsourcing support has given me time back to focus on the big parts of my business, like brand development and marketing.

My junior developer handles some of the most time-consuming parts of my business.

I made my husband my work accountability partner

My husband has helped me maintain my work-life boundaries by becoming somewhat of an accountability partner.

In the beginning, I would shut off my computer, but I still found myself checking emails on my phone. Then he'd step in to give me a friendly reminder.

If we were watching a show and I was on my phone, he'd pause the show and wait for me to come back from whatever email I was reading. It was one of those silent signals to me like, "Liane, we're supposed to be spending time together, and instead, you're retreating to work."

I boosted my productivity and sales

Since limiting my working hours, I became significantly more productive. I'd tell myself: "You only have six hours to work today. How are you going to use them?"

Boosting my productivity and sales has given me the confidence to take on bigger clients. I know how to operate within a timeline, set boundaries, and lean on my support system to get through it which helps me manage big projects without overwhelm.

If I could go back and tell 2021 Liane anything, it would be that it's not just OK to have boundaries; it's required for a successful and sane entrepreneur.

If you're an entrepreneur who made a lifestyle change that greatly affected your business and would like to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Ben Gibson moved from Idaho to Washington, DC, to work with the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
• In five months, DOGE terminated his job along with thousands of other probationary federal workers.
• Gibson said he just received an email and was let go the same day with no clarity.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ben Gibson, a 46-year-old former government worker based in Idaho. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I served in the US Navy for 8 ½ years and later spent nearly five years working in the private sector as a technical communicator before I was laid off in August 2023.

About a year later, I found myself deciding between two competing job offers: a Washington, DC-based government job with the US Department of Veterans Affairs or a remote six-figure job in private equity.

I had some difficult conversations with my family, and I ultimately decided to take the federal job. Its mission felt closer to my heart, and I really wanted to settle into a lifelong career with guaranteed retirement.

On February 13, after I had just gotten home from the office, I received an email saying I had been terminated, highlighting my probationary status. I was shocked. It felt completely surreal, and it was an awful experience.

I moved to Washington, DC, and planned for my wife and son to join me

I moved to DC and started my job at the end of August 2024. My plan was to pay for two leases until my wife and son joined me at the end of the school year

I started my work right away with the Office of Enterprise Integration at the VA. Our overarching goal was to take executive branch mandates and run them through policy analysis to determine a projected timeline, cost, and resource need.

The other major thing we did was respond to congressional inquiries. For example, we helped set up community-based care for veterans who were not within commuting distance of a veteran's hospital. We primarily focused on program development, program management, data analysis, policy analysis, and governance.

I loved what I did, and my colleagues were some of the most intelligent, hardworking, wonderful people I've ever worked with.

I couldn't believe I got laid off

When the first emails about the deferred resignation package came out, part of me didn't feel like they were real. I convinced myself the VA would likely be safe from terminations, and if we were affected, I figured there'd be some sort of protective mechanism blocking that action. I feel a bit foolish like I should've known.

The truth is, I had never received a performance review. I just remember thinking the termination was insane, and a piece of me didn't believe it.

I texted the senior executive I worked directly under and told her I got fired. She thought I was joking. It wasn't only unbelievable to me but also to most of our senior leaders, who should've been involved in the decision-making process or at least aware of the changes being made.

I wasn't required to sign anything before or after my termination, I just received an email. The next day, I went into the office to turn in my equipment and badge, and I said a few quick goodbyes.

My colleagues and I are fighting back

Immediately after the termination — which came without severance or benefits — I joined a group chat with some coworkers in the same position as me, and we started sharing resources.

I filed a US Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeal, hoping the decision would be reversed or a federal judge would intervene. I truly believed I'd be back at work, but after two weeks of radio silence, I couldn't afford to keep waiting.

I packed up my belongings and drove across the country to my family in Idaho. Luckily, I was able to get out of my lease in DC. I've been home for less than a month and the main thing I'm trying to do is just process it all and figure out what happens next.

Part of me regrets not taking the deferred resignation package, but I had no idea my job was at stake. Still, I can sleep fine knowing I took the risk of staying at a job I loved.

I don't trust the government right now, but I'd love to return to work

It seems that the government's only function is to serve the best interests of our leaders, and if you're not making that happen, you're expendable.

On March 12, a judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate fired probationary employees, but I haven't received anything from the VA about it. It's very hard to say what I'd do if reinstated.

If the VA were to allow me to temporarily work remotely and somehow guarantee that my job would be safe from termination, then I'd love to return. But I don't foresee that being the case.

I feel safer working in the private sector

I'm currently looking at some state, local, and private-sector jobs.

When I got laid off from my private-sector job, they at least gave me severance pay, had HR present to answer questions, and helped me navigate my next steps. I'd take that over what happened with the government.

My experience is tough, but I'm not alone. Thousands of others have been fired, and the people remaining are left to pick up the pieces.

I think these terminations will eventually slow down the VA's ability to execute services and veterans will suffer. I'll never be happier to be wrong if I am.

If you're a current or former federal worker who would like to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Entrepreneur Taylor Posada launched a new Etsy shop in September 2024.
• Posada said selling more costly products allowed her to get a higher profit margin.
• She slowly added other products and variations based on sales and ad data.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Taylor Posada, a 28-year-old from Baltimore who runs multiple Etsy shops and a print-on-demand training business. Posada declined to share the name of her shop for privacy reasons. Business Insider has verified the revenue and profits mentioned in this article, which has been edited for length and clarity.

I started my first print-on-demand Etsy shop in 2022 to supplement the $50,000 salary from my corporate job in franchise business development. In about a year, I grew my shop to replace my corporate income and went full-time with it in January of 2024.

Later that year, I decided to take what I learned to start a second POD Etsy shop. Within four months, I made $175,194 in revenue and around $48,000 in profits — and my success has only continued.

It didn't come from being extreme; my success came from being consistent, forward-thinking, and data-driven.

I sold higher-priced items in my second Etsy shop

For my first Etsy shop, I sold low-ticket items like tote bags and apparel for events, largely seasonal and holiday. For my second shop, I wanted to take on the challenge of more costly products that called for a higher profit margin.

I'm at that age where all my friends are having weddings, bridal showers, and baby showers, and the most common thing I notice at all of those events is giant signs welcoming guests. So, I figured it would be the perfect thing to sell.

Once I settled on signs, I conducted pricing research by looking up my competitors on Etsy and noted their materials, dimensions, and prices. Then, I found a middle-ground price point that I felt would make me competitive in the market while still aiming for about a 30% profit margin after product, shipping, and Etsy fees.

After that, I jumped right in.

Etsy ads have been a powerful tool

Shortly after opening my shop and listing products, I started running Etsy ads. They're nontraditional because they work on a pay-per-click basis, meaning you pay based on how many people click on your ad and a series of factors like competition, demand, and Etsy's internal bidding system.

I love them because I don't have to throw out money with the possibility that nobody will see my listing. Plus, I use ads as a crucial form of research.

If an ad isn't getting any clicks, that tells me I'm not getting the products in front of the right people and should consider changing my SEO keywords. If an ad is getting views but nobody's clicking on it, that indicates that the cover design isn't resonating with viewers.

Finally, if people click on the listing but don't buy, that means I need to reconsider my pricing.

Starting slowly with only one product was a good move for me

It's easy to get shiny object syndrome and want to test a bunch of different products, but I like to treat my shop like a science experiment. The fewer changing variables I have, the more valuable information I can gather and use to see growth.

However, I have slowly added other products and variations as I saw fit.

For example, if a wedding sign was getting the most views, I'd create more wedding-related products like seating chart signs and drink koozies. Or, if a specific product was getting a lot of clicks, I might make more variations of that design. Sometimes it's just a matter of adding more color options.

I made over $29,000 in one month

I started posting listings in September 2024 and made my first sale in the first week of October. By November, my sales had skyrocketed to just over $29,000 in profit.

The holiday season is typically when people are buying the most things, so my sales tapered off after Black Friday. In December, I made $19,000 in profit.

I attribute my boom in sales to thinking ahead about what might be selling in eight to 12 weeks. I know that it takes time for listings to rank and find their place in search results, so I start listing for holidays and events early.

I think my listing images are one of my strong suits

Because shoppers aren't getting an in-person experience where they can touch and see the product, I try to match that feeling through images.

I always think of my listing images like a Chipotle commercial, where you see a perfect golden brown burrito that's been blazed with a torch. That's kind of what I try to recreate with my listing images.

I use Adobe Photoshop to make custom mockups of the products, and all of my listings have a few main details: product size information, color options, features, and customer reviews.

Consistency is my key to success

My biggest challenge has been staying consistent, especially when I'm tired or just not in the mood to work. That's when I have to rely on discipline.

I start every morning by responding to customer messages and submitting orders from the previous day. Then I spend one to two hours posting new listings. After that, I find that I kind of lose my creativity.

I'm really just going for it, taking chances, and learning along the way. As long as there's demand and profitability, I say take action and let it be messy.

If you launched a successful new business and want to share your story, please contact this editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

Update March 14, 2025: This article was updated to acknowledge that Taylor Posada also runs a print-on-demand training business.

• Emily Pitcher got a job at Meta straight out of college but was laid off in 2023.
• Despite exceeding expectations and receiving other accolades, she couldn't find a regular job.
• She took her unemployment as an opportunity to develop a game and launch her business.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Pitcher, a 25-year-old content creator and game developer from Los Angeles. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I was valedictorian of my high school and graduated from college with honors. I've always valued excellence, so it was such a treat when, just out of college in 2021, I landed a contract job at Meta that turned into a full-time, six-figure job as a content designer around the start of 2022.

I worked on every major surface of Instagram, including profiles, explore, search, and home. I got to work on features that were used by so many people.

My first annual performance rating was "exceeds expectations" on all markers, and I was given a raise. I thought I was doing really well at the company. Then two months later, in April of 2023, I was laid off.

For the first time, I realized that hard work doesn't always reap rewards. Finding full-time work felt impossible, but struggling to find a job pushed me to give my passion project a shot.

I planned to work in Big Tech for a while, but layoffs happened across the entire industry

I was laid off via a generic email as part of a series of mass layoffs. The message cited that Meta had changing business needs, and my role was no longer needed. I was devastated.

My true passion has always been indie video games, but I planned to stick around in Big Tech for several years before starting my own studio. I thought I had done really well at a big company like Meta. When I got laid off, it messed with my worldview.

I started applying to more tech jobs, and after four months of unemployment, I landed a contract role at Yahoo as a content designer, which kept me afloat. That job ended a few months later, and I was back to being unemployed.

There were so many Big Tech layoffs happening at the time.

I was on Forbes 30 under 30 and still couldn't find a job

I had been making some money from content creation promoting my indie game, Gold Lining, which I'd been developing with some friends since college.

In the midst of my unemployment, I was included in Forbes 30 under 30 for my work on the game.

It felt like such a jarring discrepancy. On one hand, I received this esteemed achievement and was being told I was a part of the next generation of changers in the game industry. On the other hand, I was crying alone in my bedroom because I couldn't even land a regular job. It felt very dystopian.

I thought maybe being on Forbes 30 under 30 would help me get a job, but it didn't. Nobody cared.

I started a hobby project to help me cope with my failures

Around this time, I started hating the game I was developing with my friends. We were receiving rejection after rejection from investors, and I found myself trying to appease them at the expense of my own better judgment. I wanted to get back to making games I loved.

I decided to start a hobby project as a way to cope with the anxiety of my two colossal failures — unemployment and a failing game. My honest hope was just to reignite my spark for game development.

I stepped away from Gold Lining in July 2024, and that same month, I came up with the idea to develop Lily's World XD, a psychological horror game where players investigate a young girl's computer.

I made a little Instagram video promoting its development, which got over 2 million views. Now, I fully finance myself through content creation about my journey building Lily's World XD.

Working for myself has been challenging, but I'm taking this time to give my dreams a shot

I feel so lucky that I'm able to pursue my passion at such a young age, but I still have anxiety every day that it's all going to stop working out because content creation is so futile.

I'm still learning how to manage the anxiety and overwhelm of being my own boss. When I was working at Meta, I'd turn my work brain off after work. Now, I lay in bed at night, still thinking about a bug in my game or stressing about a video that isn't performing well.

It can be tough, but leaning on my network of fellow game developers and content creators for support has been extremely helpful. I'm taking this as my chance to give my dreams a shot, and I won't hold back.

If you were laid off from your dream job and would like to tell your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• A former Meta employee was hired in 2022 and had positive reviews for two years.
• They were shocked when they received a "low performer" rating and were laid off on February 10.
• The former employee said they were worried the label could hurt their job search and felt betrayed.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a former Meta employee who worked at the company for 2 ½ years. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about future employment. Business Insider has verified their identity, employment, and performance reviews at Meta. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was hired by Meta in late 2022. During my time there, I received performance evaluations every six months, in which my ratings were always "at or above expectation" or "consistently met expectation." Of course, I received small tweaks and feedback that are normal in any review, but I never received any signal that I was a low performer or that I was trending downwards.

When Zuckerberg announced Meta would be laying off the lowest 5% of performers, I felt a general sense of anxiety, but I looked at the criteria they were going to apply and thought: "This doesn't apply to me. I've gotten really good ratings up to this point." I didn't consider I'd be in that bucket.

I woke up to a layoff email at 5 a.m., and by 8 a.m. I'd lost all access to chats

They sent an email at 5 a.m. PST, and by 8 a.m. we'd been locked out of our chats. I didn't get to say goodbye to my colleagues. The morning of my layoff, I felt despondent. I'd worked really, really hard to get this job, had worked long hours, and had put a lot of effort into supporting my team. I just felt this deep sense of defeat.

And then I got angry. I was livid, like transcendentally livid. I can't even really put into words how it felt. I'd lost so much — my confidence, my reputation, a substantial amount of unvested stock. I just remember being in bed, screaming into a pillow.

I felt betrayed by the company I'd worked for, and they destroyed my confidence in the process.

I have no idea how they decided I was a low performer

I haven't received any documentation explaining how they got my "low performer" rating, so I don't have any official idea of why this occurred. I didn't get a signal from my manager. I just received the rating and the termination letter stating I was being let go.

I'm so scared about how this "low performer" label will affect my ability to find a new job.

Right now, the zeitgeist is sympathetic to those of us who've been laid off, but I know it's going to impact future employment. It's already a tough job market, so I'm scared. I'm really, really scared.

Because Meta clearly labeled people affected as low performers, any hiring manager who looks at my end date will know. We are uniquely disadvantaged because this announcement was leaked and widely publicized.

For the first week after my layoff, I couldn't even fathom the idea of updating my résumé or looking for jobs. I felt so hopeless that I could hardly even motivate myself to get out of bed. I already struggled with imposter syndrome, and this felt like Meta threw salt in the wound. I'm going to have to rebuild my self-confidence, and that's going to take time.

I think this is going to be a moment to take a step back, recenter myself, and think about what I truly want for myself and my career. Right now, I know I value some sense of stability. I know no job is stable, but I really want my next role to be somewhere where I feel like leadership at least doesn't seem to have an openly hostile position toward its employees.

My opinion on Mark Zuckerberg has completely changed

I used to defend Mark Zuckerberg to people. I thought he was personable in company meetings and really funny. Now, I feel like that was just a facade.

Between the layoff, removing DEI initiatives, and changes around content moderation, Mark Zuckerberg seems to be testing how many decisions he can make without retribution. Because Meta is such a big player in the tech industry, I'm concerned the company is creating an environment where other employers will follow suit.

Tech used to be a place where companies took care of their employees and where we were supported, but now it feels like we're all in a meat grinder. It's really sad to see.

Meta could already be backfilling these roles

Meta laid off thousands of employees and said they were going to start filling many of those roles with new people.

I joined at a time when Meta's stock was lower, and like many of my coworkers, a portion of my compensation is tied to the value of the company's stock. I have questioned whether the low-performance label was a way to let expensive employees go.

I'm worried about speaking out for fear of retribution. I hope people are empathetic toward those impacted by layoffs six months or a year down the road.

Nobody knows how long we'll be looking for a new job. I've heard horror stories of people applying to hundreds of jobs for over a year. I don't think that's going to be my position, but it indicates how hard the market is right now.

I had a call with my dad the other day and told him I just don't know what to hope for right now. The rug was pulled out from under me. I don't know how to move forward from that.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

• Stephanie Moore experienced layoffs in 2021 and 2022.
• She's applied to over 200 jobs since her last layoff and hasn't landed any full-time work.
• Moore continues to network, apply for jobs, and give her best shot to stay positive.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stephanie Moore, a 28-year-old marketing professional from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I got laid off in June of 2021 when the startup I was working at could no longer fund my marketing position. I spent the next six months taking on contract marketing jobs before securing another full-time role in December 2021.

Then, I got laid off again — but this time, I never found another full-time job.

Since then, my life has been an emotional roller coaster. I've applied to over 200 jobs, been on unemployment and food stamps, and in October 2024, I had to move back in with my parents. The job market has felt different, but I'm staying resilient and taking it day by day.

The current job searching process can feel mentally exhausting

After my first layoff, It only took about six months to find and start my next job. The job market felt light and the hiring process at my next place of employment only took about a month and a half.

Since my second layoff in September of 2022. I've gone through multiple monthslong hiring processes with up to six rounds of interviews, an assignment, and a reference check, just for them to go with another candidate.

For example, I applied for a marketing job in Atlanta, and I completed a phone screening, a long-form interview, and an assignment to create and present a strategy outline.

After spending hours creating a 40-slide deck, I drove two and a half hours to meet the team in person at their Atlanta office. I really thought it went well, but I got ghosted. I only received a formal rejection when I followed up via email a week later.

Even my contract opportunities are dwindling

In early 2024, I typically had between 100 and 140 hours of contract marketing work monthly from two companies. In a matter of months, my contract for one company ended, and the other dropped from between 50 and 60 hours a month to just six in January.

My supervisor told me some clients were leaving, and there wasn't much work to give. I'm still applying to contract jobs while looking for full-time work but both have been scarce.

I had to move back in with my parents

I had lived alone in an apartment in Alabama since October 2022 and got on food stamps and unemployment shortly thereafter. I did everything I could to hold onto my apartment, but when I received a notice on my door in June 2024 that the rent was going up, I had to make a hard decision to move home with my parents, who also live in Alabama.

Moving home was a rough transition for me because I felt like a failure — like I let myself down. There are still days when those feelings of self-doubt pop up, but I'm trying to give myself as much grace as possible and remind myself that I'm doing my best by networking, applying to jobs, and giving it my best shot.

Alabama isn't where I want to stay, but it's hard to imagine starting a new chapter with looming financial insecurity, debt, and no full-time job in sight.

Some days are dark, but I'm still trying

There are definitely some days when I feel sad, numb, and apathetic, but there are other days when I find the momentum to network, apply for jobs, and do it all. The biggest thing that has helped me is learning to be still and not feel like I always have to be productive.

The internalized pressure to do more all the time honestly overwhelms me and burns me out. I have to remind myself that so much of the job search process is out of my control.

I'm taking it day by day and being patient with myself in moments I just want to give up.

If you're experiencing long-term unemployment and would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Debra D'Agostino, a DC lawyer, has represented federal employees for over 20 years.
• She said federal workers should comply with RTO mandates, DEIA rollbacks, and hiring freezes.
• She also shared three ways for federal workers to challenge the executive orders while on the job.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Debra D'Agostino, a 48-year-old attorney from Washington DC who represents federal employees. It's been edited for length and clarity.

As a founding partner of the Federal Practice Group in Washington DC, I've represented federal employees for over 20 years.

Since President Donald Trump's first batch of executive orders, I've observed an incredible sense of fear among government employees about whether they'll be reclassified or have their rights stripped away. Regardless, I hope all federal employees use their resources and see quitting as a last resort.

Here's what every federal government worker should know as more executive orders are rolled out and what I predict may happen next.

RTO mandates will include most federal employees, but there are exemptions

The United States Office of Personal Management (OPM) issued guidance that targets both remote and teleworkers in the return-to-office mandates.

Remote workers are people who live outside of the commuting area, and teleworkers are folks who are based in the commuting area but still work from home.

Those exempted from the return-to-office mandates are people with reasonable accommodations or people with a qualifying disability. Those with a qualifying disability are presumably disabled people who had been working from home but never needed to formalize it into reasonable accommodation until now.

There's also an exemption for those with a "compelling reason." We don't know exactly what that covers yet, but agencies will certainly have some discretion over what that means. The most recent guidance referenced an exemption for military spouses.

Federal DEIA workers might be assigned to new roles with some similar tasks

Employees working in DEIA groups were placed on paid administrative leave. Also, "reduction in force" notices, which are essentially 60-day layoff notices, were issued to some folks.

The reduction in force process is governed by very complex regulations, so we'll have to see how much the Trump administration cares to abide by those regulations.

So far, they haven't been terribly concerned with complying. What's murky is that some of the DEIA employees are reasonable accommodation coordinators, a function that still needs to be performed. I predict some folks will be reassigned to different roles but still tasked with performing that function.

The hiring freeze is messier than it should be and might last for a while

The OPM guidance says that any federal government job offer signed after January 20 at noon is invalid, and those positions will remain vacant.

I've heard from folks who say they thought they secured a federal agency job months ago but still got their offers rescinded. This may be because, a lot of times, the government issues tentative job offers months before making firm offers.

I always advise people not to give notice to their current employer until they have signed the firm final offer. I predict the hiring freeze may continue for a while.

It's best to comply now and complain later

Unless ordered to do something unsafe, my golden rule for federal employees is "comply now, complain later." Even if you think you're being ordered to do something that violates agency policy or goes against your belief system, there may be consequences for failing to comply.

For example, if you refuse a reassignment, the government may just fire you. If you're fired, it's incredibly difficult to get rehired or file a complaint. You'll be fighting an uphill battle.

Being employed by the government is what gives you leverage to challenge an order you don't agree with.

I'd recommend that the same employee take the reassignment and then file a grievance, Equal Opportunity complaint, or Merit Systems Protection Board appeal, depending on the situation. There are several avenues to complain through, and because those resources were set up by federal law, they're not going anywhere.

If you're a federal employee whose job has been impacted by the Trump administration's executive orders and would like to share your story, please email [email protected].

• Brie Franklin leads a nonprofit that receives 90% of its income from federal grants.
• Earlier this month, a judge blocked The White House's order to freeze all federal funding.
• Franklin is taking steps to make sure she isn't bearing the weight of what is going on alone.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brie Franklin, a nonprofit executive director based in Denver. It's been edited for length and clarity.

The nonprofit space is experiencing a level of trauma similar to the pandemic — which I don't think we ever fully recovered from.

I'm the executive director at the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Since the White House sent out the federal funding freeze memo, my nonprofit is uncertain about our organization's future.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze, but we still don't know what's next, and it's incredibly stressful for staff.

As a small nonprofit, we're highly reliant on federal funding

My nonprofit supports survivors of sexual violence through a crisis hotline. Our members work with survivors through anything from rape crisis centers to government-based advocate programs. We also provide training, resources, and support, and we do policy work at the state level. Federal grants make up over 90% of our income.

We're funded on a reimbursement basis, meaning we request money from the feds after it's been spent. Since the temporary funding freeze, we've been able to get reimbursed, but the future of our funding is uncertain.

On February 6, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in the US Department of Justice withdrew all notices of funding opportunities and instructed organizations not to complete current applications. This is especially devastating for us. We don't know if and when they'll repost notices.

We don't know how to plan for the future

We should be able to trust our government to honor its commitments, but right now, we're still waiting to see what happens with most of our funding.

We put our annual conference on hold. We'd typically be confirming presenters and workshop topics now, including workshops on how to work with specific populations, such as survivors who are deaf or hard of hearing. With new DEI restrictions, we don't know if we're even allowed to do that.

We also don't know if our members and partners will be able to use their grant funds to attend the conference.

We're on the hook with a hotel contract, and if we cancel, it'll cost us about $22,500.

I'm worried what this means for our staff and the survivors we support

It's very difficult to support a survivor who's in a crisis or navigating very complex systems when you yourself are in a crisis and worried about your job.

On February 11, we received communication from the CDC that it rescinded its memos to cease DEI activities on all CDC-funded awards and cease all activities promoting gender ideology. If we continue to receive similar communication, we'll resume all activities as normal and hope to continue to be reimbursed for our current grant agreements.

As a leader, I'm making sure I'm not bearing the weight of what is going on alone by keeping staff informed, asking for their input, and having conversations with other leaders for support and ideas. Being in a community with our organization, members, and partners is helping me cope.

If your business or organization relies on federal funding and you would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Kelly Campbell worked in the Canadian government for 16 years before burning out and quitting.
• She maintained an unsustainable pace at work until a friend's death influenced her to take a leave.
• Campbell wishes she would've used her transferable skills to quit her government job sooner.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kelly Campbell, a 42-year-old former Canadian government worker based in Ottawa, Ontario. It's been edited for length and clarity.

In 2007, I lost my best friend when we were in a car accident. I went back to work a week later and, shortly thereafter, began my 16-year career in the Canadian government. I never truly grieved her death, I just buried it under a pile of work.

Over the years, I established my status as a high-achiever and let praise from colleagues fuel a vicious cycle of overworking and perfectionism, leaving me with nothing left to give to my family.

For a decade, I knew I should've left public service, but it was a hard decision.

My government job gave me purpose

I started my career in government as a senior analyst in 2008. Over the years, I rose through the ranks before being promoted to the executive level in 2021.

My job gave me a lot of purpose, and I loved that I could interface with the outside population and see how my work was actually impacting people's lives. I worked a typical 9-to-5 in-office schedule, but for at least three days a week, I'd come home and keep working into the night.

As the years went by, my workload increased, as did the sense of urgency for tasks to be completed.

My family got a completely different version of me than my coworkers

I started working from home during the pandemic, and it became impossible to ignore how different a person I'd become when I'd close the door to my home office to be with my family.

To my coworkers, I was the perfect boss and the best colleague, but to my family, I was snappy and impatient, with no more energy to give. I felt immense guilt and disappointment in myself.

Work was the only place I didn't feel like a failure which only reinforced my pattern of overworking and perfectionism.

My accident was a wake-up call that things needed to change

In June of 2022, I had a panic attack and fell off an 8-foot ladder while trying to hang a swing in my front yard. I ended up in the hospital with, luckily, only minor injuries, but I still felt too shameful to admit I needed off work. It was a clear sign things needed to change.

A few months later, I planned a month leave from work to care for my husband after his scheduled open heart surgery, but really it was my excuse to take time off. When his surgery was delayed several months, I couldn't use it as an excuse anymore. I told my manager I'd be taking an indefinite mental health leave for myself.

To my surprise, she told me she was relieved because I'd been maintaining an unsustainable pace for so long.

When I finally took my leave, my body collapsed, and it was hard to return to work

I'd wake up to get my kids off to school and go back to sleep for five more hours. This lasted every day for probably the next month and a half.

At the start of month three, my husband went in for surgery, so I was caring for him, but I still napped every day until month five. I spent my time attending therapy, reading self-help books, and simply getting introspective about my life. I think I went through three journals.

Most importantly, I finally grieved the loss of my best friend. I had grieved her little by little, but I really profoundly grieved her loss and found peace in it.

After six months, I gradually returned to work, but I realized it wouldn't be easy to return to the exact environment that burned me out.

The death of another friend made me realize it was time to resign

I tried to incorporate new boundaries, like keeping work contained to a 9-to-5 window, but I couldn't do it. I had six hours of meetings, which didn't leave me enough time to do my actual job and other important work. I felt myself barreling toward another burnout.

In February of 2024, I was on vacation when I got the news that a friend of mine had died from cancer. My friend's death reminded me life is too short to be spending the next 15 years counting down to retirement.

The cost of staying at my job was higher than the price of leaving

When I returned from vacation, I told my manager I was going on leave. Nine months later, I resigned. My new job has given me more time to be present with my kids.

After spending a few months recovering from work, I transitioned to part-time leadership and grief coaching, which I'm really enjoying. I wish I had realized sooner how many transferable skills come with being a public servant.

I'm in a privileged position because my husband is a public servant who will receive benefits and retirement if he stays.

I was so fortunate to have a secure job, but I couldn't keep spending my life languishing and wondering what might happen if I took a chance on myself.

If you've quit your job due to burnout and would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Kate Manser worked at Google for five years in program management.
• During that time, a friend, a relative, and two colleagues died at a young age.
• The loss led her to quit her job and find a technique that has helped her improve her self-worth.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kate Manser, a 39-year-old former Google employee based in Marfa, Texas. It's been edited for length and clarity.

For five years, my self-worth was wrapped up in my cushy, six-figure job at Google. I'd be at parties just waiting for someone to ask what I did for a living so I could make my stupid little joke: "Oh, I work at this tiny startup you've probably never heard of. It's called Google."

Then, in 2014, I tragically lost three young people in my life within six months. It sent me into a yearlong depression full of death anxiety. I was terrified to leave my house, except for going to work.

A year later, a Google colleague tragically died. That day changed everything for me.

I got hired at Google in 2011

While in college, I was lucky enough to land a paid internship in marketing at the parent company of Carl's Jr and Hardee's. The marketing team hired me right out of college, and I spent three years there before Google hired me in its marketing and sales department.

I spent the next five and a half years working my way up as a program manager, securing a six-figure salary, and living a great life in Austin. I was completely caught up in the prestige of my job and envisioned myself staying with Google for a long time.

I experienced four tragic losses in under two years. It changed everything.

In 2014, my 27-year-old boss died in a freak accident. Within six months of their death, a college friend of mine died unexpectedly then a young family member died from cancer.

I was 27 and had never thought much about mortality. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the notion that I could die at any moment, and I became afraid to do much of anything.

About a year later, while still feeling plagued by death anxiety, I watched my Google colleague, Dan Friedenberg, who was the head of privacy at Google X, document his journey training to climb Mt. Everest on social media. He appeared to live this vibrant life, full of joy, always playing pranks on his friends.

Unfortunately, he was at the climber's base camp when the Nepal earthquake struck, and he died in an avalanche.

I sensed Dan knew there was a chance he might not come down that mountain, but he had to climb it to truly live. I looked back at my life and thought, "I only have a certain amount of time and energy, and I want to put it into living."

I took a trip and made a plan for how I'd change my life

The first thing I did after Dan's death was take a week off work and visit some friends on their sailboat in French Polynesia. They'd been asking me to visit for years, but I always turned them down, saying I was too busy with work.

While I was there, I looked at their unconventional lives on the boat and realized, for the first time as an adult, that I could do whatever I wanted with my life. I came up with the idea to quit Google and travel worldwide.

I planned to work and save for the rest of the year and quit the following January, but in September 2015, my team underwent a reorganization. I was given the option of relocating, finding another job at Google, or taking a severance package.

It felt like a sign from the universe, so I took the severance.

I quit Google to travel the world for two years. It didn't solve my depression.

There were so many times I asked myself if I was making a terrible decision. I had an amazing job that paid good money and was, frankly, not that hard. The fact that I told so many people at Google I was quitting to travel is actually what kept me from chickening out.

In January 2016, I put together my savings and severance and set off on a two-year soul-searching trip. I scrapped my plan of pre-booking all my flights and decided to travel freely. I went to places like Australia, Bali, Brazil, and all over Asia. It was amazing.

Then, when I returned home, I fell into a depression and knew I couldn't keep chasing the next high.

It was easy to feel alive when I was standing on top of a mountain or walking through the streets of Delhi, but I hadn't yet figured out how to feel alive when doing dishes at my kitchen sink on an average Tuesday.

Daily visualizations helped me redefine my self-worth

I dedicated myself to working on gratitude and presence and rewiring my self-worth to come from within.

One of the most impactful things I did was a daily visualization in which I imagined none of my material dreams came true. I lived in a simple home and brought soup to my neighbor when she was sick. It took a year of doing that visualization to get to a point where I could love myself in that reality.

In 2018, I needed more money to pay my bills, so I returned to the corporate space and landed a job as a global marketing manager at Indeed. This time around, I didn't get caught up in the prestige or my achievements.

I realized how hollow it was to derive my self-worth from my career. I continued working in corporate for the next few years while scaling my brand called You Might Die Tomorrow, a movement about living for today.

I quit corporate, became an entrepreneur, and started living out of a van

In 2022, I decided to go all in on entrepreneurship. I quit my job and bought an old 1992 RV to live out of. The RV was partially for the adventure and partially to live cheaply as I built my business.

Entrepreneurship has been deeply humbling. I've had many successes, but I've also had events no one has shown up for and products no one has bought. I'm slowly becoming more resilient, but I'm on a lifelong journey of decoupling self-worth from achievement.

Whenever I need a reminder of how to find meaning in my life and work, I look back to Dan Friedenberg. He uplifted others, had fun in everything he did, and truly spent his life like he might die tomorrow.

If you quit your six-figure job for an unconventional career path and would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Ritesh Verma earns almost $15,000 monthly from side hustles alongside his Capital One job.
• Verma's side hustles include AI agents, YouTube, mentorship, and software services.
• He uses automation to work on multiple projects at once and earn more money.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ritesh Verma, a 23-year-old software engineer in Jersey City. It's been edited for length and clarity.

After graduating from college in 2023, I was hired as a software engineer at Capital One with a $136,000 base salary, but it's not my largest source of income.

I've been building side hustles for years, and they now earn me almost $15,000 a month.

When I got hired at Capital One, I was worried about a full-time job disrupting my side hustles, but I've created a system that makes it manageable. Here's how I stay on top of my work and why I won't take my side hustles full-time — yet.

AI agents are my main side hustle

In late 2019, a friend of mine asked me to code a purchasing bot to help him buy and resell sneakers. I had no idea what bots, or AI agents, were, but I agreed and spent over six months teaching myself how to make software programs that perform tasks.

In 2022, I decided to post a YouTube tutorial on how to create a simple bot, and it got 200,000 views. A man saw my video and asked me to make him a purchasing agent for high-end golf clubs. I accepted the offer and made $600 every time I got him a golf club. Suddenly I was earning $1,800 a month.

Word spread, and I started getting more clients in the golf club collection space and other niche communities. I built purchasing bots for anything from hats to wine bottles to baby clothes.

I didn't want to be known as just the bot guy, so I started building services and tools as well. I built a scheduling bot that helps shift-based workers, such as servers, in the Nevada area snag competitive shifts.

I started using Reddit to find clientele

Early last year, I watched a YouTube video where the creator described how he used Reddit to grow his startup. I decided to give it a try.

I made a Reddit post saying, "I suck at getting these shifts, and I need help. Does anyone else relate?" Then I DMed the roughly 20 commenters who sympathized and pitched them my tool. I got eight of my clients from Reddit and now make about $9,000 monthly from it.

I also trained AI assistants to make Reddit posts for me, advertising my services and sending potential clients my phone number.

Reddit takes my posts down because they're promotional, but within 30 minutes of them being up, I'll usually have several people in my DMs. I've been kicked off Reddit and had to make multiple accounts, but it's all part of the process, and I think it's worth it.

I also have less lucrative side hustles

1. YouTube: I use my YouTube channel to gain clientele and as a side hustle. I get ad revenue from videos, and in one month, I made $1,400 from three sponsors.
2. Mentorship program: I also started a six-week mentorship program where I teach others how to code bots. For $3,000 in any given month, usually, two to three students get bi-weekly meetings to discuss assigned projects and learn concepts.

3. SaaS products: In 2024, I launched two SaaS products, which are basically just more conventional software engineering services. One is Instagram outreach software, which earns me $900 a month. My other SaaS product, which allows people to put Instagram reels on their website, has yet to turn a profit.

How I manage my side hustle and 9-to-5

My secret to success is working on several projects at once. I can stay on top of so many because it's highly automated.

I might spend 20 hours building a new AI agent or project, but after that, my weekly commitment might only be two hours. I also might spend a few additional hours getting clients or troubleshooting, but the hard work is done.

My Capital One job is a hybrid 9-to-5 with two days in the office each week. After work, I eat and have a four-hour deep work session where I focus on my side hustles. I also work a few hours each day of the weekend.

It's a lot of work, but I find it fun. I also make sure to have time for myself. A few friends and I travel every three months. In 2024, I spent a total of a month overseas in places like Brazil, Japan, and Italy, doing no work. Those trips are a good sanity check and keep me looking forward to something.

I won't leave my full-time job until I meet a specific metric

A mentee asked me why I don't leave my full-time job, and I told him I don't feel like it's taking up space.

I've probably tried 15 projects recently, and most fail. I give every project a month or two of serious dedication before deciding if it's worth continuing. Sometimes, the project is just too hard, and growing it is a pain.

Other times, I just lose the spark of the idea. In those cases, I'll put it on a major backburner or ask a mentee if they'd like to take responsibility for equity in the product.

Plus, I'm following a rule that I won't leave my full-time job until I make three times my Capital One base salary from my side businesses. Once I achieve that, I'll drop it. That's the goal.

If you make six figures from a side hustle and would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Jennifer Gittelman faces prolonged unemployment after a mass layoff in healthcare administration.
• Despite extensive job applications, Gittelman struggles with lack of responses and feedback.
• Gittelman has one regret which she believes may be impacting her ability to get a job

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jennifer Gittelman, 44, from Philadelphia. It's been edited for length and clarity.

After a 20-year career in healthcare administration, I was part of a mass layoff in April. It sucked, but I remember thinking it would be OK. I figured if I started applying to jobs on July 1, there was no way I'd still be unemployed by the time my unemployment benefits ran out in October. I was wrong.

Here we are in December, and I've hardly done anything since July but apply for jobs all day, every day. As the weeks go by, it's been getting scarier and scarier.

My unemployment benefits ran out, and I'm pinching pennies to hold onto my savings. If I didn't have my 78-year-old mom to take care of, I think I'd just give up. But I can't and won't.

I've been in healthcare administration for pretty much my entire career

I worked at a Medicare DME supply company for 15 years before resigning in 2019 to relocate from Florida to Philadelphia. I take care of my mom, and I wanted to move her closer to our extended family.

I quickly landed a new role in medical staffing as a traveler support specialist. Six months later, the pandemic hit, and by November 2021, my entire branch was dissolved, and I was laid off. After an intense two months of job hunting, which I thought was forever at the time, I landed a job at a medical staffing company as a compliance and credentialing specialist.

I worked steadily there until April, when I was part of a mass layoff. Luckily, I was given a severance package and unemployment benefits through October, which helped cushion the blow.

I decided to rest for the next two months before applying for jobs in July. I haven't received any offers, and it's been a scary, disheartening time.

I've applied to countless jobs

Nearly all of my time, other than cleaning, grocery shopping, and volunteering for a nonprofit, is spent applying for jobs. I've searched through what feels like every job board possible: Indeed, GlassDoor, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and more obscure ones like PowerMyCareer, Monster, and PSG.

I've tried all the free job search memberships and even some paid ones. I've applied to more jobs than I can count and nothing has seemed to work.

It's frustrating because I feel like my résumé is pretty decent. In 20 years, I've only had three jobs, all in the same industry, and I have references from each place. I even have a letter of recommendation from a director at my last job.

I feel like employers have been unprofessional

For most applications, I'm not even getting a response from a human, let alone an opportunity for an interview. Typically, it's just an automated response saying the company is moving forward with someone else. There's no feedback, just rejection. It's insane.

I've had some interviews and a few that I thought went really well — we spoke for an hour, the employer asked lots of questions, we discussed pay, and they even told me I was moving on to the next round.

Then, I'd write them an hour later, thanking them for the interview, and I'd never hear back. The one time I got a written rejection from a person, I asked if it would be possible to provide some feedback as to why I was not chosen. I didn't get a response.

I don't get excited about interviews anymore because who knows what could happen.

I have one regret that might be making it harder to land a job

I didn't finish college, and that's the one thing I regret. I've thought about going back a lot over the years but I couldn't justify accumulating all those student loans when I was already making a solid salary.

Now I feel like maybe I should've gone back to school because, in today's competitive job market, it helps a lot to have a degree.

I feel like I'm in this gray area of being overqualified for regular customer service positions, but because I don't have a degree, I'm underqualified for higher positions, even though I'm technically qualified to do them.

If I get a job offer, I'm taking it

I'm getting more scared as the weeks go by. Before my unemployment benefits ran out, I'd go out and buy a coffee from time to time. Now I won't even grab something at a WaWa. I want to save every penny I can.

At this point, I'm not in a position to turn down any job. It took me forever to save the money I have, and at 44, I don't want to spend my entire savings being unemployed.

I always try to make Christmas really nice for my mom because, at her age, who knows when it's going to be her last. This year I told her I was sorry because I couldn't do that, and she was like "Are you crazy? Do you think I care about presents at this age?" I know she doesn't care, but I can't help but feel bad.

Sometimes, I think, "What if I didn't have my mom to take care of?" Maybe I would just give up, lay in bed, and become homeless. Having someone who depends on me makes it so I can't give up.

This time has been disheartening, but I won't give up.

If you've struggled to find a job since a layoff and would like to share your story, please email Tess Martinelli at [email protected].

• Reddit went public in 2024 and is a more popular, profitable site than ever in its 20-year history.
• BI spoke to 11 Reddit execs about how they've handled new challenges while maintaining a beloved culture.
• They shared everything from their favorite subreddit to what the IPO means to them.

2024 was a great year for Reddit.

The company went public in March with a $6.4 billion valuation and reported its first quarterly profit in October. Shares have soared 230% since its IPO.

And as BI's Emily Stewart recently wrote, Reddit has become more mainstream than ever. Its daily active users jumped 47% in the most recent quarter compared to a year earlier, thanks in part to an unprecedented number of people tacking "Reddit" onto their search terms — a demand the company will try to meet with "Reddit Answers," its new AI-powered search tool.

To find out what this year has looked like on the inside, BI asked 11 Reddit executives — or "Snoos," as Reddit calls its 2,000 employees — to share their favorite highlights behind the scenes of the "front page of the internet."

They described some career-defining moments and talked about managing through rapid change and a new level of pressure. Here's what they said.

What it meant to take Reddit public

"You can pretend that this all makes sense, and it's all business as usual for a little bit. But there are moments where I kind of zone out and realize the scale and how cool a moment I'm in. I guess the word to describe it is 'awe.'" — Serkan Piantino, 41, VP of product, New York City. Joined Reddit in 2022.

"There are always going to be individuals that say, 'Reddit is not what it used to be.' Of course, it's not going to be what it used to be. It's going to be what we make it in the future." — David Trencher, 43, senior managing director, large customer sales, EMEA & Australia, London. Joined the company in 2019.

"2024 has been maybe the highlight of my career at Reddit. We are so focused on starting with community. I think in '24 we've embraced that value more than ever," — Laura Nestler, VP of community, Seattle. Joined Reddit in 2021.

IPO day was 'so Reddit,' execs said

"Getting Snoo (the company's mascot) to ring the bell (rather than our CEO) was just so Reddit-y. It was a culmination of so many years of hard work to get here, and to see it all come to fruition in a very Reddit way was awesome." — Paulita David, Senior Managing Director, large customer sales in North America. Joined Reddit in 2021.

"We broadcast live globally, and I got to emcee the entire thing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We all got to see and feel what was happening." — Michelle Lozzi, 40, senior director of experience, San Francisco. Joined Reddit in 2017.

"It was so nice having our new Snoo mascot up there ringing the bell, symbolizing our employees and the community. There is a human in there. We cannot reveal who it is, but the only clue I can share is you have to be 5'10" to wear the suit." — Monica Benson, 38, head of brand operations and creative production, Los Angeles. Joined Reddit in 2020.

How execs managed through change and volatility

"The biggest change for us has been just the sheer volume of advertisers wanting to advertise on Reddit. It impacts my job pretty dramatically. With this increased demand, we're really embracing more automation." — David

"We run a lot of experiments, so failure is a day-to-day thing. Many of our experiments just don't pan out, and a lot of my job is to refine the idea and keep going or decide to work on something else. We're not a huge company. We still have limited resources, so we have to prioritize." — Piantino

"There's a balance of excitement and pressure that keeps me grounded. The fact that we have a real share price that we can use to measure our size adds somewhat to the pressure, but ultimately the excitement and enthusiasm outweigh it. Something we try to instill in our culture is to not get too high with the highs, and too low with the lows." — Jesse Rose, 38, head of investor relations, Massachusetts, Joined Reddit in 2021.

"I know what volatility looks like, and I know how much that can be a distraction for the team. I liked being a calming force and reminding people that, some days, they're going to say great things about you. Some days they're going to say bad things about you, but you are never as good or as bad as they say you are." — Piantino

"That (two-year pre-IPO period) helped us prepare our teams, which helped alleviate some stress. We were going into it knowing what we needed to do." — Trencher

"Some of our communities are growing really fast, and that can be a challenge. There are a bunch of tools that moderators can now use to handle moments of accelerated growth." — Nicole Heard, 36, UK country lead, London. Joined Reddit in 2022.

Execs say Reddit's culture hasn't changed

"When I came back from maternity leave, I wanted to know how the company culture had changed. It felt warm to come back to that authentic, community-building company, but the stakes are higher." — Benson

"People in our UK office genuinely like spending time with each other. Our office had some of the highest real-life visits this year — probably three days a week. The people and culture is what makes it an amazing place to work." — Sam Hughes, 33, senior client partner, London, Joined Reddit in 2021.

"When I joined in 2021, we had this really small kind of Harry Potter cupboard at a WeWork that sat three to five people. Then we got a bigger space with a whole floor, and now, earlier this year, we got an amazing new building." — Hughes

"We just hosted Mod World in our San Francisco office, which was where we brought in 60 of our moderators and made them feel like they're also a part of this. Because it's not just us building the product, it's them maintaining, operating and, breathing life into it." — Lozzi

"My team has grown from three to eight this year. What I'm looking for is people who understand the human interactions that happen on Reddit, and understand exactly what Reddit stands for in the social media landscape." — Alia Chikhdene, 30, head of community, international, Paris. At Reddit since 2021.

Favorite projects included offline community-building

"I was able to travel to countries all over and meet moderators in local markets. I recently got back from a trip to Manila to see the people in our community called Coffee Philippines. Seeing local communities start to thrive and build local ecosystems is really magical." — Nestler

"Our mods are now able to access community funds, where they can apply for funding to do something great with their community and create an impact. The mods of r/Eurovision got funding to go to this year's competition in Sweden to meet the artists and take AMA questions. This became one of the top five fastest-growing communities in the UK, Germany, and Spain. It was a really impactful initiative that helped connect that community to the artists they love." — Heard

Reddit employees shared their top Subreddits

r/skincareaddiction. "I'm always trying to figure out how I can address these wrinkles and get glowing skin." — Young

r/PhotoshopRequest: "You can send in photos, and the community will do an incredible job for you." — Lozzi

r/vosfinances: "This is a community that is really helping with financial literacy. You're one question away from building your future wealth plan." — Chikhdene

r/askmeuf: "This translates to 'ask women.' I'm incredibly grateful to the mods who have built this space and made it safe, vibrant, and inclusive, and making it culturally available to French women." — Chikhdene

r/moderatelygranolamoms - "I'm often looking for the most non-toxic, sustainable products and ways to raise my baby, and this is the perfect group for talking about that." — Benson

r/TrueOffMyChest - "It's a very vulnerable place where people can be anonymous and just share personal stories they wouldn't anywhere else." — Benson