Melody Wilding

It was very early on a Monday and got a 8 a.m.

meeting invite from my manager.

Honestly, I didn't think much of it until I dialed in and there was a person who I didn't know on the other end.

And she just very briefly said, Hi, Melody, I'm so-and-so.

This call is to let you know your employment has been terminated immediately.

I felt just all of the blood drain out of my face in that moment.

It was the last thing I was expecting.

Oh my God, what does this mean?

How am I going to pay my rent?

And what about my health care?

It was so visceral and at the time felt so traumatic that I still think about it to this day.

I can still remember exactly where I was, the feeling of the sun coming through my window and how what was happening felt so dissonant to this news I just got.

There's a lot of fear around what about the next reorg?

What about the next restructure?

Is my role actually valuable?

What is really next for me?

I don't know.

So there's this just constant undercurrent of fear.

It felt like it completely came out of the blue.

And looking back on it, it shouldn't have because there were clues along the way that I think I ignored or didn't know to pay attention to.