Techie laid off by Meta struggles to find job, blames ‘low performer’ label

A US woman who was laid off by Meta earlier this year says she is still struggling to find work nine months later and believes the “low performer” label attached to her exit is partly to blame.

In an as-told-to essay published by Business Insider, Brittney Ball detailed how losing her job at the tech giant upended her life, finances and confidence, even as it pushed her toward unexpected personal growth.

Ball, a single mother who once lived in a homeless shelter, said joining Meta in 2020 as a documentation engineer had been “life-changing”. “When I got hired at Meta in 2020, it was life-changing for me as a single mom. It represented safety and stability — a place to work hard at and retire from,” she told Business Insider.

However, when she was let go in February in a round of layoffs aimed at “low-performers”, she said that it felt like a “punch in the gut”.

“Nine months later, my severance and savings have run dry, I'm struggling to find a tech job, and I feel that the low-performer ‘label' is part of the reason. I'm no longer the same happy-go-lucky person I used to be, applying for jobs with excitement,” she said. But she added that the layoff actually changed her for the better.

(Also Read: Couple who worked at Meta and Google in US moved back to Bengaluru because…)

Ball shared that she taught herself how to code and broke into tech without a college degree. So naturally, breaking into big tech felt like the ultimate victory. “I made my parents proud. I was the success story,” she said. “I really loved my time at Meta,” she continued, adding that she took pride in her work and her involvement with the company's Black@Pride employee resource group.

So when Meta laid her off, the decision felt crushing and bewildering. “I was always so proud of my work, and I just didn't think I fell in that category,” she said.

Ball said that the layoff left her reeling. “I used to be naive and filled with excitement to work for a tech company, but since the layoff, I just see it as a resource to fund my life. It no longer feels like the secure space it once was.”

Ball has been applying to roles at smaller tech firms but has yet to receive an offer. “I have the skills and passion, so I'm unsure what the problem is. The low-performer label could be the reason,” she told the outlet.

(Also Read: Techie laid off from Microsoft after 14 years shares how she landed a job at Meta)

With unemployment benefits yet to arrive, Ball said that she has relied on her parents and partner to cover basic expenses - something she finds difficult as someone who has long prided herself on being independent. Yet the setback also opened the door to new beginnings. Ball said that within weeks of being laid off, she began building TechniDox, an AI-powered documentation startup she hopes to scale.

Ball has also returned to learning - reviving her YouTube channel, expanding her LinkedIn presence, and enrolling at Trinity University to pursue a dual degree in journalism and computer science. While she admitted that the job market feels daunting, she said the support from friends, family and online connections has kept her going.

“Even though I haven't landed a job, I remind myself that this is also happening to so many other people. The job market is hard, but I'm not giving up,” she said.

Source: HindustanTimes
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