I was working for a biotech when the hammer fell. Got “laid off” though to be honest, I slacked and I was certainly at the top of the list of guys to get rid of

I was working for a biotech when the hammer fell. Got “laid off” though to be honest, I slacked and I was certainly at the top of the list of guys to get rid of. I spent the next 8 months trying to get a job, I applied to hundreds of jobs, maybe in that time I had 6 interviews. Mostly smaller shops without much money or interesting work. Finally one day I got a phone interview with a company in New York, I was in Austin at the time. Shockingly they offered me a job after just that phone call, I think I lucked out with knowing some weird parts of c++. I told myself i would never get fired or laid off again and worked my ass off. First in and last to leave, picked up extra projects. I was a rising star, until that company ran out of money. After surviving 3 rounds of layoffs an old friend called and asked if I wanted to move back to Austin making 30% less, I took it as they were at least not actively going out of business. Since then my career has grown and I’ve been fine, but that long spell without a job or a future was scary as hell. I hope I never have to go through it again.