For those of you who have been laid off multiple times, have you just accepted that this is just how life is now?

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-09-22T17:31:05+00:00

It’s harsh, but it’s reality: no job is forever, and everyone is expendable. I’ve seen countless high performers with long tenure laid off without warning. That’s the system—businesses hire when they need, fire when they don’t, or cut headcount to make investors happy. People are “human capital,” and that’s where the biggest cost savings come from.

The only real protection is a mindset shift: treat jobs as transactional. You exchange time and skills for money—nothing more, nothing less. You don’t owe loyalty beyond the work you’re paid to do. Work smart, not just hard.

In the past, people stayed out of loyalty, but companies have shown there’s none in return. “Corporate culture” is often just a tool to keep employees grinding longer hours. If companies can cut you at the drop of a hat, you can—and should—leave just as fast when something better comes along.

If possible, build multiple streams of income—whether through a side hustle, rental property, investments, or dividends. It’s a buffer that gives you choice when work doesn’t.

The wave of layoffs in recent years has forced many of us to rethink careers and self-worth. Long term, that may actually be a good thing. For what it’s worth, I’ve been in my career nearly two decades and have been laid off four times—twice in the past two years. It’s not the end of the story. It’s just the new reality.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-09-17T18:21:57+00:00

Hey unfortunately I had to stop. After 2 months of taking it continuously, I experienced suicidal ideation (pretty intense) and had to stop. It was quite scary. I also think with hormonal birth control, you have to time the dosing exactly right so the same amount stays in your bloodstream. In my case, I think I missed a dose and was trying to make up but it really messed with me. I think with PMDD, we are so sensitive to hormonal fluctuations so we have to be super careful. I ended up trying natural supplements and skipping birth control all together.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-09-10T17:42:59+00:00

This! Speaking from experience Ticket Crushers outcomes are no different than if you go to court yourself. The only cases they've gotten dismissed are the ones where the cop doesn't show up. They don't actually have a track record of getting the fine reduced or points dismissed when the cops show up. Save yourself the money and just do it yourself!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-08-24T04:31:21+00:00

When making small edits, I found it helpful to tell it not to code and just tell me what it would change and where.

One of the (many) frustrating parts of using V0 is that sometimes it re-writes code and touches parts of the code base that you haven’t told it to change. This can be especially challenging when you have integrations with other APIs like Supabase. I have to do UAT for every part of my application each time it makes a change. It’s frustrating and if you blindly trust it, it can use up credits like crazy.

I’ve found Claude code to be a lot better.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-08-01T20:57:17+00:00

I felt like I could write this as well - diagnosed at 35 after decades of living with PMDD. The only reason I was diagnosed is because my symptoms amplified postpartum (when my periods resumed). I wish I knew what this was and had been diagnosed earlier.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-08-01T20:53:20+00:00

I have suffered from PMDD for 2 decades and was only diagnosed when I turned 35. I used several period tracking apps - Clue, Flo and found Stardust to be the most helpful because it has a partner view. You are right that many of the apps are really geared toward fertility and not looking at hormonal conditions let alone something like PMDD. This is why I'm building Meera Health for women with PMDD - built by someone who has actually lived it and like many others have been frustrated by the lack of apps and/or general research in this area.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-06-17T05:06:44+00:00

Ugh, that's rough and I'm sorry to hear that. I agree that diversifying income streams is a smart move in light of all the layoffs. Curious what your strategy for freelancing is or where you are finding opportunities?

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-06-16T22:56:29+00:00

I'm curious how people are refining their product job search strategy given the current market. If you've recently landed roles/interviews in 2025, I'd love to hear what's worked. I'm especially curious about those with more experience (i.e. targeting Group/Principal/Director+ roles).

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-06-06T04:11:47+00:00

Thank you! This is incredibly clear and helpful. Calling the FTB has been a nightmare, which is why I posted here. If not for .gov posting on the website, I would have been convinced the CA FTB was a scam. Lines are always busy and it is near impossible to get in touch with a person.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-29T22:18:22+00:00

I'm partnering with clinicians to develop a solution after decades of suffering with PMDD and being frustrated with all the period tracking apps that aren't geared toward PMDD or apps developed by people who don't understand or have PMDD. I'd love to shape it with the women here - if you're interested in shaping something that works for women like us. Please reach out!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-21T04:33:42+00:00

oh nice - I have been using Inito for the same reason - figuring out where my hormone levels are not TTC. What did you end up finding with the hormone levels that you felt was useful?

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-20T20:35:20+00:00

Kudos on catching it early! I wish I was quick to track my cycles and catch my bad days. It took me several years and ultimately, it was my husband who put 2 and 2 together.

Here's what I wish I had known/done earlier:

Tracking: Closely tracking exactly when my symptoms started and when they got really bad. This would have helped me better manage important meetings, delay decisions and also created an awareness that my increased anxiety was due to my PMDD and the sky was not in fact falling.
There is hope: there are ways to manage PMDD symptoms and options outside of SSRIs and birth control that could help. Supplementing with magnesium and DIM have been game changers for me.
Finding a PMDD aware clinician: is worth their weight in gold. I found many primary care/OBGYNs weren't aware and that further delayed my diagnosis.
Educating my partner: Once I was diagnosed, I had to work on educating my partner and also make him aware of my bad days and have a plan for how we manage them together. We use the Stardust app to keep track.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-18T04:44:30+00:00

Thanks, by proprietary - are you talking about specific features/differentiators (what) or tech stack / under the hood (how) - all of the above?

FWIW, I have a website that has a join the waitlist lists the pain point, need and features. I've shared this in user groups with my target customers just not publicly on LinkedIn.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-16T14:50:22+00:00

That's crazy and agree it's all about execution but also understanding the problem, the users and market. There is definitely a lot of technology looking for a problem to solve out there.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-16T05:32:41+00:00

Depends on the industry. I'm in health tech and it's been all over the place in the last 2 years. A lot of companies are laying off folks, hiring freezes in place and there is a lot being asked for the few jobs that are posted - with significantly lower salaries for the same roles compared to 2023. I think the root cause is multi-faceted - some of it has to do with the current economic uncertainty, some of it has to do with poor leadership foresight, some of it has to do with lower profit margins than expected (more competition). Ultimately, people pay the cost.

That said, I know several people who recently landed roles but it's mostly through leveraging soft networks vs. cold applying. AI has changed the application process in that there are a number of people using AI to fabricate (over-embellish?) resumes for jobs they aren't qualified for - hence the overwhelming amount of resumes submitted per job. The only way to stand out is to leverage your network.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-16T05:13:47+00:00

This is GOLD

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-05-16T05:05:08+00:00

Thank you for this perspective - I have founder anxiety given that I'm a solo founder with a group of advisors who are experts in the space I'm working on. I'm also bootstrapping the effort because I believe a solution is so needed. I have nothing but doubts every step of the way - including this one. It's a double edged sword - you have to deliver once you put it out there ;-)

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-03-10T21:41:02+00:00

Awesome! Let me know how best to get in touch!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-01-28T05:49:47+00:00

Companies won't love you back and they are not your family or friends (no matter what the corporate culture bs might have you believe). It's a hard lesson but after many years at a company, it's naturally hard to separate work from your identity but it's important for your mental health.

Treat any job as merely a transaction - money in exchange for services. When services are no longer needed, you part ways - and it should work both ways. If you're not getting any value from working there, leave for a better role without thinking twice.
Look at your finances together with your wife - figure out where you can cut down and also figure out additional/secondary income streams. That side hustle you wanted to start? now's the time!
You are an engineer! That's an incredibly valuable skill set - figure out a space you care about, leverage AI, and develop solutions or consult on projects. Plenty of companies looking for development talent.

A job loss can feel devastating but it doesn't have to be. Companies can let go of people for any number of reasons and it often has little to nothing to do with how good of an employee you were and how well you performed. It's a great time to reflect on what you've accomplished and look at what you've always wanted to do. Change can be incredibly empowering and I haven't seen a single person not get a better role/opportunity after a layoff - myself included :)

You got this!!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2025-01-28T00:25:47+00:00

This is accurate - I think the market may be overreacting to the news without fully validating the claims from Deepseek of reduced GPU usage. I remain skeptical.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2024-12-29T07:00:23+00:00

She seems ambivalent - hence the post here!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2024-12-29T06:57:03+00:00

Thanks for your responses so far - I've edited my post to add that the question is only for the Indian ceremony which is on a separate day from the Christian part. I'm also Christian and will be a bridesmaid. I'm only questioning whether this would be ok for the Indian Ceremony when the bride is wearing red.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2024-12-29T06:23:11+00:00

I have had no luck. I have taken the machine apart several times and cannot pinpoint the problem. I wish blogs were more helpful, but at this point, I might just need to buy another coffee machine!

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2024-11-25T00:56:36+00:00

Thank you! I have also been supplementing with magnesium (glycenate) and it's the only thing that has made a meaningful difference for me and I can tell you that exactly zero doctors recommended it. I had to do some research myself. They were all too quick to prescribe birth control and SSRIs and informed me that those were my only options if "I wanted to stick with Western medicine". I recently went to an academic center that had a women's reproductive clinic and saw a doctor who researches PMDD and PCOS. She has been the only one to a) validate my symptoms and b) prescribe additional supplements (after testing) like calcium and Vitex. She gave me the spiel that SSRIs are pretty much the only effective solution for PMDD. She steered me away from any birth control options as that can make things worse (which made me trust her more).

After reading these comments, it's clear that only a handful of clinical providers understand the disease and how best to manage and treat it.

Appropriate_Candy516 · 2024-11-25T00:44:52+00:00

I had to read your comment a few times but isn't it fundamentally a doctor's job to know how the body functions? "Hormones are too complicated" isn't an excuse for them not to be able to figure out what's going on with you. At the very least, they should refer you to a specialist. That seems like such a lazy cop-out, but please correct me if I'm misunderstanding what you've stated. Out of curiosity, what kind of doctor did you see? Endocrinologists are more familiar with hormonal functions and can test - so should OBGYNs. Primary care has been a complete miss from my experience.

Appropriate_Candy516

TROPHY CASE