Episode #27
From Building Brands to Building Her Own | Melissa Cohen
Laid off from the company where you thought you'd retire. What happens when the career you thought was your future suddenly disappears? If you're navigating a layoff, struggling through today's job market, questioning your career identity, or wondering whether it's too late to reinvent yourself, this episode is for you. In this episode of Pink Slip Pavilion , host Ashley Waddington sits down with Melissa Cohen to talk about being laid off from her dream company during the COVID-19 pandemic and how losing the career she thought she'd have forever ultimately led her somewhere she never expected. Melissa had spent years in the fashion industry and considered herself "corporate through and through." She never imagined becoming an entrepreneur. Then 2020 changed everything. Losing her job brought sadness, anger, uncertainty, and even shame. Making matters harder, the fashion industry had been devastated by the pandemic, leaving few jobs to even apply for. When opportunities finally returned, Melissa faced another challenge: a frustrating job search filled with multiple rounds of interviews, ghosting, and rejection. After six or seven interviews with one company, she was told she was their top candidate and would hear about next steps on Monday. She never heard from them again. That became her final straw. Melissa started consulting and turned to LinkedIn to rebuild her network. What started as an attempt to find another job unexpectedly became a community, a personal brand, and eventually an entirely new business helping others leverage LinkedIn and build their own personal brands. Today, Melissa runs her own business, speaks, has co-authored two books, and says the positive things that have happened over the last six years happened because corporate left her. In this episode, we cover: • Getting laid off from your dream company during COVID • Losing a job you thought you'd have until retirement • The identity loss and shame that can follow a layoff • Navigating job loss when your entire industry is struggling • Multiple interview rounds, rejection, and job-search ghosting • Knowing when to stop forcing your way back into corporate • Starting a business after a layoff • Discovering entrepreneurship when you never planned on becoming an entrepreneur • Using LinkedIn to rebuild your network after job loss • Building a personal brand that isn't dependent on your employer or job title • Separating your self-worth from where you work • Reinventing your career later in life • Why Melissa now considers her layoff a blessing • Using job loss as a springboard toward something better Melissa's message for anyone navigating a layoff is simple: You're not alone, and it's never too late to reinvent yourself. A layoff can feel like losing a piece of who you are. But losing your job doesn't mean losing your value, your experience, or your ability to build something new. Six years later, Melissa says she wouldn't have believed where that pink slip would eventually take her. Her memoir title says it best: It All Worked Out in the End. CONNECT WITH MELISSA: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-beth-cohen/ Website: www.melissabethcohen.com Pink Slip Pavilion is a podcast about layoff recovery, job loss, career transitions, career reinvention, entrepreneurship, and turning career disruption into growth. New episodes release every Wednesday.
