In May, after dedicating nearly a decade and a half of her professional life to Microsoft, Deborah Hendersen began to feel an unsettling shift — a subtle yet undeniable sense that her long chapter at the technology behemoth was approaching its conclusion. Rumors were circulating through the corridors, whispers carried between teams, and the atmosphere was thick with uncertainty. Several employees from partner divisions, some of whom she had collaborated with on joint projects, were among the roughly six thousand staff members dismissed that month. For Hendersen, a seasoned user researcher within Microsoft’s Xbox division, these developments became an ominous prelude. Each passing day amplified her apprehension that her own group might be next in line for reductions. What had started as speculation soon became, in her words, the ‘worst-kept secret’ throughout the department — everyone knew additional layoffs were imminent, and few expected to escape unscathed.
At forty-five, living in Seattle and having experienced numerous rounds of corporate restructuring, Hendersen described the feeling not as an external catastrophe one merely observed, but as something much more intimate and terrifying. ‘It wasn’t just like watching a car crash from a distance,’ she explained. ‘It felt as though you were inside the vehicle, fully aware that a collision was inevitable, yet powerless to change its course.’ On July 2, her forebodings materialized. Hendersen was among approximately nine thousand employees let go in what amounted to a sweeping reorganization effort spanning the entire company.
In previous rounds of layoffs, she had, by chance or design, managed to remain employed. Yet she noticed that even survival came with its own emotional burden. Often, it was difficult to discern precisely who had been affected, since management attributed the lack of transparency to privacy concerns. To Hendersen, however, this opacity only deepened the sense of disquiet among those who remained. Speculation replaced communication, and employees found themselves guessing which colleagues had vanished without so much as a goodbye. ‘It’s profoundly uncomfortable,’ she confided, ‘to be left in the dark about who has been impacted by such decisions.’
Determined to handle her own situation differently, Hendersen resolved not to conceal what had happened. She wanted her professional network — both inside Microsoft and beyond — to know. When a foreboding calendar invite appeared on her screen, one that she instinctively knew would contain bad news, she immediately began drafting messages to send out across internal channels and on LinkedIn. This deliberate transparency proved to be a remarkable choice: it not only opened the door to emotional support from friends and peers but also, in an unexpected turn, led directly to her next job opportunity at Meta within just two months.
Hendersen was one among thousands affected by Microsoft’s yearlong series of workforce reductions. A company spokesperson had stated to Business Insider that the initiative was primarily intended to streamline operations and eliminate redundant management layers. Nonetheless, the cuts were not confined to senior roles — individual contributors like Hendersen were caught in the crossfire. Microsoft, like many of its peers, was not alone in this recalibration. Tech titans such as Google, Amazon, and Intel had also announced extensive layoffs as part of their own operational realignments. Although overall employment levels remained stable in historical terms, tech workers, particularly in white-collar roles, bore a disproportionate share of the disruption. The slowdown in new hiring only compounded the challenge of reemployment, leaving many skilled professionals navigating an increasingly competitive job market.
Yet amid this period of widespread corporate upheaval, Hendersen’s story illustrates how persistence and connection can transform adversity into opportunity. Her journey toward a new professional beginning began less than an hour after receiving her termination notice. Without delay, she composed a LinkedIn post candidly sharing the news of her layoff. Still retaining temporary access to her company email, she reached out to team members, notifying them of her departure and seeking to identify others affected by the same decision. As replies trickled in, she consolidated the group into a Microsoft Teams chat. Over the following days, the ad hoc gathering of more than a dozen laid-off employees evolved into a lifeline of mutual support. In that space, they exchanged practical advice on navigating unemployment filings, interpreting the labyrinthine HR documents, and simply processing the emotional shock of sudden job loss.
‘I would have vastly preferred to have been the only person affected,’ she admitted. ‘Yet, having the chance to form an immediate community of understanding peers made everything so much more bearable.’
Equally pragmatic, Hendersen had taken anticipatory steps to safeguard her family’s finances. When the first murmurs of possible layoffs began to circulate, she and her husband made the difficult decision to sell portions of their stock holdings. Their goal was simple but essential: to ensure that, should the worst happen, they would have sufficient liquidity to weather the transition. The uncertainty surrounding the severance terms meant they could not rely on assumptions, so preparation felt necessary. After the official announcement, Hendersen discovered that she would continue receiving her paycheck through late August, followed by a lump-sum severance calculated on her fourteen years of service. With this information, the couple meticulously reviewed their household budget, assessed how long their resources would last, and identified nonessential expenses that could be reduced. Still, despite their careful planning, Hendersen described those weeks as psychologically taxing, filled with what she called ‘a sense of stunning anxiety’ — a state of simultaneous disbelief and determination.
As she recalibrated her next steps, Hendersen hoped to smooth her post-Microsoft transition through both proactive outreach and deliberate self-organization. She intended to take a short break to decompress and strategize before launching into a formal job search. ‘It had been roughly fifteen years,’ she reflected, ‘since I had meaningfully updated my résumé or standardized any of my cover letters. I didn’t yet have those tidy, rehearsed narratives about my achievements that interviewers expect you to tell.’ Even so, her break turned out to be shorter than anticipated. Within days of her LinkedIn post, messages of encouragement — and even potential leads — began filling her inbox. Former colleagues and professional acquaintances reached out to offer advice, introductions, and moral support. ‘It felt like an ocean of warmth and kindness,’ she said, ‘as if people all around were extending a collective embrace.’
Support also flourished within the growing community of Microsoft alumni she had helped assemble. When the group eventually lost access to internal communication tools, they migrated their interactions to Discord, where discussions continued with renewed energy. Members traded job openings, collaborated on interview preparation, aired frustrations, and celebrated every promising development. This informal network became not only a source of practical information but also a vital emotional anchor.
By leaning into these connections, Hendersen discovered a more organic path to new employment. Unlike traditional job hunting, which often demands repetitive online applications and automated rejections, her process was almost entirely personal and referral-driven. In total, she estimates submitting only one formal application. More often, a contact would forward her résumé to a recruiter, or she would reach out directly to someone mentioned by a mutual acquaintance. In some instances, recruiters initiated the follow-up conversations themselves. This relational approach not only simplified an otherwise daunting process but also allowed her to present herself in a more genuine and contextualized way.
Among the opportunities uncovered through her network was a user experience researcher role at Meta. A friend within the company told her about the opening — a position that aligned closely with her previous work analyzing how players interact with early-stage Xbox games to optimize user engagement. The new role, housed within Meta’s Reality Labs division, would focus on hardware and virtual reality research while allowing her to be based in Seattle. The overlap of interests and skills made it a seamless fit. After receiving an internal referral, she progressed through several interviews and, by late August, was offered the position. She began full-time employment there in October — a swift turnaround that illustrated how transparency and community, combined with preparation, could dramatically reshape a professional setback into a forward-looking success story.
Reflecting on the experience, Hendersen shared several insights for anyone facing similar circumstances. One critical lesson, she emphasized, was the importance of developing a ‘library of stories’ — concise narratives drawn from one’s own career that can vividly demonstrate skill, impact, and problem-solving ability. ‘You’ve achieved remarkable things,’ she reminded others, ‘but in the moment, recalling them clearly under interview pressure can be incredibly difficult.’ Practicing these stories with friends or mentors, even those outside one’s specific industry, can be invaluable preparation. During her interviews at Meta, for instance, not every interviewer was familiar with the gaming world, so she had to translate her prior experiences into terms that resonated with individuals from entirely different disciplinary backgrounds.
Perhaps the most powerful realization for Hendersen, however, was the role of collective resilience — the strength that comes from sharing challenges, setbacks, and triumphs with others walking the same uncertain path. ‘Having the support of other people who are going through it,’ she reflected, ‘makes all the difference. Everyone has ups and downs, disappointments and moments of hope, and being able to navigate those together helps you stay grounded and sane in a profoundly difficult time.’ In an industry still defined by volatility and change, her experience stands as a testament to the enduring value of community, adaptability, and human connection.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/former-microsoft-employee-shares-how-landed-job-meta-after-layoff-2025-10
