In 2025 it appears there’s been no shortage of listicles and human interest pieces detailing the hundreds of thousands whose careers have been impacted by the rise of AI (which saw 4,0000 roles cut at DBS earlier this year) and slowing economic growth. Most recently, Agoda laid off 50 employees in Singapore, citing “enhancing operational efficiency”.
But behind the data points and platitudes lies something harder to name — and even harder to live through: a careerquake.
When the Ground Underneath Me Started to Shake
I had dreamed of being a CEO since I was nine years old, when I first started reading business magazines. By the time I reached the top, I realised the view wasn’t what I thought it would be.
My careerquake came at the end of 2023. After years of climbing the corporate ladder, I found myself facing a sudden departure from the career I had built at VMware. But I didn’t just lose a job. I lost the version of me that existed in that room.
The version who woke up to a full calendar, who led strategy meetings, who people came to for answers. I remember standing in my kitchen, staring at my laptop. No emails. No meetings. Just a blank Google Doc and a silence I didn’t recognize.
What Is a Careerquake?
A careerquake isn’t just a layoff. It’s a personal seismic shift that cracks everything open. It shakes more than your income — it unravels your identity, your routine, your sense of value and purpose. And like an earthquake, it arrives without warning.
But here’s what I’ve learned: If you’re going through a careerquake, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken.
What I Learned From the Rubble
- Careerquakes honour what once mattered
I grieved hard. And for a while, I thought I was overreacting. But here’s the truth: grief is proof that something mattered. That version of me wasn’t fake. That chapter wasn’t a waste. Grieving it was how I honoured it. - Careerquakes force a kind of growth you don’t choose
We don’t volunteer for this kind of unraveling. But once it happens, you can’t rush the rebuild. You sit in the mess first. You confront the questions you’ve been too busy to ask like “What have I outgrown?” or “Would I choose this life again if I weren’t already in it?” - Careerquakes shape your next chapter — if you let them
The disruption makes room for realignment. What felt like devastation started to feel like clarity. Slowly, I began to rebuild—not toward a title, but toward a life with more truth. I’m not who I was before the quake, but I’m closer to who I was meant to become.
How to Find Stillness
Stillness is the most important—and most difficult—thing I had to learn. Not defaulting to hustle. Not jumping into the next shiny role. Just… being still. Here are the mistakes I made that you don’t have to:
- Gaslighting Yourself
Stop telling yourself it’s not a big deal. Stop blaming hormones, stress, or “just needing a new challenge.” Name the loss. You can’t heal what you won’t name. - Job-Hopping Too Fast
Don’t confuse motion with healing. If you leap too quickly, you risk recreating the same patterns in a different place. Pause. Rebuild with intention. - Over-Optimising
You can’t Notion-board your way out of grief. Trust me, I tried. Templates don’t heal you. Presence does. - Pretending Nothing’s Changed
Performing strength is not the same as being strong. Let yourself be messy. Be honest with the people who matter. The ones worth keeping won’t flinch.
The Ground Will Shake Again — And That’s Okay
I don’t fear the next quake anymore. Because now I know: The shaking doesn’t break you — it reveals what’s unshakable. To anyone who has been struck hard by layoffs, I want you to know: there is life on the other side. Not the same life. A more honest one. A freer one.
Have you ever been through a careerquake? What helped you rebuild? Let’s talk about it. The more we name these quakes, the more we learn how to survive—and how to rise. Right now, I’m still on my own path of reinvention—testing ideas, building my own platforms, investing in my growth, and learning how to build a life and career that isn’t defined by titles, but by the work, relationships, and impact I’m consciously creating in this next chapter.
And here’s the truth I’ve learned: careers end, titles fall away, but when the ground shakes, you either cling to the rubble—or use it to build something no one else could imagine for you. That’s my quake. And I’m still building.
About the author
Uma Thana Balasingam is a founder, feminist, and speaker dedicated to helping people turn career breakdowns into breakthroughs. With over two decades of experience in the tech industry, she previously served as Vice President at VMware, Riverbed Technology, and held senior roles at DELL, Brocade, and IBM. As the founder of Lean In Singapore and The ELEVATE Group, Uma champions inclusion and social justice for women across Asia while continuing to inspire through her writing, podcast RAW with Uma, and her candid reflections on leadership and life shared with over 34,000 followers on LinkedIn.
