When 24-year-old actuarial analyst with Deloitte in Chicago, Cierra Desmaratti, was informed by HR that she was being laid off, she cried herself to sleep. It was not her dream job but it was paying her $90,000 (about Rs 76 lakh) and losing it meant losing her means of survival. A year on, however, Desmaratti said that the layoff was one of the best things that could have happened to her.
"I felt anything but normal at Deloitte," she told Business Insider. "I felt like I had to dim my personality to fit in with my peers and struggled to hit my stride in the consulting firm's fast-paced hustle culture. Then I got laid off. It was a dark time, but it ultimately made me realise what I deserve from my career."
Desmaratti said that she always felt out of place at the company. She hailed from a low-income family had joined Deloitte in September 2022 alongside 80 to 90 fresh hires, but looking around, she found her peers dressed in pressed suit jackets and designer pieces and felt "immediately out of place". "The T.J. Maxx clothes I wore had been a splurge, but I no longer felt like they were adequate," she told the publication.
Then came the burnout. Desmaratti said that she had started to work for 11 hours and started to fall ill mentally and physically. "My back ached from being glued to my seat all day, and I relied on snacks to power through stressful assignments. I gained 9 kg in just a few months and felt the most physically unhealthy I've ever been," she said.
Moreover, when it was time for her performance review, her coach at Deloitte told her that she did not fare well during the busy months. It took her by surprise because no one had raised any concerns about her performance at the time. " I felt frustrated knowing I could've made changes sooner if given that feedback," Desmaratti said.
And when she began to focus on improving her performance, she received a call from HR that she was being laid off.
"When the call ended, my mind immediately went to the financial blow this would be. I didn't love my job, but my $90,000 (Rs 76 lakh) salary was my means of survival. I had two weeks' severance and a bit of money in savings, but I had no other job prospects," Desmaratti told Business Insider. "I cried myself to sleep that night and spent the next day frantically trying to log out of all the programs on my work computer."
After being on the job hunt for two months, Desmaratti finally bagged a remote job as an actuarial analyst for Transamerica. It allowed her the work-life balance that she had been craving.
"My actuarial work at Transamerica is similar to that of Deloitte, but the company culture couldn't be more different. My superiors encourage me to leave work at work and I finally have time to nourish my hobbies and relationships," she told the publication. "I feel like I've finally come alive."
Deloitte representatives did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
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