Woman gets laid off from her LinkedIn 'dream job', bags a Google role with almost double the salary

Mariana Kobayashi is now an account executive with Google in Dublin, Ireland. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

Working at LinkedIn was a dream for Ireland's Mariana Kobayashi. After facing multiple rejections for different roles in the company, when she finally managed to bag a job in 2022, it was one of Kobayashi's happiest moments in life. She enjoyed her job and often kept herself in her happy bubble, oblivious to the layoff wave that was crashing over major companies so when in May 2023, Kobayashi received an email announcing that she was laid off, she was in shock.

Six months later, however, she managed to secure a position at Google with almost double the salary.

Recollecting how she felt during the layoff at LinkedIn, Kobayashi told Business Insider: "I was extremely happy there so when the layoffs came, I was shocked. I don't watch the news, so I wasn't up to date with the gossip; the email just landed in my inbox out of the blue."

She added that she felt like a part of her identity was ripped away from her because she had built up the job of a media sales associate as a dream. "I realised later that I'd lived in a bubble while working at LinkedIn," Kobayashi said. The experience taught her not to tie her self-worth to her job or get attached to a company.

To recover from the layoff, Kobayashi decided to travel and eventually bagged the position of an account executive in Google's Dublin office.

"I look at myself now and am proud of everything that happened. I've grown two levels in my career -- which wouldn't have been possible if I had stayed at LinkedIn -- my salary has almost doubled, and I'm in a company that is much more suited to me," she told Business Insider.

Kobayashi also had some suggestions for those who have been affected by layoffs. "My best advice for those who get laid off is to take it as an opportunity. Something more aligned with you will come your way eventually."

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn carried out two rounds of layoffs in 2023. The second round affected nearly 700 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams.

Read more: Employee records herself getting laid off: 'I just bought a house'. Video