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Episode 45

She Got Laid Off Twice—Here's How She Built a New Life

· 39:24 · Host: LuRae Lumpkin

After two layoffs and more than 20 years in corporate HR, Melissa Grabiner stopped waiting for someone else to decide her future. She bet on herself.

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Chapters

  1. 00:00:00 — Betting on yourself after corporate layoffs
  2. 00:04:00 — Starting over, building a business, and becoming a yoga instructor at 50
  3. 00:08:00 — Why job security no longer exists
  4. 00:12:00 — How Melissa helps job seekers from the hiring side
  5. 00:16:00 — Candidate ghosting, company culture, and AI interviews
  6. 00:20:00 — Why networking beats mass applications
  7. 00:24:00 — Making your LinkedIn headline work for you
  8. 00:28:00 — Visibility, recruiter searches, and the hidden job market
  9. 00:32:00 — Choosing entrepreneurship without living with regret
  10. 00:38:00 — How to connect with Melissa

Show notes

After two layoffs and more than 20 years in corporate HR, Melissa Grabiner stopped waiting for someone else to decide her future. She bet on herself.

In this episode of And Then I Did This, LuRae Lumpkin sits down with Melissa, an entrepreneur, job search coach, business advisor, two-time LinkedIn Top Voice, and yoga instructor, to talk about what really happens on the hiring side of the table and how to take back control of your career.

Melissa has hired thousands of people, so she knows why today's job market feels so hard. She explains how AI is changing recruiting and interviews, what candidate ghosting says about a company's culture, and why sending out hundreds of applications is one of the least effective ways to land a job.

She also shares practical steps you can use right away: how to write a LinkedIn headline that gets you found, how recruiters actually search for candidates, and how to reach the hidden job market before you urgently need it.

If you're at a professional crossroads, recovering from a layoff, or quietly wondering whether it's too late to start over, this conversation is your reminder: it's never too late to pivot, reinvent yourself, or try something new.

Chapters:

  • (00:00:00): Betting on yourself after corporate layoffs
  • (00:04:00): Starting over, building a business, and becoming a yoga instructor at 50
  • (00:08:00): Why job security no longer exists
  • (00:12:00): How Melissa helps job seekers from the hiring side
  • (00:16:00): Candidate ghosting, company culture, and AI interviews
  • (00:20:00): Why networking beats mass applications
  • (00:24:00): Making your LinkedIn headline work for you
  • (00:28:00): Visibility, recruiter searches, and the hidden job market
  • (00:32:00): Choosing entrepreneurship without living with regret
  • (00:38:00): How to connect with Melissa

Links and Resources:


Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to And Then I Did This? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

About And Then I Did This

And Then I Did This shares the unfiltered stories of people who reinvented their lives in the middle of them. Host LuRae Lumpkin sits down with guests who changed careers, started over, or finally did the thing — and walks through the moment everything pivoted. Proof that your next chapter doesn't care how old you are.

See all 45 episodes of And Then I Did This →

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