When the Job Is Gone but the Person Is Still Here

Reflections on work, identity, and resilience in uncertain times

If you or someone you love is in between roles right now, this is for you…

It’s the end of the year. That strange stretch of time when reflection feels unavoidable and certainty feels farther away than usual.

I was watching "The Company Men", half-working, half-thinking, and it landed harder than I expected. Not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s honest. It shows what happens when people who did everything “right” suddenly find themselves without the one thing that anchored their identity: work.

Many people are living that reality right now.

Busy teams. Smart people. Solid resumes. And still, jobs disappearing. Not because of failure, laziness, or lack of effort, but because markets shift, numbers tighten, and decisions get made far from the people affected by them.

That gap between effort and outcome is where the real pain sits.

Work, Identity, and the Quiet Loss

The Company Men gets one thing painfully right: job loss is not just about income. It is about identity.​

Work gives rhythm to your day, context to conversations, and a simple answer to “What do you do?” When that disappears, people don’t just lose a paycheck; they lose status, routine, and the illusion of control.​

This hits mid-career and senior professionals hardest. Experience, once celebrated, suddenly needs to be explained away. Words like overqualified start to show up not as a compliment, but as a coded concern.​

“Overqualified” and the Bias No One Names

Overqualified is rarely about having too many skills. It is usually about fear and misalignment.​

When employers say “overqualified,” what they often mean is:

• You might challenge how things are done.
• You might not stay if something better appears.
• You might cost more than they want to admit.
• You remind them that they, too, are replaceable.
  

Research shows consistent bias against older candidates, even when their qualifications match younger peers. Experience is celebrated, right up until it becomes inconvenient.​

A Company Is Not a Family

One of the hardest myths to let go of is the idea that “we’re a family” at work. The Company Men strips that away.​

Companies are not families. They are systems. Systems:

• Optimize for survival and numbers.
• Restructure when conditions change.
• Move on faster than people do.
  

That does not make every leader cruel. It means decent people can still make cold decisions when the system rewards distance over loyalty. Once you internalize that, disappointment becomes data, not betrayal. Data you can use to decide how much of your identity you are willing to tie to any one organization.​

The In‑Between: Where Confidence Erodes or Rebuilds

The most dangerous period is not the layoff itself; it is the space between roles, when structure disappears and shame quietly creeps in.​

In that space, two paths tend to appear:

• Clinging to the old identity and waiting for the world to return to what it was.
• Rebuilding from fundamentals and asking, “Where can I be useful now?”
  

The second path is slower and humbler. It may mean learning new tools, accepting a different title, or starting again at a lower altitude than you expected. But that is where momentum comes back through action, not through waiting.​

Turnaround Comes From Usefulness, Not Titles

Turnarounds in The Company Men don’t come from someone handing titles back. They come when people become useful again in a new way.​

People who navigate this season better tend to:

• Decouple self-worth from job title.
• Trade prestige for learning and relevance.
• Rebuild confidence through small, consistent actions.
• Accept that relevance is not permanent; it must be renewed.
  

Middle age is not the problem. Rigidity is. The market punishes inflexibility more than age itself. Those who adapt who are willing to re-skill, reframe, and re-enter at a different level are the ones who find their footing again.​

Why This Hurts More at Year‑End

Year-end compresses everything. Gratitude mixes with anxiety. Reflection sits next to regret. Even in “good” years, many people wonder if they should have done more.​

For those in transition, that weight doubles. Holidays amplify financial pressure, social comparison, and the quiet question: “What does next year even look like?” The Company Men feels heavier in December because it surfaces what many are already carrying: the fear that they are falling behind while the world keeps moving.​

For Anyone in Between Right Now

If you are between roles right now or walking with someone who is; there are a few truths worth saying clearly:

• You are not your job.
• You are not your title.
• You are not the last decision someone else made about you.
  

Markets will shift. Companies will restructure. People will move on faster than feels fair. What remains is your capacity to learn, adapt, contribute, and keep going, especially when no one is watching.​

Some seasons of life are not about winning the next title. They are about keeping going, protecting your sense of self, and quietly building the skills and relationships that will carry you into the next chapter. Tomorrow really is another day. For many, that is enough to begin again.

 If you’re navigating this and need a thinking partner, my door is open.

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About "The Company Men": It is a 2010 drama directed by John Wells that looks at what happens when a group of corporate executives lose their jobs and are forced to reexamine their sense of purpose, identity, and place in the world. The film follows these characters as they navigate layoffs, economic uncertainty, and the emotional weight of redefining themselves beyond their careers.

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Insights from Anwer Qureishi, Thought Leader & Entrepreneur
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