Former Meta employee describes budgeting and job search steps after 2025 layoff

Brittney Ball, a 36-year-old former documentation engineer at Meta, said she has been searching for full-time work since her layoff in February 2025. Ball stated that she did not expect the search to last more than a year and that she underestimated the job market.

Ball said she was hired in 2020 and later served as global head of the Black@Pride employee resource group. Since the layoff she has built and sold a startup, started a Substack newsletter, and launched a podcast focused on documentation and AI tools.

Ball advised people facing the most recent Meta layoffs to budget for a full year without salary, downsize expenses, and begin an action plan immediately. She said she wishes she had invested more of her severance and planned for longer-term unemployment. , that fit her former Meta salary to more modest housing and reducing dining out and subscriptions.

Ball stated that treating the job search as a full-time activity and maintaining visible professional output helped generate new opportunities. She said posting about her AI-powered documentation startup and writing on Substack led to paid consulting requests and subscriber revenue.

She recommended giving oneself two weeks to process the layoff before setting measurable goals, such as achieving traction within six months, and tracking performance across platforms. Ball said remaining connected to others who have experienced layoffs helped her avoid isolation and maintain perspective on her skills.