What’s in Your Emergency Career Kit?
If you lost your job tomorrow, would your self-worth go with it?
There’s a story so many of us have believed:
Do the work. Get the title. Protect your seat.
And you’ll be safe.
But that story is unraveling. Fast.
In the last six months, the illusion of stability has collapsed.
People with decades of experience are being let go….quietly, suddenly, without a plan. (Okay, some very publicly!)
The ripple effects? Devastating.
Nonprofits serving real human needs are folding.
Over 22,000 full-time nonprofit jobs vanished in the first half of this year. Some say it’s closer to 40,000. (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, FoundationList.org).
Tech layoffs continue.
Federal funding freezes are gutting entire departments.
Contractors are bleeding talent.
We’re not in a season of instability.
We’re in a free fall. (Cue Tom Petty)
Right now, the global uncertainty index is at 84%.
That’s higher than it was at the peak of the pandemic, when it hovered around 56% (Minneapolis Fed).
No one saw this coming.
And almost no one was ready.
I certainly wasn’t.
My Reckoning
I didn’t know I needed an Emergency Career Kit until the day I stood on a street corner in Washington, D.C., hollowed out and in shock.
I had just moved cross-country for a senior leadership role. It felt aligned. Purposeful. Like something I could build a future around.
Then, without warning, I was told I needed to resign.
They didn’t say “fired.”
In fact, they made me sign an NDA to never tell anyone that I was asked to leave (should’ve been a big clue).
I talked to an EEOC attorney about filing a lawsuit. He felt I had a case but cautioned me.
”Do you have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this? Because it isn’t going to be easy.”
Truth? I didn’t.
My mother had just passed. My grief was still fresh. I’d left behind everything: home, community, stability.
I had never been fired in my life.
I stepped out of that building and into the blur of D.C. traffic.
No job. No plan. No place to live.
Just me, grief, and the echo of “What the hell just happened?”
That moment had me reach an emotional rock bottom I had never anticipated or prepared for, even for a nanosecond.
That was the moment I realized: A résumé won’t save you when your identity collapses.
So what belongs in your Emergency Career Kit?
1. A Story That Can Carry You
Not your job title. Not your list of roles.
The real story.
The one that speaks your truth when the system spits you out.
The one that reminds you: You are not the woman who lost her job.
You are the woman reclaiming her voice.
This is your anchor.
2. Tools You Can Reach for Before Panic Sets In
This isn’t about “just in case.”
This is about being rooted, not reactive.
Build a brag file.
Stack your receipts…metrics, testimonials, wins.
Build a platform.
Not performative. Personal. So people know who you are and how you lead before you ever need to pitch yourself.
Build a council.
Not just mentors. People who speak your name in rooms you haven’t entered yet.
3. An Identity That Isn’t Built on Being Chosen
Here’s the heartbreak most women don’t say out loud:
We built our worth on being picked.
Until we’re not.
Your emergency kit has to hold a version of you that doesn’t shrink or shapeshift to stay in the room.
Not the people-pleaser.
Not the perfect employee.
The leader. The presence. The voice.
The one who belongs because she says so.
4. A Way to Speak Before It Breaks
Most people wait to share their story after the storm.
But by then, the silence has already done damage.
Visibility is part of your readiness.
Don’t wait to be chosen.
Speak now.
Share your wins now.
Let people see your whole arc, not just the polished pivot.
This isn’t branding.
It’s embodiment.
This Month on Java with Jen:
A Conversation with Career Coach Kristi Cline
This whole metaphor started when Kristi Cline, my dear friend and brilliant career coach, finished building her hurricane emergency kit.
Water. Flashlights. Batteries. The essentials.
She lives in Galveston, TX. She knows storms.
But as a coach, Kristi doesn’t just prepare for hurricanes.
She walks with people through career collapse.
The ones who are laid off without warning.
The ones asked to resign behind closed doors.
The ones who realize the “safe” job was never safe.
She helps them rebuild.
Not just their résumé.
Their story.
All month long on Java with Jen (9:45 AM EST every Wednesday – live on LinkedIn), I’m sitting down with Kristi to unpack:
What actually belongs in your emergency kit
How to spot the signs you’re ignoring
How to reclaim your narrative after shame sets in
What it looks like to prepare for not just the next job, but the next chapter
Got a question for Kristi?
Send it to jen@jencoken.com. We’ll answer it live or in the comments.
If you’re ready for more than a kit…
Keep an eye on September.
Because yes, an emergency kit is essential.
But it only gets you so far.
If you’re done shrinking…
Done apologizing for your brilliance…
Done being valued for how safe you make others feel—
Then Unignorable is for you.
My most-requested workshop series returns in September.
Three days. Three hours. Zero performative fluff.
This is where you:
Speak your wins without apology
Own your power without flinching
Get visible without selling your soul
This is where you stop waiting to be picked.
And start leading like you were never meant to be small.
