How a laid off federal contractor turned into a career counselor for other fired federal workers

Wayan Vota, a longtime worker in the international development sector, was one of many people laid off earlier this year when President Donald Trump cut off federal funding for international aid programs.  

“I cried in my daughter’s arms,” he told my colleague Sara Braun. “All of my peers, everybody who I would think of talking to, were also unemployed.” 

But after a brief period of intense grief, Vota decided to take action. On Feb. 1, he started a Substack called  “Career Pivot,” with the goal of finding new roles for workers in the same position.   

The site is a mix of blog posts, job listings, and networking events, with an emphasis on helping subscribers—who are often mid-career workers with specialized skillsets—translate their expertise to a different field. But a major allure for many users is finding a sense of community during a dark period. 

“Job hunting is daunting and scary and lonely, and it can be very depressing,” says Laura Wigglesworth, a subscriber who worked as a global health and development recruiter for 25 years, and lost her job during funding freeze. “Especially if you don’t have a support community of people going through what you’re going through.” 

Joel Levesque feels the same way. A former federal aid contractor who lost his job earlier this year, he’s a subscriber who also contributes to the site with things like AMAs and guest posts.  

“This was really quite a traumatic thing that happened for people actually working in the sector,” he says. “So to be able to engage in a community where people are like me, and going through the same thing, really made me feel like I wasn’t crazy.” 

You can read more about Vota and his career pivot here. 

Leadership tip of the week 💡

It’s not women’s responsibility to close a stubborn and pernicious earnings gap. Employers need to totally rethink how they promote workers, says psychologist Adam Grant. 

Leadership Next

From spontaneous backpacking trips to AI-powered, hyper-personalized itineraries, travel has undergone a radical transformation. In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Diane Brady and Kristin Stoller sit down with Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) CEO Glenn Fogel to explore the future of travel. Glenn reflects on his early experiences navigating the world before smartphones, how AI is revolutionizing trip planning, and why personalization is key to the industry's evolution. He also discusses Booking Holdings’ rapid growth, its response to global crises like the Ukrainian refugee situation, and the industry’s potential next frontier—hypersonic travel. Plus, he shares insights on leading through uncertainty, the resilience of the travel industry, and why, despite a lifetime of global adventures, his favorite place to travel is home.

Listen to the episode and subscribe to Leadership Next wherever you listen to podcasts, or read the full transcript here.

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