My neighbour married three wives because he believed a man who could provide for a family could marry as many wives as he wanted. His first wife stood by him when he had nothing. His second wife came when his business started growing, and the third came when he could finally afford a big house. But after some years, money became a problem. If he gave one wife ₦50,000, the others wanted to know what he gave them. If he spent the weekend with one, the others complained. School fees, feeding, birthdays, and even Christmas clothes became competitions. One evening, I saw him sitting outside his shop, looking exhausted. I asked him what was wrong. His response surprised me.

I applied for 50 jobs after getting laid off. Only 6 recruiters reached out after I changed my LinkedIn status to “Open to Work.” But the hardest part wasn’t the rejection. It was explaining to my wife why I was still unemployed. I had worked as a software engineer for six years. I wasn’t rich, but my salary covered our rent, bills, groceries, and the little savings we were building. Then, one Tuesday morning, my manager called me into a meeting. Twenty minutes later, I was unemployed. “It’s a company restructuring,” he explained. “Your performance has nothing to do with this.” I nodded like I understood. But when I got home, I sat in my car for almost 40 minutes because I didn’t know how to tell my wife. The first week, I applied for jobs confidently. By the third week, I was checking my email every few minutes. By the second month, I had sent out 50 applications. Most companies never replied. Some sent automated rejection emails. A few invited me to interviews, only to disappear afterward. Eventually, I updated my LinkedIn profile and switched my status to “Open to Work.” That’s when things started changing. About 6 recruiters reached out. Not all of them had suitable positions, and several conversations went nowhere. But for the first time in months, I felt like someone could actually see me. One recruiter introduced me to a company I hadn’t even considered applying to. I went through three interviews. Then came the final call. “We’d like to offer you the position.” I asked her to repeat herself. When I told my wife, she hugged me so tightly that I almost cried. The salary was better than my previous one, but that wasn’t what made me happiest. It was knowing that those months of rejection hadn’t made me worthless. Losing your job can make you question your value. But unemployment is a situation, not your identity. If you’ve been laid off, don’t give up after the first 20 applications. Keep improving your profile, reach out to recruiters, and let people know you’re available. Sometimes, the opportunity that changes your life comes from a conversation you almost didn’t have.