I was laid off one day before my 2nd child was born. I landed a job at Meta in a month thanks to 5 habits I practiced even before the layoff.

Vishwanath Eswarakrishnan; Meta; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vishwanath Eswarakrishnan, a software engineer who joined Meta's Menlo Park, California office in March 2024. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment history.