I was laid off from Google at 53 and left tech entirely. I’m now a filmmaker and an actor living out my dream.

Trinette Faint. Courtesy of Trinette Faint Trinette Faint, an ex-Google employee, found new paths in acting and screenwriting post-layoff. Faint embraced creativity, launching a company and getting into screenwriting during her gap year. She's used Airbnb, her unemployment benefits, and a part-time contract role to fund her gap year. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Trinette Faint, a 54-year-old ex-Google employee turned actor, screenwriter, and entrepreneur who recently moved to Montpellier, France. It has been edited for length and clarity. I started out in production and as a personal assistant in the 1990s. I continued my career in 2011 as the US payroll manager, travel manager, and executive assistant to the CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates in New York. I went on to hold a similar role at Nike before working as a copywriter and editor for an Italian luxury skincare brand.