Will work for ... well ... work.

The job hunt continues for Alexandria Ann Rocha.

This time last year, the major corporation I worked for closed its West Coast division, leaving me and 1,400 of my colleagues without jobs. Across the nation, the number was even more staggering: 7,000 people who worked for Macy’s lost their jobs, from east to west, and north to south.

My mom was already in the process of losing her home to foreclosure. The layoff was the second time the Great Recession hit close to home.

Since then, I have managed to maintain my career, freelancing a long stint at the cosmetics company Bare Escentuals, then landing a permanent position on a consumer technology account at a marketing services agency.

Last week, my company announced that it was losing the account, which it has had for seven years. I have heard that seven years is nearly unheard of in the agency world.

If you have been following the tech business, you might know that certain consumer technology brands are undergoing massive changes to keep their footing with the competition. As it was with Macy’s, it’s a business decision and part of a larger strategy to keep the company from going under. I get it. But it doesn’t make it suck any less.

So once again I find myself looking for the next big thing. By “big thing,” I mean the next big thing for me.

When I transitioned from journalism to advertising 2 1/2 years ago, I was worried about leaving something I was seriously passionate about. What I found at Macy’s, in the work and in the coworkers, was something I truly cared about. It was devastating to lose both. At Bare Escentuals, again, I found the same thing. I was just getting started at the agency.

I am not afraid to write about this because it is the truth and it is turning into my story. In January, 10% of Americans were unemployed, according to the BLS. For a lot of us, it is not a reflection of the work we do and have produced. I know that is not the case for me.

My mom always gets goosebumps when I talk about changing jobs. So does my father-in-law. We don’t even tell him about certain job-related issues because we know it will stress him out. Their generations prided themselves on job longevity. My mom, in fact, is dating a man who has been at the same job for 45 years. It’s the first job he had after graduating from high school. My grandmother and aunts, and of course my mom, are thrilled about this. He’s stable, they say.

For us, this is unthinkable. If you’re not moving, you’re not learning or growing. If you haven’t worked within all areas of your industry, then forget it.

But now, I am finding it difficult to keep a job for even a single year. Employees seem so much more disposable now.

So here I am, putting my hat in the ring yet again. I’m looking for the right place, not just any place, to hang my hat for a while.

And by that, I mean at least a couple of years.