About Me

Hi There!

I'm Jessica Nikolich, ex-corporate employee, mother of two, and author of the Baking Breakup. The Baking Breakup started with my breakup from corporate life in 2022, and was invented as a creative and cathartic outlet for me to heal from the traumas associated with corporate culture as well as chronic burnout. My hope is that as I lean back into my lifetime passion for baking, I will not only heal myself, but also gain clarity on what my future holds. I hope you enjoy joining me on this journey of baking and cathartic healing. If you too are suffering from cognitive dissonance with corporate culture and all that our society tells us is success, maybe you will find this a good outlet for your own recovery and self-discovery.

Background On My Departure From Corporate

After 15+ years in corporate jobs, I looked up and realized I had got it all wrong. I had been faithfully climbing the career ladder, receiving accolades, proverbial pats on the back, and recognition from my peers, and generally feeling proud of my achievements. Not only that, but I had started to identify so strongly with myself as an ambitious career woman, that the thought of stepping away from it all was almost ridiculous.

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However, like many folks, worn down by two years of pandemic adjusting behaviors, and stuck in my home, I began to feel the effects of burnout. It wasn't until the culture I was working in became toxic that I woke up from my blind treading of the path to success our society tells us to trudge, and started re-evaluating.

It took almost a year to unpack my feelings about work. Was I just feeling the effects of two years of work from home pandemic culture? Was I just adjusting to the birth of my second child that had only happened six months prior? A really impactful moment for me in figuring this out was when I received a job offer from another prominent tech company. The job was perfect for my existing skills, it had a better title than my current one, the pay was astronomical, and I knew in my gut I didn't want it. I renegotiated for more money to stay in my current role, and while I was proud of myself for making that negotiation, I felt as numb inside after as I had before I got my bigger paycheck. I realized that the title and the pay didn't matter. I was meeting every definition of success and yet I was unhappy. It was the kick to the gut I needed. I started to plan my exit, and was able to do so a few months later with the support of my husband. I left with no plans for anything else - I am aware and appreciative that I am in a position of privilege to be able to make this a possibility. The decision to be temporarily unemployed was so important for me to continue my journey on separating my self-worth from my job, and to give me time to heal and pick the right future career. So here I am, baking away until I figure it out. Maybe this is my business, who knows? I appreciate you following along with my story if you've read this far, and hope it is helpful to someone else out there going through similar doubts.

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