Jungus64's journey

I’ve been feeling super burnt out and overworked in my role as a brand manager at an agency for about a year now. Since I’m the only one left in my department after everyone else was let go, I’ve inherited a lot of their clients, which has significantly increased my workload. We’ve lost many clients, and those that remain are struggling. It’s not due to our work quality; it’s just that the Amazon space is incredibly tough for small businesses to navigate without strictly adhering to Amazon's rules. I find myself taking on responsibilities that clients should handle themselves, like analyzing their profitability, and when I have to break the bad news, it often feels like it reflects poorly on us. It’s frustrating because many brands are hesitant to make necessary changes or raise their prices, which leads to a sense of selling snake oil, even though we’re just pointing out real issues. Management hasn’t been supportive either. While I receive feedback, I wasn’t trained for this specific role, and after a year on Amazon, I can confidently say it's the most challenging platform I’ve worked with. The lack of flexibility and endless fees make it feel like we’re battling the platform rather than assisting our clients. Today, my boss had a mentoring session with me about my client communication, suggesting I should ask more questions and build better relationships. While I appreciate the feedback, it felt misplaced given my current workload and the fact that I’ve been trying to keep everything afloat after the layoffs. That hour-long conversation took time away from my already overwhelming tasks, leaving me questioning my performance instead of focusing on my work. I know I should be grateful for my job, especially with decent pay and benefits, but the workload is unsustainable, and I’m genuinely unhappy. I’ve been searching for other jobs, but the options in my city are limited, mostly in sales or customer service. I’ve applied anyway, but it feels like marketing roles are dwindling due to AI and industry-wide layoffs. Seeing so many people unemployed adds to my discouragement, making me feel trapped in this situation. I’m not sure what my next steps should be, but I wanted to share my experience and see if anyone else has felt similarly or found a way through it.