Here's how you can rebuild your personal brand after a layoff in Higher Education.

Reflect on your career trajectory and personal brand by assessing your passions, strengths, and unique value. Consider feedback, successes, and challenges to identify what sets you apart in your field. Use this introspection to refine your brand, ensuring it accurately represents who you are and aligns with your career aspirations. This clarity will guide you toward where you want to go and how you present yourself professionally.

You should not just have one resume. They are not one size fits all because as humans, we are not one size fits all either. Go through and pick out your key skills relevant to the posts and positions you are applying for, these need to be highlighted within your experiences. Do this for the different positions/industry sectors you are applying for. It is a time consuming process but it will benefit you greatly later - particularly as organisations are beginning to use AI and have been using other programmes to scan applications for specific key words and terms. If they are not listed extensively enough in your experience, you won't even be shortlisted.

Layoffs in higher ed tend to happen at the faculty level first - with the exception of times like the pandemic. But you should always be networking even when you're working. Thoughtful networking with individuals at institutions you might want to join. Also consider non-higher ed institutions - but within the same industry.

This may not help immediately after a layoff, but finding good connections in higher education before a layoff happens can make a huge difference. Then, if you are laid off, you have a network to fall back on. Think about academic agencies that are in your disciplinary area—consider volunteering for them or writing for their newsletters both before and during a layoff period. This can do two things: it can provide you with some level of scholarship while you are not working and it can also provide you with an affiliation. Even if you are volunteering for one of these agencies, you can still include it on your résumé (being clear so that your are not misleading those who will analyze your CV for your next job).

When you are on the job market for your next position, make sure that search consultants and search committees know what happened and the circumstances surrounding your layoff. They will hear about it from your references—especially if they call off-list. It is much better for them to hear about it from you first. Often search consultants can help to explain what occurred to members of the search committee if they are not taken by surprise. This is actually a pretty common occurrence. And while that doesn’t help in the moment, know that this happens regularly and is not usually a final ending.

Comece refletindo sobre suas habilidades, conquistas e áreas de melhoria. Atualize seu currículo e perfil do LinkedIn, destacando suas realiza??es e experiências relevantes. Inclua novos cursos, certifica??es ou projetos que você tenha concluído desde a demiss?o. Isso demonstra seu compromisso com o desenvolvimento contínuo e a adaptabilidade. Construir uma presen?a online sólida é fundamental. Compartilhar insights, pesquisas e experiências pode posicioná-lo como um especialista e atrair a aten??o de empregadores e colegas. Participar de discuss?es em grupos profissionais online também pode aumentar sua visibilidade e credibilidade. Reconecte-se com colegas, mentores e outros contatos profissionais.