Layoff to Liftoff: Lessons in Turning Challenge into Opportunity

This is a four-part series on the lessons learned from a recent layoff experience. This article is 100% human written.

Chapter 1: Shock & Awe

Several friends and colleagues have asked me to relate my recent layoff experience, with particular attention to the lessons learned. The goal of this series is to do just that. While some parts may pertain to more mid-career roles, there are certainly general job-hunting strategies that I've since passed along to mentees and friends at the earlier stages of their tech journey.

As is now the norm for remote work in Startupland, I was laid off via Zoom. My 1:1 had been moved to Friday, and being stuck in the weeds thought nothing of it. Upon joining the meeting, I saw my manager and someone from HR and knew exactly what was happening. Perhaps I was naive in thinking I was immune. I was employee #12 and "ride or die" for the company. As soon as the meeting ended, I was logged out of everything. After five years, it felt like being cast into a void.

Lesson 1: Activate the Network! ??

For better or worse, my reaction was first to laugh. Maybe it was just the shock.

Contrary to what might be expected, I didn't activate the "Open to Work" banner. That would come later. Instead, I immediately started back-channeling the news to trusted folks in my professional network, industry friends, and former colleagues. Why? Because connections are the fastest route to anywhere in business. Indeed, friends asked for my resume to pass along right away.

Case in point: I got laid off on a Friday morning. That Sunday, I was on a call with a VP at a major security company. And that was only possible because of a strong network, and a mutual connection who made an introduction.

I told everyone I was "open to any and all meetings or intros."

Throughout this series we'll return to value of a professional network, but for this installment, we'll focus on the why and how.

Lesson 2: Networking is a Long-Term Investment

"Networking" has always carried a smarmy connotation to me. The cramped cocktail lounge where you stick out your hand to meet strangers, make small talk, all while everyone is silently operating with the ulterior motive of "what can I get out of it." If that's how you network, good luck to you.

I got laid off on a Friday morning. That Sunday, I was on a call with a VP at a major security company. That was only possible because of a strong network.

So how do you do it?

A 401K for Your Career

First you must understand the time horizon for building a professional network. Think of it as you do for a 401K, investing time and effort in building relationships a little bit that over time yields a great return. For me, this has meant connecting over shared interests. Here are some things you can do:

• Allocate time every day to engage on LinkedIn. Try mornings for posts and late afternoon for reacting and commenting.
• Share relevant articles and resources.
• Offer assistance when feasible.
• Participate in professional forums and discussions.
• Go to events, be they big conferences or local meetups. As someone on the vendor side, I had the privilege of going to large tentpole conferences. But you can and should also start in your local area and region. Simply put, there is no substitute for breaking bread together or sharing a laugh to firmly cement a relationship that can continue over LinkedIn.

Give and Ye Shall Receive

For the past five years, I've operated by three words: Give, give, give.

Giving can mean my two cents on a particular issue, introducing people to one another, taking time to answer a question, or offering a platform to someone else. Whatever I have given, I've gained back three-fold: Genuine friendships, intellectual peers and collaborators, and industry pals I text with everyday. But it took time, effort, and energy to build and cultivate these connections. If you're just starting out, put the time in. These are the same folks who had my back when things went south. A network? No, I had an army behind me.

To be continued...

In Chapter 2: Runway and Burn Rate, I'll dig into how I decided to treat my unemployment like a startup, and how that mindset influenced my next steps.