What To Do If You've Been Laid Off

So you've been laid off. It's not uncommon right now. This year alone, nearly 125,000 workers have been laid off by almost 300 companies. According to most reports, there's more on the way.

Being laid off can create panic, anxiety, and fear in the hearts of even the most confident of professionals. So what should you do?

Examine your severance package and check your finances.

Make sure you're aware of all of the parts of your severance package and how many months, if any, you will continue to be paid. Assess your own finances as well. You need to know exactly how much time you have to find a new position, and only once you have a very clear picture of your finances will you know how long your "runway" is. Right now, the average timeline to find a new role is 4-6 months, particularly in the executive realm.

Allow Yourself to Grieve and "Feel the Bad."

One of the mistakes people often make is jumping right into a job search without allowing themselves to "feel the bad." If you don't give yourself time to grieve, you likely won't perform as well in interviews and important conversations, which could make your search take longer. This grieving time will allow you to process your emotions, acknowledge and come to terms with the fact that there probably wasn't much you could have done to prevent this layoff, and look forward to what's next. Don't take too long here - a week or two should be sufficient to move through the most intense grief and into a more productive mindset.

Take the time to be intentional about your next steps.

If possible, it's ideal if you can take the time to be highly intentional about your next steps. The last thing you want is to land in a bad situation, with a bad cultural fit, work you don't like, or a toxic working environment. In some cases, you may not have the time to do the due diligence to deeply research an organization before accepting an offer, particularly if you need a job right away, but if you can, try to slow things down.

During the pandemic, so many folks were suddenly shifted to working from home and it turned out to be a good opportunity for many to rethink the direction of their careers and to re-assess their choices - of jobs, companies, and even industries. Most people called it The Great Resignation, but I've always called it The Great Shift.

Right now, we may be at another inflection point where, if you've been laid off, it's worth asking yourself, "Is this where I always imagined myself? Is this where I really want to be?" Believe it or not, sometimes a layoff can be a gift that you never knew you needed or wanted, and it can lead to bigger and better things, or just to something you love so much more than what you were doing before.

The goal here is to take your time, ask deep questions, and assess if you're right where you want to be or if it's time for a shift in your career. Particularly important to those in the tech sector: there are many tech opportunities outside the tech sector, and you might consider those instead of focusing on an industry that's likely to have more layoffs in the months to come.

Activate and Grow Your Network

One of the most important pieces of your job search journey now is to activate your network - anyone and everyone you've worked with before and anyone and everyone you've met along the way.

It's also vital that you grow your network. If you're adjusting the direction of your career or changing industries, you'll want to build a network in that new direction. Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for conversations to learn about industries where you haven't worked before. You never know where an opportunity might come from, so the more conversations you can have, the better! Remember, people hire people. The more people you know, the sooner you'll find your new role.

LinkedIn should become your new best friend. It's specifically designed to make networking easy and efficient, which means you can reach out to almost anyone and start to build new relationships and easily access older connections, too.

Start Your Hunt

While most of my clients do not find their next roles by searching LinkedIn or Indeed or other job sites for open positions, it's certainly the most traditional strategy. I had one client who applied for nearly 800 jobs in 12 weeks to find her next thing! While that may sound exhausting, take heart and know that you probably won't have to apply for so many positions to get the one you want. Still, make sure you apply for the roles that suit you best and always tailor your resume to the job description so you can make it through those pesky applicant tracking systems. Keywords are your friends here, as are any tools that will run a comparative scan of your resume and the job description to ensure you're highlighting the skills and experience that recruiters want to see.

Know That You Are Not Alone

Above all, keep your chin up and believe in yourself. You will get a new job. It might even be the job you've always wished for. There's no shame in being laid off, and it might even be a blessing - you can even take it as an opportunity to level up if you position yourself the right way.

And, know that you're very much not alone. Remember, nearly 125,000 workers (and counting, unfortunately) have been laid off this year and it's likely that more are on the way.

Stay strong and be bold, my friends. It may not feel like it, but your next thing might be right around the corner, and it could be the most amazing role of your career.