How To Effectively Mobilize A Job Search After Being Laid Off

You’ve been laid-off – not fired. This can happen for many reasons, such as a buyout, restructuring, company relocation, or general budgetary downsizing. Being laid-off is a shock to the system; from the moment you hear the word “transition” to the day you walk out the door for the last time, is general numbness. Unless you have the time to find a new job before your current one ends (more on that below), it is not uncommon to start your new life in justifiable paralysis. Hopefully, this list of tips, informed by personal experience, helps you mobilize for your next big thing.

• Let the emotions happen. It is never pleasant when the hammer falls; including 900 employees laid off by a CEO on Zoom right before the holidays – talk about a shock to the system! One moment you’re employed, the next you’re not; the opposite happens too. You’ve been laid off, but your end date is far away, and you walk around with a pink slip in your back pocket. People respond to a professional “separation” differently. Relief. Anger. Fear. Anxiety. A little of each? Allow yourself to feel however you are going to feel. Try your best to conduct yourself with dignity and professionalism (no easy task under some circumstances) and, if you’re part of a mass layoff, help each other out.

• Assess your current situation. At some point, you must set your emotions aside and conduct an objective assessment of the reality of your finances. Run the numbers. How much money are you owed? How much severance will you get? Get a rough idea of your financial cushion. If possible, have an employment attorney or someone familiar with employment law review your termination agreement. Make sure you understand the potential trade-offs if you sign the document. For example, if there is a non-compete clause that will play a role in how you game-plan your next step. Review existing employment agreements to make sure the company is not in breach.

• Get your references lined up. You may have to work quickly but line up as many high-level references as possible. You have two advantages. First, from a perception perspective, it matters in the market that you’re laid off and not fired. People are more willing to say nice things about you when you’re laid-off rather than fired. Second, you can leverage more and higher-level references. You may be able to get references you would not be able to get otherwise. Ask and you may receive. And use your LinkedIn profile to cast a wide net for your Recommendations section.

• Build your timeline – and stick to it! Layoffs are often both dramatic and traumatic. If the lead-up was a classic case of a long time coming, you may be burnt out. It is in this space you may be faced with a difficult decision. What if someone reaches out to you and wants you to slide into a new job – no loss of income, no worrying about what comes next, no risk? Think carefully about what you need. You may lose mind share in the marketplace if you take time off, but maybe you should. Only you can decide that. If you take time off, practice self-care and build in wellness time. Your mental health is a critical factor in finding a new job or launching a new business (or whatever endeavor you undertake). If you’re burnt out, you’re not going to stick to your timeline, which you must do because your timeline works in tandem with a financial plan to fund it.

• Optimize your resources. Build a detailed financial plan for your timeline. Many layoffs happen when there is a general downturn in the economy, which may make it more difficult to find a new job than in a healthy economy. Even if you take time off and expect to be employed well within the constraints of your financial plan, you just never know. Reduce your expenses. If that means canceling your annual trip to Bali, cancel it. Maximize revenue. If that means filing for unemployment, file for unemployment. Amortize your severance to cover your baseline expenses. Pick up extra income where you can.

• Take advantage of any outplacement services your company offers you. Outplacement services give the newly unemployed a structured way to jump-start a job search and can include help with your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profiles, references, interview skills, and generally developing your professional brand. Don’t wait. Take advantage of any help your company offers during your exit, especially outplacement services.

• Build and nurture communication with current/past co-workers. It’s all about who you know. Your professional network is a web of people, most of whom are willing to help you out. In turn, you should help them out. The world of online job postings is relatively new. Until the 1990s, people found out about jobs by word of mouth, and listings were in the newspaper. Word of mouth can be better than all the online job boards combined. You can get juicy and solid job leads through your professional network as well as other perks, like a referral or recommendation Likewise, referrals inside a target company can often move things forward by contacting Human Resources or the hiring manager to check on the status of your application, in a way that you can’t.

Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching is a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email us at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or reach us via the website, www.insidercs.com.