things that you can do if you were laid off today – advice from a professional ..

5 things I’d do immediately if I got laid off today (+ the next 5)

First 5:

• Go for a walk and remind myself of how far I’ve come
• Let myself experience all the feels and not try to resist them
• Detach my self-worth from an outcome that I couldn’t control
• Go 48 hrs w/o touching my resume, LinkedIn, or the job boards
• Spend time doing anything to get me to laugh (pets, movies, friends)

After 2 days, I’d move onto the next 5:

1. Identify

• Identify the 1 role I’m going to target (not multiple different ones)
• Identify what I’m looking for in a manager/company/culture/role
• Identify times when I thrived/didn’t thrive and know why

1. Resume

• Write a summary to highlight my strengths/experience using data
• Include a quantifiable achievements section for each role I was in
• Include a responsibilities section for each role I was in (no fluff)
• Make sure that they are relevant to the job I’m targeting next
• Remove all graphs, tables, pictures or self-assessments

Length:
1 page < 5 years
2 pages < 10 years
3 pages < 15+ years

3. LinkedIn

• Include a portfolio / website showcasing my experience (if applicable)
• Make sure my ‘About’ section matches the summary on my resume
• Create a professional profile picture (smiling is okay, too 😀)
• Turn on my ‘Open to Work’ badge and ignore the haters
• Use my profile header to have a quick blurb of my exp

3. Baskets Strategy:

I’d create 5 baskets (aka lists) of people I’m going to reach out to:

• Basket 1: Recruiters that reached out to me in the past 12 months
• Basket 2: Past colleagues, managers, alumni, friends and past clients
• Basket 3: Recruiters, Leaders, HM’s who work at my target companies
• Basket 4: Join 3 user groups specific to my skillset and engage in there
• Basket 5: Search for anyone who posted that they are ‘hiring’ for my role

Here’s the prompt I’d use to search:

hiring AND “my role” (i.e., hiring AND “project manager”) -> filter by post

4.5 Execution of Basket Strategy

• I would split my time across each basket vs. putting all eggs in one
• I’d create tailored messages vs. creating a generic one-size fits all
• I’d tie in what I did/achieved to what they need in each message

1. Proactively Prep for Interviews

• Study 10-15 job descriptions of the roles I’m targeting
• Create STAR examples for each major responsibility
• Include what I did, how I did it, and what I achieved
• Practice my tone, my delivery, and my conciseness
• Prepare thoughtful/well-researched questions

Lastly:

• I’d focus on things that I control such as my activity & emotions
• I’d ignore all the things that I can’t, such as landing an offer
• I’d believe that results will come so long as I don’t stop

Above all else, I would not forget this:

Finding a job that pays me what I’m worth, at a company that I admire, doing what I enjoy (in a market like this), w/o doing the above would be an exception and not the norm.