Navigating the Layoff Storm: Strategies for Rebuilding and Redefining Your Career
Laid off? Don’t panic!
The macroeconomic environment is scary right now. Layoffs abound. And especially if you work in tech, you are probably overwhelmed and reeling at the sheer volume of layoffs being announced. You might even be wondering if it will ever end. In times of struggle, the good news is: Nothing lasts forever. In times of plenty, the bad news is: Nothing lasts forever.
Feel your feelings, and then move on.
It’s completely normal to feel mad, sad, scared, and frustrated if you are impacted by a job loss. Conversely, some of you may be relieved knowing you were in a career that was no longer serving you. These feelings are probably intensified when so many people, many of whom you may know, are being laid off and the rounds of layoffs keep coming. It’s ok to feel however you are feeling about the job loss. Our careers are a big part of our lives and most of us are working not for fun but because this is how we pay for our lives. Commonly, people tend to take layoffs very personally and begin to doubt their worth as a professional. Your career may be a big part of your identity; but please remember your career is what you do, not who you are. Allow yourself time to go through the grieving process so you can pick yourself up and move on.
It’s a reset, not an end.
The language we use to describe the circumstances of our lives is powerful. These narratives we create have meaning and as we tell ourselves these stories time and time again, we start to believe them. Mind the words you use, particularly to yourself, about being laid off. This is just a reset, a forced reset perhaps, but it’s not the end. (Remember, nothing lasts forever!) This is an excellent opportunity to take a beat and evaluate what you do and don’t like about what your career has been to this point. You now have the space and downtime to pivot to something else, to something new. It’s hard to find the space to consider what is and isn’t serving you about your career when you are neck-deep in the rush of your daily job routine. For some, it’s a great opportunity to seek out new training and educational options so you can move into a field you have always wanted to explore. For others, it may mean taking a leap into the unknown to start your own business. Ever dreamed of working for yourself but it always seemed like it would take too much time and energy you just didn’t have because of how demanding your job was? Now is your chance!
Necessity is the mother of invention.
I joined Cisco in the summer of 2010, right before one of the biggest layoffs in company history. (Way to go Jess! Impeccable timing right?) And if that wasn’t bad enough, I had just relocated, at my own expense, back to the Bay Area and had joined the Emerging Technologies (an incubated startup under the Cisco umbrella) team at Cisco; in Consumer Technologies (how well-known is Cisco for consumer technology??)
I arrived at work the fated morning to a flurry of activity: Physical Security all over the place, HR business partners looking very serious and milling about, and my Director looking like someone had just shot his dog. A significant part of our business unit had been called into a nondescript meeting in one of the largest conference rooms in our building all at the same time. Only a handful of us were not on that meeting invite. I pressed my Director about it and he told me bluntly I didn’t want to be in that meeting and to go sit down. So I did. A friend of mine who I had been working closely with came out of that meeting looking shell shocked. When I asked if he was ok, he simply said “No, I don’t think I am. My wife is pregnant, I just spent all that money on this franchise, and I’m laid off.” My heart sank. The business unit had been shuttered and 90% of the team had been let go. It was clear to me we weren’t going to be doing any work that day so after my friend packed up his desk, I took him to lunch. I was at a loss for words (and anyone who knows me will tell you, I am seldom at a loss for words). What came to mind and what I said was “I have no idea how, but, I really believe that you and I will look back on this day years from now and you will tell me this will be the best thing that ever happened to you.” His response was “Yeah, ok, maybe. But what am I going to do??”
Fast forward more than a decade later, that friend has successfully launched several businesses, has been on and won Shark Tank, and is now an Angel Investor helping entrepreneurs start businesses of their own. Today, if I were to ask my friend how he feels now about being laid off all those years ago, he would agree it was in fact the best thing that ever happened to him!
He has been an inspiration to me ever since.
Tips to navigate the uncertainty:
Give yourself some time to grief. It is a loss and all losses require a grieving process. It’s ok to ask for help navigating your feelings.
After reviewing your finances, pick an amount of time you will give yourself to just recover. Chances are you have some money saved, a little severance pay you will get, and the ability to claim unemployment benefits. You can afford to give yourself permission to just not work and not care – for a short period of time. Defining the amount of time is important.
After your respite, get clear about your passions, capabilities, and qualifications. (Check out my blog and video posts on Discovering True Yourself for information about exercises you can do to help you with this). Once you have clarity on this it will help with what comes next.
DO NOT PANIC! You will be tempted to apply for any job that vaguely matches your skill sets. Don’t do it. You want any applications you make to be meaningful so that you leave the company you are applying to with the impression that you are a high caliber candidate that they want on their team.
Consider if working for another company is really what you want to do. Necessity is the mother of invention and now might be just the opportunity you needed to start your own thing! Insight Rising would have never launched had I not been laid off myself!
I know it’s hard. You got this. And, I have your back! If you are ready for some help navigating what to do next, I can help! Reach out to see if Career Coaching might be right for you.