The Lay Offs are Coming! The Lay Offs are Coming! (Jk - But not really)
Here's my layoff survival guide
Please retweet this first tweet so that others can be prepared
Disclaimer: This will be from the lens of an individual contributor in the tech space
However, the guide will contain actionable advice for all
Why should you listen to me? You shouldn't... I'm just an anon cartoon on the bird app
But if you still want to be convinced:
1 - I've been laid off (and survived/thrived through it) within 2 months of closing on a home and only receiving 1-month's severance
2 - I have "successfully" maneuvered my way into and around the tech space
Here's a thread I wrote on this for reference
twitter.com/BowTiedBroseid…
I got my first Tech job in 2016 with 0 experience and have since 7x'd my income
Here's exactly what I did step-by-step
Prevent it in the first place
If you haven't been crushing it at work take @BowTiedBull - Read Pinned Tweet or NGMI 's advice and start crushing it RIGHT NOW.
Most layoffs will happen in Q4 when budgets are formalized
Get ahead of it
Start asking around for insider information
Disclaimer: Don't be an idiot and get yourself into trouble
But if you can massage information out of someone in management you're close to it will work to your advantage to know ahead of time (in fact - I did exactly this when I was laid off in 2020)
Start preparing
If there is even the slightest iota of a chance you feel you could be let go, you need to be ready
Here's a quick checklist:
- Resume & Cover letter updated and ready to go
- Linkedin - Updated with a good headshot, Pay for premium, Status set to "open" for recruiters (be careful with this one though - your internal TA team can see this. I keep mine open always for this reason)
- Start leveraging your network and asking around.
Fire off the corporate America version of "u up" > "Y'all hiring"
- Have an idea of where you want to go/what you want to do
Now, let's discuss some strategies for the event that you do get laid off (or already have been)
These are the exact tactics I have used to get every single job in my career without a single connection or referral
1 -Make your resume POP!
- Make a Canva account (pro for a month probably worth it)
- Pick a sleek, standout template with some character to it (You're going to have to use some discretion here re: Photo, style, etc.. depending on geo, field, etc..)
- If you want to go the extra mile - pay someone to help you with your copy on your job descriptions and your design
I used "copy" for a reason
Your resume is literally nothing more than marketing material for yourself to the company in question
~70% of the interviews I've been on (and I've been on close to 100 over the last 7 years - including FAANG) the person interviewing me didn't look at my resume until we were in the room
Its main purpose is to make the recruiter pick yours out of a pile of 1,000
2 - Buy LinkedIn Pro and Use it
With this strategy, you might only need the one-month free trial
For every single job you're applying to you're going to:
Message a recruiter and/or someone from the team you are trying to get a job on and say " Hey XYZ, I've just applied to this position. I think, based on my background, I'm a really good fit. Do you have a few minutes for an informal chat?"
Even if they don't respond - your name is now on their radar. So when they're browsing the stack of resumes your name comes to mind immediately.
3 - Leverage your network (again)
Stalk LinkedIn and see if you have 1 or even 2 degrees of separation from someone at the company in question
And then...
Drumroll...
ASK FOR THE FAVOR
This is your livelihood we're talking about here and if you're reading this you're most likely a person with some courage
It's scientifically proven that people are more willing to help someone the less they know them
See: A friend in need is a friend indeed
I literally coached a friend through this exact process in August and they just signed their first Pharma sales role at a major player with 0 experience
It works
I've used it myself and helped a whole host of people get jobs with it (in very competitive job markets - think most competitive there is)
This was a little longer than expected but this I felt this information was extremely timely and valuable
In fact, this might be my most valuable thread to date
Thanks for reading
If you enjoyed it, please retweet and follow me so others can protect themselves from the Layoff monster