4 Steps to Take Right After a Layoff to Land Your Next Job ASAP

Emily Stark | The Muse | February 1, 2023

No matter what your layoff looks like—whether you’ve worked for a company for ten months or ten years, whether you were notified by an impersonal email or with a compassionate sit-down conversation—it stings. For many of us, work is interwoven in our identities and how we contribute to the world, so when a company cuts us off, the questions that fill our heads aren’t just, “What will I do next?” but also, “Who am I?”

There’s a flood of complicated and heavy emotions to parse in the weeks that follow and it’s important to take the time to process them. But it’s also critical to take a few steps early on, ideally within the first 24 hours—because as time ticks, you’re distanced from the people, projects, and data that are invaluable in landing your next role. So you’ll want to do a few things to set yourself up to transition more quickly into an exciting new opportunity.

Here’s where my work comes in. I’m an outplacement coach, which means I assist professionals recently separated from their jobs in revamping their resumesLinkedIn profiles, and cover letters; building a job search strategy; and preparing for interviews. I’ve supported some of the people behind recent headlines of mass layoffs seemingly everywhere.

But amidst all of this turmoil, I do have some good news: Nearly all clients I’ve worked with land a new position within three months. And some get there even more quickly. The clients that blaze through their career transitions tend to take one or more of these four steps right away—and you may want to do the same.

Read the full article here.

 

By MIT Sloan CDO
MIT Sloan CDO