The Bounce Back: What to do When You Get Laid Off

“Never be afraid or embarrassed about the layoff. You still have the same value. Your value doesn’t go away. You just have to get somebody who appreciates that value. That’s what job searching is all about.”

– Ashley Watkins, NCRW, NCOPE Jobscan Standout Summit 2024 Speaker

Are you one of the millions of workers who were laid off this year? If so, you know how stressful that experience can be. After reading countless stories from people who experienced a layoff this year, one question we kept seeing over and over was: “What do I do now?” Rest assured that you can bounce back from this layoff. There are practical steps that you can start taking today to launch a successful job search.

Welcome to your bounce back.

The Bounce Back

Let’s just establish this fact first: Your value does not change after a layoff. You have just as much to offer to a company as you did before the layoff.

You can bounce back.

Accepting this fact is not only important for your mental health, but it’s important for your job search too.

A job search takes a lot of work. Tailoring your resume, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, networking with new people, and dealing with rejection is difficult. 

But job searching is a lot harder when you don’t see the value you bring to a company. Maybe you don’t apply for certain jobs because the layoff shook your confidence, or you don’t negotiate your pay because you feel desperate.

‘What’s the point of optimizing my resume if all people see is my age?’

So, let’s put those concerns out of the picture. This practical guide will show you exactly what you need to do to land your next job.

What to do next

Step 1: Take a self-inventory

After being laid off, the first thing you need to decide is whether you should start your job search right away or take some time off.

Make that decision easier by taking a self-inventory.

Here’s Ashley Watkins’ advice as a job search coach on what questions you should ask during this self-inventory:

After answering those questions and evaluating your situation, you’ll have a concrete timeline and a clear view of what steps to take next.

For example, if you’re like many people right now and must watch your bank account more closely than usual, then your next step is to consider immediate employment options. That can lead to these evaluation questions:

A self-inventory will give you a clear timeline and career path.

Lastly, let people know you’ve been laid off. We’ll talk more about networking in a future step, but an early heads-up to your network might open quick opportunities. 

Step 2: Take a career inventory

A self-inventory will reveal what you want and need. A career inventory will set you up to get what you want and need.

Here’s Ashley Watkins’ list of crucial information to gather:

Don’t cherry-pick just yet. You need as much information as possible at this step. You can choose which details to include in each job application when you get to that step.

After you have that information, use it to update (or create) your job search collateral. That includes your

• Resume 
• Cover letter
• LinkedIn profile

When you update these documents, remember to focus on where you’re headed, not only where you’re coming from.

For example, if you’re ready to target leadership positions, then you need to speak as a leader not an individual contributor, even if that’s what you were before.

Here’s how Ashley says to think of it: “You’re taking that inventory and deciding how you’re going to market that through your documents — your resume, your cover letter, or online via LinkedIn, or if you’re going to get a personal website to highlight what you’ve done.”

This is a good time to set up your Jobscan account. Build a resume for free so you have a base document that you can tailor for each job.

That will get you ready for Step 3.

Step 3: Start applying for jobs

This is where the real work begins. Remember those millions of other workers who got laid off? They’re looking for the same jobs you are. How do you stand out among the other applicants?

Tailor your resume for each job application.

Remember those skills, accomplishments, and awards you compiled in Step 2? Well, not all of them are relevant to every single job. You need to show each recruiter that you are the best fit for that job.

Look at the job listing and determine what exactly the company is looking for. For example, if the role is a marketing specialist, will you be doing email and social media marketing or blogging and copywriting? Do you need to have data analysis skills or writing skills?

Even if the job titles are the same, the responsibilities and requirements can vary from company to company.

A tailored resume gives you an advantage over the “spray and pray” job seekers. Here’s how you can tailor your resume using Jobscan.

Now, you can stop here if you want. But there’s another crucial part of your job search that many people leave out.

Step 4: Start networking

Take it from an expert, networking can give you a huge advantage in the job market.

“[You] should not stop with just applying online. Then you’re sitting and waiting, you’re posting and praying, right? You want to be building those relationships.

“Find people who do what you do, who do what you want to do, and people who work where you want to work. Connect with people who work where you used to work. They may not necessarily work in marketing, and you want to be in marketing. Maybe they’re in the accounting department, but … surely they know somebody else in another department, so they can maybe introduce you to someone.”

How do you get started?

Here are three tips from job search coach Ashley Watkins.

Make yourself easy to find

Many recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates, even if they haven’t applied for the job. LinkedIn is basically a search engine, so your LinkedIn profile needs to be optimized for search. Otherwise, you’re probably missing out on job opportunities that you didn’t even know about.

65% of recruiters said LinkedIn is the social media channel they use most for recruiting. 53% said it is the social channel that brings the highest quality candidates.

Source: Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report

Keep it simple

Ashley says, “Networking is not necessarily the salesy scary thing that you have to do, and you have to have the perfect thing to say. Networking could be like, ‘Oh my God, I love your headshot. Who did your headshot?’ It could be something as simple as that. And now you’re sharing information back and forth. ‘Oh, I would love to get connected with them. Do you have a link to their profile?’ That’s a conversation now. You can potentially have a new headshot photographer who could then introduce you to someone else.”

Think of networking as simply making friends.

Be specific

“Let people know what you’re interested in, where you’d like to work. Give them an example of the work that you do. Because job titles don’t necessarily tell what you do.”

Remember your updated and optimized resume? Use it while networking. Give people your resume or send them your LinkedIn profile. Now they have a clear understanding of who you are, what your skills are, what you’re looking for, and what industry you’re in. Now they know who to call when they hear of an opportunity.

Help people help you.

How to negotiate when you’re feeling the pressure of unemployment

After being laid off, you might feel the pressure of a time crunch. You have bills to pay, a family to take care of, and a limited amount of time to find another job.

But that doesn’t mean you have to be a desperate job seeker.

Take it from the words of a recruiter: “Even if now if you’re in a situation where you’re scared to death to negotiate or ask for more because you think somebody’s going to take a job offer back from you – that typically does not happen. We go into job offers expecting to negotiate.”

Here are a few tips for a successful negotiation, even if you’re unemployed:

Quick ways to fill the employment gap

Your self-inventory might have revealed that you need to get another job pretty soon. If you’re not getting job offers quickly enough, here’s Ashley’s advice on what you can do to fill that employment gap.

Contract work

“Reach out to any recruiting agency. There are companies who actually have an agreement with a staffing agency. They may be filling in for somebody who may be on FMLA or medical leave or something like that. So, they may be gone for a couple of months, maybe someone’s on some sort of sabbatical. So those types of agencies will have opportunities that could be short term contracts, maybe six to nine months.

“A lot of companies like to promote from within. They like to convert their contractors. So, it’s a great way to test-run with that company, but then express your interest in turning that opportunity into full-time work.”

Paid internships

“You may have gotten a new degree, but you don’t have any practical experience. An internship is a way for you to get that. Whether it be paid or unpaid depends on your financial situation that you’ve assessed well enough in advance.”

Freelance work

Even if these opportunities don’t convert to full-time work at that company, it gives you a way to bridge the gap, gain more experience for your resume, achieve measurable results to improve your candidacy for the next job, and get LinkedIn recommendations and professional references.

“When customers are telling you that you’re doing such a great job – ‘Well, great, can I send you a resume? I’m a contractor, I’m seeking fulltime employment. It would help me out a lot if you gave me this recommendation. I can in turn do another favor for you. If you want, I can look over this document for you.’ Whatever the case, just be willing to give in order to get.”

Mistakes to avoid

The number 1 thing to avoid after being laid off is not speaking up.

Many people don’t speak up because they’re afraid of being judged. But here’s the fact: recruiters don’t really care if you were laid off.

Here’s the inside scoop from Ashley (an actual recruiter): “[People expect to hear], ‘Well, if you did such a great job at XYZ Company, then why did you get laid off?’ That’s not really a question that we ask a lot of times. That thinking is archaic now. We know that layoffs happen a lot of times. We know that people are willing to walk away from these jobs that are just not working for them, and we completely understand that.”

Here are some other mistakes to avoid after being laid off:

It’s true, there are a lot of people competing for the job you want, but you have the power to take control of your job search.

Jobscan can help you optimize your job search collateral so that you get more interviews.

Your bounce back starts today and Jobscan has the tools to get you started.

Start optimizing your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. Sign up for Jobscan to get started.