Over 150,000 tech workers lost their jobs in 2022, with more than half of those layoffs happening in November and December alone. To start in 2023, more than 18,000 tech workers have been laid off from large firms such as Salesforce and Amazon. With the rising number of layoffs, we all, unfortunately, know someone, maybe ourselves, impacted. There’s no right way to deal with being laid off, but below are a few tips and tricks to help you get back on your feet and keep moving forward.
Take time to process: This is no doubt a challenging time in your professional career. You will have a lot of emotions to process, so take some time for yourself to unplug and process everything.
Set a realistic timeline for you to unplug and process your emotions. Stick to that timeline and don’t even start thinking about looking for a new job until your pre-determined date.
2-3 days is pretty standard. If you have the means or the severance to take a week or two, even better!
During that timeline you can do literally anything that will keep your mind off your career:
Spend time catching up with family and friends.
Finish that home improvement project you’ve been putting off.
Binge White Lotus. Prego in advance for the suggestion…
Bring your favorite book to a coffee shop in the middle of the day.
Go on walks around your neighborhood.
Finish that puzzle you got for White Elephant two years ago (Guilty).
Update your loved ones when you’re ready
Your significant others and close family/ kids should be the first to know. Don’t feel ashamed to share the burden with them. That’s what family is for.
Some folks choose to wait to update extended family or friend groups and that’s totally okay. It is a good idea to eventually reach out to this group when it feels right to you as they can be part of your support system and maybe even help you find the next dream job!
It will get easier with time and practice. Just remember that you’re in control of this and you have the right to tell everyone when you’re ready.
Update your professional network
After you’ve taken time to process your thoughts and refocus yourself, it’s a great idea to lean on your professional network.
LinkedIn is a fantastic resource to post your layoff update. A few tips when posting this update:
Keep the tone positive! It’s easy to bash the company that just pulled the rug out from under you, but it’s important to remember that this will likely be seen by an amplified amount of professionals. Showing that you are using this as an opportunity to grow rather than throwing shade will display your maturity and make you a more desirable candidate.
Take the time to build out and update a generic resume that you can easily update to fit different roles.
There’s nothing wrong with having multiple resumes. In Salesforce I generally see folks with these three types of resumes:
A Manager/ Leadership resume
A Hands on technical resume (like Developer or Administrator)
A Consulting focused resume
This usually takes people anywhere from 1 hour to a whole day, depending on the last time you’ve updated this. When you are ready to apply to roles, you’ll thank me for the time spent on this one task ;)
Lastly apply, apply, apply!
The best way to put yourself out there is to connect with Recruiters who specialize in the types of roles you are looking for.
Companies like Hireforce are here to help you with all of your full-time, contract-to-hire and contract Salesforce job-hunting needs in the United States.
In addition to working with third-party recruiters, you should actively apply to roles yourself A few housekeeping tips here:
Be sure to actually read the job descriptions before applying.
I know this can be tedious, but you will save yourself and the hiring teams a lot of time if you make sure you are qualified for the role before interviewing.
Don’t be afraid to try something new!
If you think your experience is transferrable to a new skill set, then go for it! This is where updating that generic resume comes in handy!
Go into it knowing your salary/hourly expectations upfront.
Do your research beforehand and be transparent throughout the process regarding what you expect financially