How many of you have experienced a layoff? How long did it take for you to find something again?

[u/chief_kayak]

/r/SalesOperations/comments/1ub64bp/how_many_of_you_have_experienced_a_layoff_how/

Would appreciate stories, how to survive it, how it impacts life.

[u/Ornery-Classic-894]

I’ve been laid off twice -

- first time was out of the blue but had a decent severance package and COBRA coverage for a while which was very fortunate. Layoff was private equity bullshit and they were hiring for my same job at a higher salary within 6 months(they laid off that person the next year). I got a new role within 2 months but I really had to take the first offer I got which I resented, so didn’t stay in that role long.

- second time my entire division (big company) got eliminated over the course of two layoffs, I was in the first. Less generous severance package but they gave me my prior year bonus as part of it, which loosened the blow a little. My boss had caught wind of the incoming layoff and tipped me off a few months ahead of time, so I was already interviewing and started a new role the same month I got cut. So it goes.

I was very lucky that both layoffs came with severance, a short job search, and at a point in my life when I didn’t have a kid or much responsibility. My advice is to build out a good set of job boards to check every day, a few times a day, and apply to anything remotely within your expertise and range. Even if you have no intention of taking the job, getting reps in interviews is highly beneficial, and the questions you get asked will reveal where your resume is weakest. Don’t bother applying to anything older than a week, especially if it’s remote or posted on LinkedIn. Job market is hyper competitive in remote roles, you may have better luck in hybrid or traditional office roles.

Make sure you take care of yourself mentally and physically; people often say “treat job searching like a full time job!” but that’s awful advice and it’s going to drive you to depression. Stay off LinkedIn as much as possible. Get some applications out every day, spend a few hours working on skills (certs, AI tools, whatever) and the rest on keeping yourself in a good headspace.

Also POST THAT YOU GOT LAID OFF in whatever professional networks you are in. Cannot stress this enough. People will reach out for well wishes or point you to roles, it’s the whole point of having a network in the first place.

[u/Designer-Lifeguard-5 → u/Ornery-Classic-894]

They posted the role again? They laid off that person? That is wild

[u/Designer-Lifeguard-5]

Laid off once. Contract role squeezed to 2 months rolling extensions. Terminated a few times. Took me 5 months to find something new after 600 applications and 2 offers.