Episode 94: You got laid off. Now what?

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You just got laid off. Getting laid off is no reflection on you. It’s not about your strengths or skills. It’s about your company’s lack of planning for marketplace conditions. This is the time you need to be gentle with yourself.  Here are some actionable tips on what to do next. In this episode, I discuss 

• What to do in the hours and days following a layoff

• How to make sense of all that you are feeling

• Why time management is key to finding your next job

• The most impactful tips to get you through it 

BUT FIRSTs often show up when someone presents us with an opportunity or something new to our brain. 

Mentioned on the show: 

Grab a Strengths & Strategy Session HERE. 

Follow @jillGriffinOffical on Instagram for daily inspiration. 

5 Steps to an Effective Career Identity Blueprint HERE

Top 10 Pro Tips to Help You Stand Out on LinkedIn HERE

Visit JillGriffinCoaching.com for more details on my private and group coaching programs. 

Read The Transcript

In the hours and days following the layoff you need time. Space. Compassion. 

Compassion for yourself. denying your feelings and getting into the hustle of what’s next, is actually, not what’s next. Run these statements and questions through your head. 

1) Compassion. Explore these statements. They all start with Of Course 

Of course, I want to hide. 

Of course, I feel disappointed. 

Of course, I feel fearful.  

Of course, I feel this way. 
 
2) Acknowledge and accept how you feel. You are allowed to feel upset.  I want you to fill in the blank…I am allowed to feel…

I am allowed to be sad. 

I am allowed to be angry

I am allowed to feel grief. 

We grieve because we love. You may have loved many aspects of your job, and I am guessing if you were laid off, you didn’t know this would happen. or you didn’t know you were going to be on the list. It may have been a shock or a surprise. Allow yourself to feel whatever you do. 

Don’t gaslight yourself or drop into toxic positivity. Telling yourself, you can’t think this way isn’t helpful. You need to allow your limbic system to do its thing, to process the emotions (it’s fight or flight friends), which are neurochemicals running through your body. The chemicals will dissipate.  Then your pre-frontal cortex, the thinking part of your brain, can take over again and begin to problem solve. 

3) Mindset 
Getting laid off is no reflection on you. It’s not about your strengths or skills. It’s about your company’s lack of planning for marketplace conditions. this is the time you need to be gentle with yourself. You may even need to remove yourself from certain situations, conversations, or people. Put bubble wrap around yourself, and dont hang around anyone who wants to feed your fears. Byeeeeeeee.

Next, we want to introduce new thoughts softly. We begin to say to ourselves

 I am practicing being the person who figures this out

What does She/He/They think?

What next action should I take?

4) Time management. The universe has given you the gift of time. I know it doesnt feel like a gift right now however creating a job hunting schedule is as important as finding space in your day to read, explore, exercise, go to a museum. If you stare at a screen for 8 hours a day finding a job you are not going to find a job any faster than if you look for a job for half your day and then find inspiration the other half of the day. 

I was laid off, well more than once, however, the first time was the biggest sting. 

9/11 happened a month later. I walked the streets of NYC with a pen and paper. I was in grief for the friends I lost, for my city and my country. for me, moving, and walking were really healing. I walked the streets and wrote down everything I could see to do from cultural events, volunteering, community gardens, and free classes, and made a grid. then each day, I balanced my looking for a job with something to fill the FREE space. Having a list helped me do something when I couldnt think so clearly. 

5) Let’s now create a strategy. I have a free career strategy worksheet on my website. I will be the link in the show notes however these questions will get you started. 

Get clear in your strengths. Understanding our strengths and behaviors enables us to reach our goals. Take a cliftonstrengths assessment, work with a coach like me, or just write down the activities where you feel you excel. Thought starters:

Achiever, Analytical, Bias for Action, Discipline, Influencing, Optimistic,

Resourceful, and Strategic Thinking.

6) Next I want you to look at values. You can get a list of values by searching and really understand why these are important. Your values are the guiding principles that are most important to you about the way that you work. They are your internal GPS and an important pillar of career satisfaction. 

Now is the time to check in with them so you are clear in what you value moving forward. 

7) Next let’s make a list of all your skills and your victories. what patterns do you see? Ask yourself what am I good at? Think about the common tasks that increase or decrease our energy. When does time fly? When are you in the flow?

8) Then we will look at beliefs. What results matter to me? What drives me forward? how do I want to think about this? I am learning how to be the person who…what? fill in the blanks

9) Take everything from the career strategy work you just created and now update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Now you are ready to begin to find what’s next. Again this is a good time to find a mentor, an ally, or a coach who can help you with what’s next because sometimes it’s hard to read the label from inside the jar. I have a free Linkedin pro tips video and worksheet that will help you. I’ll out the link in the show notes. 

10) Stay close to those who love you. Don’t isolate yourself. So many people are in the same boat and are also figuring it out. First, it gets better. And it may get hard again before it gets better again. Then one day you realize how much progress you’ve made and the resilience you’ve created. 

If you want to be employed again you will be. 

Be gentle with yourself in the meantime.