Almost everyone gets laid off at least once in a modern career. It says nothing about you and everything about your company''s budget. What matters now is the next seven days.
Day 1: Breathe and document
- Don''t sign anything in the meeting. Most severance offers can be reviewed for 21 days (45 if you''re over 40 and it''s a group layoff — federal law).
- Save everything: your offer letter, last performance review, any praise emails, your last paystub. Forward them to a personal email today.
- Tell two people who love you. Cry if you need to. Then close the laptop.
Day 2: Understand what you''re owed
- Severance. Read carefully. Negotiate — almost always possible to get 1–4 extra weeks.
- PTO payout. Required in many states (CA, MA, NE, etc.). Check your state.
- Healthcare. COBRA is expensive but kicks in immediately. ACA marketplace plans (healthcare.gov) are usually 30–60% cheaper.
- 401(k). Don''t cash it out. Roll it to an IRA or your next employer''s plan.
- Unemployment. File the same week. There''s usually a one-week waiting period and you''ll lose money if you delay.
Day 3: Tell your network — once, well
Write one LinkedIn post. Keep it short, honest, and forward-looking. Avoid bitterness, even if it''s earned.
After [X] years at [Company], I was part of the recent layoffs. I''m proud of what we built and now I''m looking for my next chapter in [field / role]. If you know of opportunities or just want to chat, I''d love to hear from you.
Then DM the 20 people whose opinion you trust most. Don''t spray.
Day 4: Build a 30/60/90 budget
- 30 days: what does survival look like?
- 60 days: where can you cut without pain?
- 90 days: when does severance run out?
Knowing the numbers replaces anxiety with a plan.
Day 5: Update everything
- Resume — add the role, drop the dates of departure.
- LinkedIn — switch to "Open to Work" (open to recruiters only).
- Portfolio / Github / case studies — refresh anything stale.
Day 6: Set a routine
The job seekers who land fastest treat the search like a job. Pick a daily start time, a daily end time, and a place to work that isn''t your bed. Two hours of focused outreach beats eight hours of doomscrolling Indeed.
Day 7: Rest
This is not optional. The next 60–90 days will require energy. Take a full day off — no applications, no LinkedIn. Walk, sleep, watch something dumb.
What no one tells you
The average job seeker takes 3–6 months. Senior roles take longer. That feels brutal at the start and normal in the middle. Use the time to do one thing you''ve been putting off — a certification, a portfolio refresh, a hard conversation about what you actually want next. People often look back on a layoff as the moment their best chapter started.
You''re not behind. You''re between.