4Sight Coaching

The silence. This is often the 2nd thing people experience after a layoff, behind the initial feelings of shock.

You are not alone in this. The silence is deafening after you spend 40+ hours/week alongside your team & collaborators, pouring your time and energy into your work, firing messages & emails back and forth, hopping from meeting to meeting... and within minutes or next-day you're sitting alone at your home computer; no Teams or Slack; no work email open; total silence (and loneliness). Doesn't matter if you were in-person or a remote worker. And oftentimes, the silence is more profound for those who work remotely. They've been used to that same room and the same desk where they'd tackle the daily grind alongside their fellow humans... and suddenly their company laptop sits powered off for good.

When I talk to those who've been freshly laid off, the abrupt silence and loneliness is one of the most unexpected, hard-hitting impacts they experience. It's grief. Just add that to the other feelings of sadness, anger, and/or fear (of the future) one experiences immediately after a layoff.

If the silence or loneliness is too much, take care of yourself and get away from your home office. Get out for a walk or run some errands. When using your personal computer to plan your next steps or start job searching or networking, get out of the house and do it from a coffee shop or public library. Ease back into that chair and desk when you feel ready.

For more tips & resources: 4sightcoaching[dot]com/resources

Highlights from Ben's segment on KARE11 yesterday, addressing like the ones at Target and Amazon yesterday:

First things to do after you're laid off:
- Make time to take care of yourself, as unexpected involuntary job loss ranks just below the loss of a loved one and divorce in terms of traumatic events.
- Add all stakeholders you can think of to your LinkedIn contacts.
- While it's fresh, jot down everything you've done since the last time you updated your resume. ** IF YOU STILL HAVE ACCESS, RETRIEVE DATA ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ASAP. This will feed into your resume updates. You want to cite ' #'s and '%'s and '$'s into your resume, and you need that company info before your access is cut off.
- Run your exit paperwork past an HR attorney; consider finding a freelancer on Upwork or Fiverr if you don't know any (there are many available, who are reasonably-priced); at minimum, run the paperwork through ChatGPT or Google AI for summarization of key components in simple terms.

Make a plan for your new unemployed routine. Incorporate:
- Job search & networking sprint/focus sessions.
- Breaks and time for self care.
- Consistent bedtime and wake-up times (keep the routine).

You may:
- Feel like you need to get out there ASAP, and start to "panic apply." DON'T. Make a plan first; field & and explore all the initial resources that you'll be offered; but try to maintain control of your life. "Panic applying" after a layoff is your brain and body continuing to be in reaction mode - you should still maintain control of elements in your life. Recognizing this, and making time for self-care is one huge way you can do this. This job market is tough, and your search will likely be a long-distance run (versus a sprint) - you need to pace yourself.
- Have trouble sleeping, either with difficulty falling asleep or with waking up early thinking that you have to hit the job search. Recognize that your body is doing; go with it from time to time if it feels right; but also address this is professional resources if it's starting to impact you on a daily basis. (Stress and anxiety often surface with a layoff).

You are not alone, and you got this.
www.4sightcoaching.com

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