How To View Your Career Development After A Layoff

Your career development will be impacted after a layoff, but it doesn’t have to be for the worse. Take time to grieve losing your previous job so you can look for new work later. As you build your skill set and remain open-minded, you can show a potential employer that you have initiative which expands beyond the workplace.

By Timothy Mably

Following a layoff, you may view your career development with a new perspective. Before seeing it only as a negative, consider how you can take advantage professionally of the season of unemployment.

Throughout the pandemic, layoffs caused professionals to reevaluate their careers and become open-minded to other possibilities. As layoffs loom due to the economy today, get ahead by using your circumstance to focus on new opportunities.

Career coach Anne Genduso sympathizes with professionals who have been laid off. She says, “Layoffs happen to the best of us and it can happen at any time. It absolutely does not reflect on your contributions, the value you bring to the workplace, or the effort you put in.”

Career coach Katelyn Richards says, “Ideally we view a lay-off as an opportunity for reflection- it's the chance to really step back and assess what about your career is going well. What is out of alignment? Are you where you expected to be/want to be? What more do you need and want when it comes to your career? What do you need and want from your next company?”

Richards sees this time as a chance to answer such questions and think of non-negotiables for your next career move. She shares her experience knowing leaders who had been laid off and leveraged the season of unemployment to gain perspective. She recounts, “I know executive leaders who have been laid off that used the time to get clarity around what mattered most and whether or not their executive role was meeting their needs and step into more functional roles instead and I know those earlier on in their careers who used a layoff as the opportunity to jump several rungs and double their salary- a layoff is whatever you make of it, regardless of industry or title.”

Take Time to Grieve

Before taking any steps to reevaluate your career development, take the necessary time to process job loss and grieve. Setting time aside to acknowledge how you feel will create room to consider your next career move.

Genduso says, “The biggest advice I give people is to remember that a setback is a time for you to view your career as a whole. Look at this as an opportunity. Take a pause and understand this is going to be a grieving process and it’s going to be ok.”

If you don’t give yourself the appropriate time to mourn a layoff, it could lead to a lack of productivity in your upcoming search for new work. 

LinkedIn Top Voice on Racial Equity, Lily Zheng, who is a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist and consultant, says, “Take the time you need as an individual to process the news however you need to. Processing the news with trusted friends, family, or colleagues can help you feel more grounded as you plan your next steps.”

By creating space to process, you can acknowledge everything your previous job meant to you, consider your professional accomplishments, and find peace where you are now. Gain perspective on where you have been before thinking about where you will go next.

Build Your Skill Set

Genduso sees layoffs as a chance for professionals to reestablish themselves and reflect on their resumes. She explains, “In terms of a long-term career, this is just another opportunity to pause and look at areas you may want to brush up on for your skills. You can be taking courses, attending webinars, things that will help you throughout your career.”

LinkedIn Learning courses offer users the ability to learn about skills they may be lacking. Classes vary between hard and soft skills, taught by instructors with career experience. Employers may even take notice of course badges earned on your profile.

Genduso explains, “When we’re in the midst of a job in the day-to-day work, we get caught up in thinking about the immediate things in front and not the long term career trajectory. This is an opportunity for some clarity work, thinking about your strengths, what you do best, what is most important to you in the workplace, what is most interesting to you. When you can find the intersection of those, that is the pivot you want to make as your next move."

Richards similarly emphasizes the chance that the season presents for you to build other aspects of your professional identity. Time away from the workplace can be spent productively, curating your personal brand and growing your network. She explains, “It's the chance to really build out your network and your personal brand and create a career insurance policy that will be there for you moving forward, regardless of the worst-case scenario happening. Everyone loves a good overcomer story, and this is the chance for you to get to write yours!”

Be Open-Minded

If you need to pivot in your career, it may require you to be more open-minded than you had been previously. You likely have skills which can be relevant to a position or a field you hadn’t considered before.

Genduso says, “I think it’s always good to be a little bit more open-minded and think about what you may qualify for at any time you make a career change. Absolutely you have skills that are going to be transferable across industries.” There may be a need to acquire specific certifications or advance your education if you want to shift gears toward something such as the medical industry.

At the beginning of the pandemic when many professionals were furloughed, Genduso had a client who was in the events industry. Due to shutdowns, she was no longer able to work. After considering her skill set, she was able to enter the remote and virtual events world which became an emerging industry.

However, a layoff doesn’t usually mean you can’t find more work in the same field. Genduso says, “Companies love to see people who have experience in the exact same area that they’re looking for so they can plug and play and hit the ground running.”

Your career development might feel like it has taken a hit from a layoff, but the weeks or months spent away from a workplace can be advantageous. By taking time to grieve, growing your skills, curating your personal brand, building your network, and remaining open-minded to new work opportunities, you can go into your next job with renewed confidence.

Top Takeaways

How should you view your career development after being laid off?

• Layoffs can present you with the opportunity to reevaluate your career, consider non-negotiables for your future position, and ask other important questions.
• Setting time aside to acknowledge how you feel about your job loss will create room to consider your next career move.
• Build your skillset and take advantage of LinkedIn Learning courses to show an employer your willingness to learn.
• Time away from the workplace can be spent productively, curating your personal brand and growing your network.
• If you need to pivot in your career, it may require you to be more open-minded than you had been previously. You likely have skills which can be relevant to a position or a field you hadn’t considered before.