My exact gameplan if I got laid off right now.

We’re already in Q2 of 2024 and we’re still seeing a new headline each day that someone’s conducting layoffs.

In my personal opinion, this doesn’t stop until The Fed cuts interest rates.

And with inflation the way it stands, that’s not happening anytime soon.

The thing is with layoffs right now, anyone can be affected. It doesn’t matter how talented you are.

Sure, there’s the “trim the fat” argument, which has some truth to it. Sure, companies overhired during the Zirp era, which has some truth to it as well.

But we’re seeing entire teams and business units cut all at once right now. Even if you’re a top performer and you’re in one of these units, it doesn’t matter how good you are at your job.

That’s why it’s imperative everyone has a backup plan.

What about your plan, Rando?

I’ve been working on my Plan B the past 9 + years. If I got fired right now, there would be at least 2-3 companies willing to bring me on by Monday. That’s without me interviewing for anyone new.

That’s where you eventually want to get to.

But for now, your goal should you get laid off right now, is to be able to call five people this second you can refer you into a job application.

If you can’t do that, then it’s time to get to work.

The Plan

What you’ll see here is that I’ve put in the work for years to set myself up for success for the worst case scenario of getting fired.

Although I’m a top 3 producer in my company and ranked very high in my industry, I realize that “anything can happen”.

Some of you may know my father was an IT Director back in the day. He was at his company for over 10+ years and oversaw the global infrastructure for them. That company sold, and a year or so later, they laid him off cold turkey.

I keep this in the back of my mind at all times - even when we were during the zirp era - because I don’t want to just rely on one company for job stability.

So I’ve always made it a point to take at least 1 interview per quarter with a competitor, just so I can build my network that way as well as see what my market value is like out there.

1: Decompress & reset

The obvious answer is to update my resume / linkedin. I’m not going to bore you with that stuff. Let’s assume I already did that and move on.

First order of business is decompressing. I’ve been working nonstop for 9 years, so I’d take a little break. Not sure how long, but at least a week or two. Relax, recharge, then hit the ground running.

I’d organize myself to start. I know I have a couple standing offers, so I would keep them in my back pocket to begin just to see what my market value is right now.

2: Reach out to previous coworkers

This is likely where I’d end up finding a job if it weren’t for my already for those standing offers.

I’ve made it a point to build good relationships and my reputation at my company.

I’d start here first for two reasons:

1. The people I worked with already know my body of work. So since they know I’m good and how I operate, they can speak to their experience working with me directly to their manage. This goes a further way than just cold applying to whatever company they’re at.

2. Whenever someone quits one job for another, chances are they’re “moving up” in some sort of capacity. They’re upgrading their previous work situation to their current one. So if they can upgrade their position by moving there, in my mind I’m thinking “so can I”.

3: Reach out to people I’ve previously interviewed with in the past.

I’ll start calling the folks I really liked when I was taking my passive interviews. A quick linkedin search tells me most of them are still at the companies when I originally met with them, which is a good sign.

I’d reach out to them and be honest about my situation and see if they’d be opened to talking again.

4A: Analyze my situation

I have those 3 standing offers in my back pocket, and I’ve started reaching out to previous contacts of mine.

Chances are a few interviews come about this.

As I’m interviewing, I’m gauging what my market value is to everyone.

I’m essentially thinking to myself “are any of these worth pursuing over my 3 previous offers?”

If the answer is yes, I’m not reaching out to my offers yet

If the answer is no, then I’ll take some time to cold apply to roles.

I could chose the easy path of taking up one of the standing offers, but I want to see whats out there.

4B: Cold Applying To Roles

When I’m cold applying to roles, I’m not just going to rely on the application and call it a day.

For every application I apply to, I’ll take it a step further to find/contact the job seeker.

I’ll essentially be my own “sales rep/recruiter/marketer” for my job search.

I’m not leaving these applications to chance and want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to make sure the recruiter/hiring manager in question views my background.

More detailed post how to do this below:

5: Reach out to classmates & alumni

This is one of the best ways to network. Think about it. The best way to network is to find a point of commonality IMO. And we’re hitting that here by going to the same school.

But there’s more.

Virtually everyone had a fun time in college. It’s the first taste of real freedom you experience in your life. So not only are you hitting the point of commonality with going to the same school, you’re hitting that nostalgic factor as well.

Let’s say the worst possible case happens, and those 3 standing offers are gone, and everyone I reached out to has no leads.

Honestly, in this market, that’s certainly possible.

I’d start reaching out to the people I went to college and high school with. I’d look on LinkedIn where people ended up and see who’s in my industry.

From there, I’d start reaching out to them to see if they were hiring, or knew someone that was.

Further, I’d even dig into previous alumni classes and do the same thing.

6: Interview & Analyze

As I’m taking these interviews, now I’ll start reaching back out to those 3 companies with standing offers.

Reason why I wait until this exact moment is because I’m starting to gain tons of leverage in the marketplace.

So I’ll take these interviews, let them know I have other options and if they’re interested in me they gotta make it worth my while.

Then I’ll call the other 3 companies and tell them I’m interested now, but to make sure I’m doing the best thing for my career I’m also looking at other options.

7: Determine what’s the best move

Chances are I end up with one of the 3 companies I’ve been in contact with. Even if another company gives me a bit more $$$, I already have known them for years and would be starting off already having a good relationship with them with a great reputation, vs. starting all over again with one of the random companies.

Plus since I’ve been in contact with the other 3 companies over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to really (passively) vet them out by asking more questions each time I met them which you can’t realistically do in a short interview process.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…

“It’s not fair, it looks like you have a head start on your job search with so many options?!”

Well, that’s because I put the work in when I didn’t have to. So take this as your sign to start doing it too.

• I made sure I always had my doomsday scenario planned out.

• I made sure I never burned any bridges and built relationships internally.

• I made sure I always maintaned a good reputation in the workplace.

• I made sure I took passive interviews, leaving a good impression, and keeping in contact.

Regardless if I had 3 standing offers or not, I could still do everything above to get proactive on my job search.

Even if you don’t have 3 standing offers, you could still:

1. Reach out to previous coworkers

2. Reach out to anyone you’ve interviewed for in the past

3. Reaching out to previous classmates and alumni

4. Contacting the job seeker directly for every role you apply to

5. Rinse and repeat

….

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I also put together a guide for your job search which you could find here for 9.99